Gators Transfers, Departures, Returners as Jon Sumrall Era Starts
The past few months have been a blur for Florida Gators football, dating back to the firing of former coach Billy Napier.
The Gators hired Jon Sumrall as their 31st coach in the history of the program on Nov. 30. Sumrall then brought in an entirely new staff. The Gators roster has changed quite a bit, with many players coming in and out through the transfer portal.
As the dust begins to settle on the Sumrall era, the Gators opened workouts this week in preparation for the upcoming season after a 4-8 finish in 2025.
Now, Sumrall & Co. are in win-now mode and making the necessary personnel changes to ensure success in 2026.
Clean House
With the hiring of Jon Sumrall, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin gave his new head coach a large budget to build his support staff – and Sumrall replaced virtually everyone.
His first move was hiring Kentucky’s Brad White as his defensive coordinator. He also hired Buster Faulkner from Georgia Tech as the Gators’ new offensive coordinator, as well as Joe Craddock, his former quarterbacks coach at Troy and Tulane.
Florida brought in former Gator and two-time national champion Phil Trautwein from Penn State to coach their offensive line. The only coach the Gators retained was defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, who was elevated to assistant head coach under Sumrall.
New Faces
The coaches aren’t the only new faces in the Gators’ locker room for this season.
Florida added many key additions to the roster for 2026. The Gators brought in 24 new players through the transfer portal and have a top-10 portal class ranking, according to On3 and Rivals. Florida can still add players before the season as well.
QB Aaron Philo, center Harrison Moore, tight end Luke Harpring and wide receiver Bailey Stockton followed Faulkner over from Georgia Tech. Offensive linemen TJ Shanahan Jr. and Eagan Boyer followed Trautwein from Penn State, and safety Cam Dooley followed White from Kentucky.
Florida added other offensive weapons, such as Eric Singleton Jr., the eighth-ranked wideout in the portal from Auburn. Florida also brought in two running backs – Evan Pryor and London Montgomery.
Stanford tackle Emeka Ugorji also flipped to the Gators.
On the other side of the ball, Florida signed UCLA defensive back Kanye Clark, and Baylor’s DJ Coleman (safety) and DK Kalu (defensive lineman) and Samu Taumanupepe (defensive lineman), and Jacksonville State’s Emmanuel Oyebadejo (edge) and UCF’s TJ Bullard (linebacker).
Key Departures
The Gators lost 32 players to the transfer portal, with 26 of them committing to other schools.
Some of the big names that left were QB DJ Lagway, who flipped to Baylor, WR Eugene Wilson III, who went to LSU with new coach Lane Kiffin, and DL Michai Boireau, who committed to Ole Miss.
Florida lost offensive starters in Aidan Mizell, Hayden Hansen, Jakobi Jackson and Tony Livingston to the portal (although Livingston hasn’t committed to a school yet). Defensively, the Gators lost Sharif Denson, Jordan Castell and Brien Taylor Jr. (who is undecided).
Key starters such as George Gumbs Jr., Caleb Banks, J. Michael Sturdivant, Tyreak Sapp, Austin Barber, Jake Slaughter, Devin Moore, Taylor Spierto and Trey Smack all graduated and/or entered the NFL Draft pool.
With the portal closing Friday, no additional Gators can enter the portal after the deadline but the program can still make additions.
Who’s Coming Back?
Some huge pieces are returning to Gainesville.
Florida returns offensive stars in Jadan Baugh, Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III, who would have been heavily sought-after prospects in the transfer portal. QB Tramell Jones Jr. also returned. Defensively, Jayden Woods withdrew his name from the portal to return to the Gators. They bring back starters Myles Graham, Cormani McClain, LJ McCray, Aaron Chiles and Bryce Thornton.
Looking Ahead
The Gators began workouts early Monday morning with new strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt, a former Green Beret in the military.
After last season’s playcalling problems under Billy Napier, Florida finally has its play-caller in Faulkner, whose offense averaged 31.7 points and 460 yards per game last season. He also brings over his own quarterback in Philo, who has had two seasons to learn Faulkner’s offense at Georgia Tech. Philo will battle with Jones for the starting job.
Practices begin in the first week of March, and the Orange and Blue game is scheduled for mid-April.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, University of Florida
