Jon Sumrall spent all week trying to hold onto his emotions as the Florida Gators were preparing for No. 4 Ole Miss, but after the 52-28 win over the Rebels, the fiery coach let it all out.
Sumrall was notably stoic this week leading up to kickoff, albeit still quite expressive and funny. But the coach knew the pressure that he and the Gators were facing in the first game at the Swamp, where both teams were ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 10, 2022.
So, it was understandable that Sumrall let it all out in his postgame comments, reminding Florida fans that he's ready to keep winning, and more good times are on the way.
“We’ve got a five-year plan too,” Sumrall said on ESPN when asked about his five-month plan for the Gators this season. “We came here to win championships, but there’s no reason in the world that shouldn’t be the expectation at the University of Florida every year, so why wait? We’ve got a lot of good players. A lot of guys chose to say and I’m not very patient. You can ask my wife.”
Jon Sumrall held nothing back in his postgame inteview after Florida stunned Ole Miss
Sumrall promised he would win big at Florida, and he wasn't going to be patient about it. Now the Gators are off to their best start since 2019 when they started 6-0 and finished the season with an 11-2 record, a win in the Orange Bowl and a No. 6 ranking in the final AP Poll.
With Saturday's win, Florida is expected to make a huge jump in the new AP Poll and there is much more room to climb with Georgia and Texas on the schedule over the next month.
Sumrall challenged the crowd at the Swamp to bring all their energy and the Florida faithful responded with a raucous atmosphere that brought up memories of days past when the Gators were among the rulers in college football.
“Just their belief and the buy-in,” Sumrall said on what he was most proud of Florida in the win over Ole Miss. “We’re still not a finished product, but the guys are giving great effort and they’re trying to do what we ask of them. We still didn’t play our best today.”
The things that Florida fans had been hoping for have quickly come to fruition under Sumrall. The offense that's been constructed by Buster Faulkner is humming, with Florida scoring at least 44 points in each of its first four games. Jadan Baugh is going to win the Doak Walker Award and is quickly establishing himself as a Heisman favorite. The defense is fast and opportunistic, forcing Trinidad Chambliss, the presumptive Heisman favorite, into two turnovers.
More than anything, Florida football is fun again. The on-field product is exciting, top recruits are buzzing about the Gators and Sumrall looks like a star in the coaching ranks.
The atmosphere at the Swamp proved what everyone already knew — it's great to be a Florida Gator.
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