![Florida 2026-2027 head coach Jon Sumrall watches drills during Florida football practice at Heavener Football Complex in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_5000,h_2812/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/213/01m0b44zwd1k8p1bg4cy.jpg "Florida 2026-2027 head coach Jon Sumrall watches drills during Florida football practice at Heavener Football Complex in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Beyond the backdrop of Florida’s QB competition and the cache of playmakers Florida has on offense, there is the nagging unknown of what the offensive line for the Gators is going to look like in 2026. The unit did not have a great spring, and Jon Sumrall was not shy about letting people know the group was struggling.
On Monday, Sumrall took a different tone and seemed a touch happier about the unit's direction as the season approaches.
Florida’s offensive line is still a wild card heading into the 2026 season
For better or worse, Sumrall didn’t seem to have a wholesale panic alarm going off about the offensive line after Saturday’s scrimmage, nor did any of the questions that were asked seem to hint that it was a disaster. Sure, there were areas Sumrall probably wanted to be better, but it didn’t sound like the group was a bunch of traffic cones like we saw in the spring.
Sumrall painted a picture that he likes the interior of the offensive line, while he is still sorting out the tackle spots:
“I feel really – in the interior line, I feel pretty comfortable with who we are and where we are. Tackle is the biggest question.”
On paper, that makes it look like Knijeah Harris, Harrison Moore, and T.J. Shanahan Jr. are locked in as the two guards and center. Sumrall also made sure to highlight Bryce Lovett as an option waiting in the wings.
As we have chronicled throughout the offseason, and as Sumrall alluded to, there are indeed questions about the tackle spots.
Emeka Ugorji and Eagan Boyer are the two players who Sumrall pointed out and who have the inside track to be Florida’s two tackles. Sumrall has praise for Tavaris Dice, while he was a bit more blunt with Caden Jones:
“Need Caden (Jones) to continue to step up. And he needs to play like a veteran. And we're challenging him every day.”
The concern with both Ugorji and Boyer is that neither had a great 2025 season on the field. Ugorji was a true freshman last year at Stanford, and when he moved to right tackle late in the season, he got completely run over, including in a disaster of a game against UNC. Boyer got limited time on the field with Penn State last year, but he did start in the Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson, and that also didn’t go well.
But it is also true that who they were in December 2025 doesn’t have to be who they are in September 2026, especially if a full offseason under Phil Trautwein and Rusty Witt works the miracles Gator fans are hoping for.
It will be worth keeping an eye on against FAU because even last year against LIU, there were warning signs the group wasn’t ready.
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