Jon Sumrall has gotten Florida back in the thick of in-state recruiting

The idea of the majority of the blue-chip recruits from Florida heading to schools outside the Sunshine State was unfathomable 20–25 years ago, but now it seems almost too common.

Of the top 10 in-state recruits according to Rivals/On3, six of them have committed to out-of-state programs. The good news is that the Florida Gators have three of the top ten committed in its class, but none in the top five. 

Florida did a pretty good job with blue-chip recruits down Interstate 75. The Gators dipped into Sarasota to grab four-star quarterback Davin Davidson and went about 45 minutes further south to Port Charlotte to get a commitment from four-star wide receiver Elias Pearl. Jon Sumrall's first big in-state commit, four-star wide receiver Tramond Collins, was plucked out of Cottondale in northwest Florida.

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Miami was the only other in-state program to land a top-10 player from the state, five-star wide receiver Nick Lennear, but even the Hurricanes couldn't keep Mark Matthews in the state despite the fact that he lives 30 minutes from their campus. 

Jon Sumrall faces challenge to keep top in-state recruits at home

The task of keeping the top Florida players at home is one that's not unique to Sumrall or any of the other coaches in the state. The world has gotten a lot smaller and recruits are exposed to a lot more than they were when Steve Spurrier and even Urban Meyer were manning the sidelines in Gainesville. Some programs, like IMG Academy, distort the numbers a bit because most of their top players transferred to the school from places outside of Florida. But there's also the emergence of 7v7 football and the national circuit that exposes these recruits to new environments. These 7v7 teams are together for the majority of the offseason and often take recruiting tours during the spring and summer that take them all over the country. 

There's also the fact that the Florida schools have had a ton of instability with coaches. Sumrall is the Gators/ fourth coach since 2015. Miami has had four coaches during the same span and FSU would be on its fourth coach if the Seminoles could afford to get rid of Mike Norvell. Sumrall hasn't made it any secret that he plans to be in Gainesville for a long time and Gator fans hope that's the case. But it does feel like we're past the days of a coach being with the same program for 15-plus years. Kirby Smart is the only coach in the SEC that has been at his job prior to the 2020 season. 

This doesn't even touch on the NIL situation now or the fact that some programs that will remain anonymous were creative in skirting around some of the rules. Sumrall touched on the fact that sometimes Florida can't win every bidding war for a blue-chip player.

"[GM Dave Caldwell] does a great job of assisting and allowing me and the coaches to stay out of those conversations, and just make sure that the financial stuff works out. And sometimes there's things you have to be able to walk away from and say no to because we're not just going to outbid players or other schools on player," Sumrall said.

READ MORE: Jon Sumrall explains why Florida can get anyone on campus, but can't always land them

Things have gotten better for the Gators. Ten years ago, in the 2017 class, Florida didn't sign any of the top ten in-state recruits (highest in-state commit, Tedarrell Slaton, was ranked 18th in Florida) and the Gators only signed one five years ago in the 2022 class, defensive back Kamari Wilson (10th in state). So, Sumrall's focus on raising the Gators brand in the state has been successful. And if Florida wins big this season, more top in-state players will follow. 

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