![New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_156,w_2679,h_1506/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kh1gspsg14rtxv9y87.jpg "New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Jon Sumrall's thoughts on tampering are pretty simple: "It is what it is."
The Gators coach said it happens everywhere and with every player on the roster and until there are some concrete rules set to combat it, he's not going to lose any sleep over it because there are more important things to worry about.
Jon Sumrall on this year’s signees:
— Riley Orovitz (@rileyorovitz) February 4, 2026
“We lost two commitments. That has nothing to do with me, that has everything to do with Florida and other people that were involved in those young men choosing Florida. The University of Florida is a special place in every way possible.”… pic.twitter.com/2zd2lbbihL
"That's a whole different set of issues. I don't know what's enforced right now. So, like, I know there's been a hot topic the last couple of weeks, like, somebody tampered with this guy or this guy. Yeah, no kidding, because nothing gets done," Sumrall said during his media availability last week.
Jon Sumrall simply shrugs his shoulders at tampering
The way the Sumrall sees it, it's an ongoing problem that happens all the time. Players aren't just being tampered with during the window when the portal is open. They are contacted in the spring, in the summer, during training camp, after the season opener, during the bye week and any other time that exists.
And it's very rarely direct contact with another school — that would be easier to track and pursue actions against. It's second and third-party communication. Maybe a player's family member or a former coach from their high school or even a classmate who is looking for an inroad to become an agent.
"Like, if you want to know, is there tampering? Yeah, everybody's tampered. Like, every player on our team got tampered with," Sumrall said. "They all did. 100% of them have been tampered with. I don't even lose my mind about it because I'm like, yeah, it's just what happens."
Sumrall's focus is on winning football games and building a culture strong enough to where players won't entertain tampering because they are happy being with the Gators and recruits are excited to becoming Gators. But don't think that if he doesn't get wind of it happening, Sumrall won't go full Dabo Swinney and start calling people out. He might not have time to think about it, but all early indications make me believe that Sumrall is ready for anything that gets in his way.