![Florida Head Coach Jon Sumrall speaks during Florida Football Fall camp availability at Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 4, 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/213/01kzpcw7rp615qpf9e01.jpg "Florida Head Coach Jon Sumrall speaks during Florida Football Fall camp availability at Heavener Football Training Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
As Jon Sumrall works through his first fall camp with the Gators, one of the realities he needs to work through is his own personal pecking order for Florida’s roster. Whereas a returning coach would have a good feel for their roster from day one, Sumrall, like any new coach, has to figure out where 100+ players stand.
The benefit for Florida, compared to previous seasons, is that the Gators open with two opponents that will give him time to sort things out. And based on what he admitted on Monday, he plans to use Florida’s first two games to do just that before the SEC opener against Auburn.
Jon Sumrall says practice cannot provide every answer
Sumrall was asked whether or not he plans to publicly release a week-to-week depth chart once the season gets going. Billy Napier started out doing depth charts during his first two years in Gainesville but then just used the mandated SEC availability report during his last two years. Even when Napier did release depth charts, they seldom matched what actually happened in-game.
Sumrall said he hasn’t really decided which route he is going to go in terms of releasing a depth chart to the public, as he also stressed that no matter what he releases for week one is subject to change:
“We played Northwestern last year, game one, which is a Big Ten school when I was at Tulane, and we played a ton of people in game one, because I'm trying to figure out who our team is. I've got a decent idea of practice, but you don't really know who you've got and who you are until you go play against somebody else. I mean, I think I know, but we're going to play a ton of people.”
Now this isn’t necessarily a groundbreaking revelation, but it does hold merit to it. The bright lights of The Swamp are different compared to how someone may perform in practice. And going up against an opponent as things move live when a player doesn’t have a chance to stall and ask questions also holds value.
For better or worse, Florida’s first two games, however, probably aren’t going to give Sumrall all the answers he wants before the week three showdown against Auburn. FAU was 4-8 last year, and Campbell was 2-10.
But from the looks of it, he plans to use those first two games to get as much information on his roster as he can before he has to make decisions for real.
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