![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_187,w_2747,h_1545/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kjbhejt4wcdwn4dhx2.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]")
Joh Sumrall's first week at Florida could best be described as a blur, but when it was all said and done, the new Gators coach made what he considered his most important recruiting moves.
Sumrall spoke with On3's Andy Staples about the efforts he took to keep running back Jadan Baugh and edge rusher Jayden Woods on the Gators roster. The coach led Tulane into the college football playoffs, losing to Ole Miss on December 20th and after that it was a chaotic period that included the funeral for his father, George, who died on December 18.
NEW: Florida's Jon Sumrall details retaining Jadan Baugh & Jayden Woods after Tulane's CFP appearance🐊
— On3 (@On3) February 24, 2026
"There's no place my dad would rather have me been than in Jadan Baugh's house."
(via @AndyAriOn3) pic.twitter.com/dLsrxslcCu
After the Green Wave lost to Ole Miss in the first round of the CFP, Sumrall went home for his father's service n December 23 and then immediately took an in-home visit to Baugh on Christmas Eve.
"You want to keep the great players that are already in-house and that this place means something to," Sumrall said. "Jadan Baugh, I did an in-home visit on Christmas Eve, don't know if I've ever done that before. It was a whirlwind of a time."
Jon Sumrall wasted no time in efforts to talent top players
Baugh, who rushed for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025, decided to stay despite receiving major interest from Texas,
While retaining Baugh was a tough battle, he never took a visit to another program. But Woods went a step further, taking an official visit to Texas. After that visit, it looked like the Gators were going to lose Woods, but Sumrall didn't want to go down without a fight and went to Kansas to do an in-home visit.
"Jayden Woods, it felt like we were in a good spot of retaining him, [but] he decided to go into the portal and took a visit to another school," Sumrall said. "We flew up there to see him, felt good about that meeting and then quickly found out he was going to stay as well. So getting those guys to stay was probably the most important recruiting pieces we added."
Sumrall's ability to keep both players in the fold was a good start to his tenure, and it might have made a positive impression on a part of the fanbase that wasn't excited about the hire.