“I’ve told the team at Tulane, I will not talk to them about going to the portal at all.” Those were the exact comments made by a true head coach who cares about players and doing things the right way, including transitioning between schools. With National Signing Day coming and going last week, Wake Up Barstool spoke to outgoing Tulane coach, Jon Sumrall about how things have gone between Tulane and his now Florida Gators when it comes to the portal, him leaving, players’ feelings, and the transition.
Refreshing to hear from @CoachJonSumrall who flipped zero recruits from Tulane to Florida pic.twitter.com/vFMqHIEtjW
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) December 10, 2025
Sumrall’s answer was not surprising. He is a coach who knows the sensitivity of the situation he’s faced with coaching Tulane through the college football playoffs while also now acting as the head coach of the Florida Gators, and he’s treating it with as much sensitivity and doing it as politically correct as possible in not “stealing” players from Tulane.
“I didn’t steal one commit from Tulane to Florida. We signed 14 dudes at Tulane last week with no head coach in place for 2026,” said Sumrall. “We signed 18 guys here at Florida, I flipped zero commitments to Florida,” he reiterated.
Jon Sumrall didn't take any commits from Tulane
Sumrall stated that if a player willingly goes into the transfer portal on their own will, and they’re a player he feels are good enough to play at Florida, he will call them, but he has shown his respect for Tulane and the work their recruiting department has done by stating he will not steal or try to willingly flip any Tulane commitments over to Florida, a move the Wake Up Barstool team called, “refreshing.”
Sumrall’s statement about the commitments signed last week also shows the commitment of the incoming classes to stick together regardless of the coaching situation. They all understand and respect the schools’ willingness to sign them and they have dedicated themselves to a school and to a brotherhood, not to an individual coach. Sure certain coaches might have been the ones to call them and if a player feels strongly enough to want to play for a specific coach, then speaking on the players at Tulane, it will be their choice, on their own will to transfer, not because an outgoing coach “poached’ or “stole” the players.
This kind of business says a lot about Florida football’s newest head coach and has the potential to grow a long-lasting working relationship between the Green Wave and the Gators.