These Gators went from afterthoughts to must-play options after a strong spring

Spring camp has come and gone, and reviews for the spring game have been mostly positive. The annual scrimmage showcased what it needed to, and compared to some of the slogs from previous spring games, it wound up being a productive outing.

But spring games by themselves aren’t the sole thing Jon Sumrall is going to factor in when building his depth chart for 2026, and based upon not just the game itself but spring camp as a whole, these are four Gators who went from mostly afterthoughts heading into camp to guys who look like they will get meaningful snaps during the 2026 campaign.

Florida players who improved their stock ahead of 2026 season

Micah Mays Jr.

We’ve highlighted Mays Jr. a couple of times during the spring, but he feels like the one player who elevated his stock based on what was expected when he transferred in from Wake Forest. Keep in mind, it’s not like Mays Jr. was a highly ranked prospect coming out of high school. Nor did he flash much with Wake Forest.

But he kept popping up all spring, and it culminated with two touchdowns in the spring game, including a 75-yard touchdown off a great double move.

LJ McCray

Unlike Mays Jr., LJ McCray was highly ranked coming out of high school. Calling McCray an afterthought might seem weird considering he is a former five-star, but in his two years in Gainesville, he has done next to nothing on the field. He had limited production as a true freshman and was hurt for essentially all of 2025. 

For the casual fan who doesn’t follow recruiting, they have no clue who McCray is. But he seems to be healthy and seems to be ready to be a mainstay in the defensive line rotation. McCray had four tackles, one for a loss, and a pass breakup on Saturday.

Tramell Jones

When Jon Sumrall came to town and brought Buster Faulkner with him, who then turned around and grabbed Aaron Philo out of the transfer portal from Georgia Tech, it was assumed that Philo was going to be the starter for 2026.

But Tramell Jones, the backup last year to DJ Lagway, didn’t let that phase him and opted to stick around to fight for the starter’s job. And while Sumrall isn’t tipping his hand as to who has the lead in the QB battle, Jones has done more than his fair share to make this competition still a battle heading into the summer.

And if we are being frank, Jones was probably the better of the two QBs on Saturday.

KJ Ford

Like McCray, it’s not like KJ Ford is just some random dude off the streets. Ford was one of the top prospects Florida signed in its class of 2026.

But also like McCray, if you don’t follow recruiting, then you have no clue who he is. But the true freshman more than held his own this spring and flashed on Saturday to prove he could be a productive rotational guy this fall.

Duke Clark

After only a handful of carries as a freshman last year, there was a pathway Duke Clark could have gotten buried on the depth chart heading into 2026, especially since Florida went out and grabbed the speedster Evan Pryor out of the portal from Cincinnati.

But Clark seems to be in a position to be Florida’s RB2 heading into the summer, and led all Florida running backs on Saturday with 6.0 yards per carry.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow