Florida legend Brandon Spikes raves about Jon Sumrall: ‘He’s got what it takes’
By Sydney Hunte
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Brandon Spikes won a pair of championships with Florida as part of the Gators’ linebacking corps. That was back in the mid-to-late-2000s.
Fast forward to now, and the Gators aren’t close to the program that was dominating the college football landscape back then. But with Jon Sumrall, who just led Tulane to a historic College Football Playoff appearance, now in the fold, Spikes foresees eventual improvement.
“I just think he’s a breath of fresh air for the University of Florida,” Spikes said on Thursday’s “SEC This Morning” on SiriusXM College Sports. “You know, Rome wasn’t built overnight, so it’s going to take him a while. But I think he just got what it takes.”
The fact that Sumrall, like Spikes, was a former linebacker serves as a natural point of connection between the two men.
“If you’ve been around him and you’ve spent some time with him, you look in his eyes, he’s a linebacker, man. You know what I’m saying? I’ll get in the trenches with him and go to war any day,” Spikes said.
As for how the current Florida team compares to the ones Spikes played with, he noted that while it was tough to make a like-for-like comparison due to the depth “at each position” back then, there’s still plenty to like.
“There’s no question we have talent. The real question for me is the leadership, the discipline, the little things, getting guys where they’re supposed to be, getting guys on the field, guys dialed in. So I think that’s the question,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
