Jon Sumrall explains how he wants to emphasize the importance of rivalries at Florida
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Jon Sumrall is trying to give Florida football a fresh start in 2026, as he takes over a proud program that’s been fledgling in recent years.
But while Sumrall tries to instill a lot of new things in Gainesville, he doesn’t want to let go of some old things, like the SEC rivalries that the Gators have build up over the past several decades. That part of the UF football equation can be preserved, as Sumrall explained to none other than college football analyst David Pollack, who just happens to be a former All-American at Georgia.
Pollack was a star linebacker for the Bulldogs between 2001-04, so he was very much a part of one of the fierce rivalries that Sumrall is now trying to hold onto a generation or so later, even as the current college football world threatens those rivalries. Pollack, a 2-time All-American and 2-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year in Athens, used to do battle with Florida during those years at Georgia.
On Wednesday, during his See Ball Get Ball podcast, Pollack pointed this question at Sumrall: How do college football teams preserve rivalries in a transfer portal world?
“I think probably one of the biggest things you have to do is, we have this transfer portal culture of transient players, where we have a lot of players on this team who don’t understand what Florida-Florida State and Florida-Georgia is all about,” Jon Sumrall said. “You have to help them understand the backstory of what the rivalry is and how it came about, and what it means to the fan base.
“Man, those games mean something to the fan base, and they need to mean something to the players. I can promise you this, they’re going to mean something to the coaches.”
Those Florida football rivalries will take flight starting this fall under Sumrall, and passionate Gators fans won’t have to worry about Sumrall’s emphasis on those rivalry games.
While Sumrall tries to rebuild Florida’s football program, the Florida basketball program is a powerhouse that’s trying to repeat as national champions. Here are Kalshi’s current odds to win the SEC Tournament, with those red-hot Gators right at the top of the list:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
