Jon Sumrall couldn't sleep ahead of first spring ball practice at University of Florida

Jon Sumrall first spring ball practice at UF

New Gators head football coach Jon Sumrall is already experiencing sleepless nights on the job at the University of Florida.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - New Gators head football coach Jon Sumrall is already experiencing sleepless nights on the job at the University of Florida.

"I had a hard time sleeping last night," Sumrall said. "I woke up at like 3 o'clock, 3:30 and 4 o'clock, I guess I'll just get up."

However, it is not any opposing SEC powerhouses that are keeping the 43-year-old up. It was his excitement for Day 1 of spring ball — his first practice leading the Gators. 

"It's freaking awesome," Sumrall said. "I love it."

He got up and led the Gators' practice starting at 8:30 on Tuesday morning. Sumrall says he feels that excitement for every practice — not just the first day in pads at a new school. 

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What they're saying:

"I don't care if we're practicing at the University of Florida or wherever, I was excited to be at football practice because I love football," Sumrall said. "That's why I'm a football coach. I didn't get into football coaching – I make pretty good money. I got into coaching making like $12,000 a year. I thought I was the richest guy in the world and I had a freaking blast every day. I just love football. I actually love football practice as much as the games because I took all the time. Practice days, those are my days. That's where I coach."

However, he is still pinching himself that he is in fact the head coach of the Florida Gators.

"I freaking love practice," Sumrall said. "And then getting to do at the University of Florida, I'm still on cloud nine a little bit the fact that I'm here. Every day that I come into the building and I put my thumbprint on the deal and it lets me open the door, I'm pretty fired up. So exciting day for me, exciting day for our team."

While Day 1 certainly brings excitement, Sumrall says there is much to improve throughout spring ball. 

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Dig deeper:

"A lot to learn from, you know, very basic," Sumrall said. "The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step is what I've been telling the team, that was step one of football. We got a long way to go. But I like a lot about what happened today, and we got to stack days."

He believes if they stack days like the practice they had on Tuesday, the Gators will be in good shape for the fall. 

"Everybody gets excited for day one," Sumrall said. "I've never seen anybody, like, not excited about the first day of practice. The trick is great football teams get excited about every day. And so, we got to sustain that type of energy, enthusiasm about what we're doing."

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What's next:

The Gators have 15 practices remaining in the spring before the annual Orange and Blue spring game on April 11, 2026.