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Florida Gators 2026 Spring Camp Practice No. 1 Notebook

The Florida Gators opened its first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall on Tuesday.
Cam Parker|
The Florida Gators opened its first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall on Tuesday.
The Florida Gators opened its first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall on Tuesday. | Cam Parker / Florida Gators on SI

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GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators on Tuesday opened 2026 spring camp, with the media invited to cover a 40-minute portion of warmups and on-air individual drills. The team was not in pads and did not do drills against each other during the media viewing period.

"It's freaking awesome. I love it," head coach Jon Sumrall said of opening his first camp with the Gators. "Like, dude, I had a hard time sleeping last night. I woke up at like 3 o'clock, 3:30 and 4 o'clock, I guess I'll just get up. I love football from the jump. I don't care if we're practicing University of Florida or wherever, I was excited to be at football practice because I love football."

Florida Gators on SI's Cam Parker and Dylan Olive were in attendance. Here are some observations and a participation report.

Participation Report

Florida Gators on SI previously detailed the Gators' first spring injury report, which can be read here.

Orange non-contact jersey, participated in drills

  • DL Kamran James (shoulder)
  • DB Javian Toombs (shoulder)

Rehab in indoor

  • OL Fletcher Westphal (wrist)
  • DL Kendall Guervil (knee) *out for entirety of camp
  • JACK Titus Bullard (hamstring)
  • LB Myles Graham (shoulder)

Absent from practice

  • WR Dallas Wilson (foot)
  • OL Chancellor Campbell (knee) *out for entirety of camp
  • OL Daniel Pierre Louis (hip) *out for entirety of camp
  • DL Jalen Wiggins (hip) *out for entirety of camp
  • DB CJ Bronaugh (hip) *out for entirety of camp
  • DB Dijon Johnson (knee)

Practice Notes

Sumrall Jumps Right In

Florida opened its practice with special teams drills, working on punt coverage with almost the entire team (minus quarterbacks, offensive line and interior defensive line). Led by special teams coach Johnathan Galante, the other position coaches and Sumrall participated in the drill.

"I got a degree in finance. If I wanted to sit behind a desk and just whisper to people, I’d go work at a bank," Sumrall said of his involvement in drills. "I like coaching. I love coaching. There's a lot of things about my job that I love. There's some of them that I tolerate. The coaching part I love. I love being on the grass."

Sumrall is in the grey long sleeve shirt and black pants in the below video.

QB Battle Commences

In conjunction with the opening of camp, Florida also officially opened its quarterback battle between transfer Aaron Philo and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. Sumrall said that there is no timetable to name a starter and that the players make the decision "by how they practice."

"I thought there was some good out there," Sumrall said. "There's some things, maybe timing. They got to be on time better a couple throws. I thought the command was good at the line of scrimmage. I thought their confidence was good. I thought you could tell that they knew what they were doing. They're operating at a high level."

Philo, Jones Jr., Aidan Warner, Will Griffin and walk-on Aaron Williams were seen working with the running backs, tight ends and receivers, throwing short-yardage routes, dump-offs, medium-level out routes and outside over-the-shoulder catches with the units. The group also worked on corner routes with the tight ends. All routes were on air.

Size on size

As media entered the field for the viewing period, three players immediately stood out due to their size: defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo, defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou and tight end Heze Kent.

Oyebadejo, one of the top defensive linemen in this year's portal class, received early praise from the staff during the offseason and is projected to be an immediate impact player at the field end position. The Jacksonville State transfer stands at 6 feet 6 inches and weighs 303 pounds.

Meanwhile, Mbatchou is one of the headlining returning players on defense due to his expected growing role in 2026. A minor part of the rotation in 2025, Mbatchou is an early favorite to start at nose tackle after gaining 23 pounds (323 pounds) in the offseason, the most on the team.

"The window of opportunity closes so fast at our level on these guys, and he gets it," strength and conditioning coordinator Rusty Whitt said. "So I mean, 20 pounds is a big jump, and we have to refine that as far as body composition goes. But yes, you gotta be a big boy to play at that level with that position. Because you're going to have a center guard double team, 700 pounds of mass pushing against you, 600 pounds of mass. So, he gets it."

Kent, however, is making headlines for his offensive lineman-esque size as a tight end. The true freshman is the heaviest skill player on the team at 313 pounds, while standing at 6 feet 6 inches. While many outsiders project a position change to offensive line, Florida's staff has made it clear that he is here to play tight end while admitting they are working with him on cutting weight.

"The thing about Heze, he moves better than you think he would at that weight," Sumrall said. "He's got unbelievably natural ball skills. We got to get him down so he can play a high level all the time. But I'm excited about what that could look like for him. He's doing some good things.

Other Practice Clips

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Cam Parker
CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a reporter covering the Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers and Clemson Tigers with a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester, and dog, Rufus.

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