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Florida Gators 2026 Spring Camp Practice No. 4 Notebook

The Florida Gators commenced Week Two of its 2026 Spring Camp on Tuesday.
Cam Parker|
The Florida Gators began its second week of 2026 spring camp on Tuesday.
The Florida Gators began its second week of 2026 spring camp on Tuesday. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

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GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators on Tuesday commenced its second week of 2026 spring camp, with the media invited to cover a 40-minute portion of warmups and on-air individual drills.

Tuesday's practice also marked the second day in full pads for the team after starting that portion of camp during Saturday's closed practice.

"Day four, second day of pads, some good and some areas we got to get a lot better," head coach Jon Sumrall said. "Rolling a lot of different groupings in, whether it be with the O-line, receivers. You know, just trying to foundationally teach how we want to play the game and install what we're doing. Today was a little bit of a red zone day, a little bit of a third-down day at the end of practice. You guys, I think, were still out there for the tempo part of practice that we do.

"So all in all, some good. We got a long way to go. I mean, I'm glad it's March. because we have a lot of work to do to have any opportunity to be successful this year.

Florida Gators on SI's Cam Parker, Dylan Olive and Kyle Lander were in attendance. Here is a participation report, some practice notes and observations, and clips taken during the viewing period.

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 Dijon Johnson (knee - upgraded from doing rehab work in the indoor)
  • DB Javian Toombs (shoulder)

Rehab in indoor

  • WR Dallas Wilson (foot)
  • OL Daniel Pierre Louis (hip) *out for entirety of camp
  • OL Fletcher Westphal (wrist)
  • DL Kendall Guervil (knee) *out for entirety of camp
  • DL Joseph Mbatchou (calf - downgraded from being a full participant on Thursday)
  • DL Jalen Wiggins (hip) *out for entirety of camp
  • JACK Titus Bullard (hamstring)
  • LB Myles Graham (shoulder)
  • DB CJ Bronaugh (hip) *out for entirety of camp
  • DB CJ Hester (undisclosed - downgraded from being a full participant on Thursday)

Absent from practice

  • OL Chancellor Campbell (knee) *out for entirety of camp

Updates on Two Injured Defenders

Still recovering from last season's season-ending knee injury, corner Dijon Johnson was observed working with the corners in a non-contact capacity. He was previously seen doing rehab work in the indoor in a "return to play" designation from Sumrall.

After practice, Johnson told the media he was "day-by-day" nearly six months removed from surgery.

“I’m still starting to get my feet wet a little bit, so I don’t want to say like, I’m like, back to where I want to be because I’m always looking for improvement, looking for how to be the best I can be on the field," he said. "It’s going to be a journey but it will be a special one.”

Meanwhile, defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou was seen working in the weight room with a boot on his left foot. He was last seen limping off the field during the viewing period on Thursday. Sumrall said Mbatchou is dealing with a calf strain but should be full-go when the team returns to practice in two weeks after spring break.

"It’s not anything serious, honestly," Sumrall said. "It’s serious because we’re gonna withhold him, we’ve withheld for a couple of days. He should be 100% full-go right after spring break. If we were in a game week right now, it would be a fight through type deal I feel like."

Quarterback Battle Takes Next Step

Florida's quarterback battle, focused on Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo and redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr., took its next step on Saturday and on Tuesday with two practices in full pads. Sumrall said Philo had a good day on Saturday with good timing and anticipation, while delivering catchable balls.

Jones Jr., meanwhile, appeared to be the standout of the group in drills during Tuesday's viewing period with an accurate deep ball to Vernell Brown III on a corner route, while Philo had multiple under-throws.

Sumrall previously detailed the position battle, which also includes redshirt junior Aidan Warner, true freshman Will Griffin and walk-on Aaron Williams, saying that there is no timeline for a decision and that it will ultimately be up to the players based on how they choose to perform.

"I think all of them are communicating well, they're trying to lead, they're trying to be assertive," Sumrall added on Tuesday. "I feel like timing and things matter on offense, in regards to just motions and shifts and when we're snapping the football, then you have to add in where you're going with the football, where your eyes have to be based on what the defense is doing. I think all the guys are doing some really good things. Long way to go.”

Physicality at the Forefront, Scuffle During Defensive Drills

Since putting on full pads, Florida's coaching staff has made it a goal to determine how physical the team is. Sumrall praised the team's efforts from Saturday but emphasized that there was still much improvement to be made after Tuesday.

"I thought Saturday was solid.
I thought today was inconsistent," he said. "I thought at the end, it turned up a little bit. You know, inevitably, we ended practicing in the red zone period --
it's inevitable when the ball gets to the red zone, everybody's a little more physical. Defensively you want to box them out and not let them in, and offensively, you see the paint, you wanna go score.

"But I think we have a long way to go in every area, physicality being one of them. Do I see flashes of us being physical? Yes. Is it down-in down-out to the standard we're gonna have to play out to be competitive and win this league? No, not yet."

Sumrall, involved in nearly every drill, was seen working with the linebackers, edge rushers and defensive backs as the units rotated drills led by corners coach Brandon Harris, linebackers coach Greg Gasparato and edge rushers coach Bam Hardmon, during which a minor scuffle broke out between two players and was quickly broken up.

Sumrall added after practice that consistency with physicality is one of the biggest things he wants to see improve.

"We're a long way away from being a team that doesn't beat ourselves," he said. "I've watched practice four times now and we're just, we're green. You know, it's 50-something new players and not a ton of returning starters... So it's just a very young, unproven team in so many areas.

"So I think consistency would probably be my biggest -- in every part of your game. Lining up right, doing the right thing, playing with physicality, executing your job at a high level, and being consistent in that would probably be where I feel like we're not anywhere near where I'm comfortable."

Two Special Guests at Practice

Florida also played host to two special guests at practice on Tuesday with former head coach Steve Spurrier and former defensive coordinator Bob Stoops in attendance. Spurrier, a consistent face around Gainesville since his retirement from coaching in 2015, addressed the team after practice about "urgency towards winning and what that looks like," Sumrall said.

Meanwhile, Stoops, Spurrier's defensive coordinator at Florida from 1996-98, was in attendance after an invite from Sumrall, who knows Stoops from coaching under his brother, Mark, at Kentucky. After his brief stint at Florida, Stoops went on to be one of Oklahoma's most successful coaches, winning 10 Big 12 titles, one BCS National Championship and 191 total games in an 18-year stint with one game as the interim in 2021.

"Maybe more cool for me as a coach than even our players. Some of them probably don't recognize how neat it is to have a combo like Coach Spurrier and Coach Stoops here," Sumrall said. "I think Coach Spurrier won six or seven conference championships here, I believe, right? 
And I think Bob won nine or ten in the Big 12. So, pretty impressive resumes by both those guys. But we're very privileged to attract people like that here that have coached here."

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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