Gators Make Decision on Suspended DL Jeramiah McCloud

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have made a decision on suspended defensive lineman Jeramiah McCloud's future with the program. McCloud, suspended for Saturday's loss to Oklahoma for "conduct detrimental to the team," returned to the program on Monday, head coach Jon Sumrall confirmed.

Sumrall and McCloud met on Sunday to discuss what his future for this season would look like, ultimately allowing the true sophomore to return to the program.

"He's with us and will be a full participant this week, and I got a lot of confidence that he'll understand what that accountability component looks like," Sumrall said. "He was great with me yesterday and had a good practice today and have nothing but high hopes for how he handles this moving forward.”

McCloud, a key contributor on defense, was suspended on Tuesday last week before being included on Wednesday's availability report. While Sumrall did not divulge specifics on his suspension, he did explain after Saturday's loss that there were a "couple things that occurred" where McCloud fell short of the team's standards.

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"Made sure he understood that our desire was for him to return, but his return was gonna be on my terms, not his terms, and the program's terms, and his teammates' terms, and our leadership council's terms," Sumrall said. "No one individual is bigger in the program. That includes myself or anybody in the building. And so, his conduct, maybe the front of the last week was not becoming of what it takes to be a part of this team. He owned it and he was back with us today."

To say McCloud's absence was felt is an understatement. The Gators struggled to get to Sooners quarterback John Mateer with only one sack, as Mateer threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. Third downs were also key, with the Sooners converting 10, including six on a near-13-minute drive to seal the win between the third and fourth quarters.

Moving forward, Florida will need McCloud as the Gators hope to turn a corner after four losses in its last five games. The Gators travel to AP No. 13 Kentucky on Saturday before playing Vanderbilt (Nov. 21) and Florida State (Nov. 27), still one win away from bowl eligibility.

"Really just hold him accountable on an everyday basis," linebacker Myles Graham said. "Don't let him get away with the little stuff that leads to bigger stuff. We got to do a better job of leading him in the right direction and making sure he doesn't go off on the wrong path."

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