Jon Sumrall on Gators' OL Improvement: 'We're Gonna Find Out Real Soon'

Sumrall has not shied away from the fact that the offensive line was his most concerning position group. Just days away from the season opener, he feels much better about the unit.

Florida's offensive line has plenty of question marks heading into the 2026 season. | Courtesy of UAA Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If you were to ask Jon Sumrall which position group on the Florida Gators he was most concerned about when he arrived on campus, it would be the offensive line. There was no doubt about that.

What there was doubt about was if the group — puzzle pieced together by a large group of inexperienced returners, under-the-radar transfers and only one full-time starter — would improve enough to be ready for the 2026 season.

"I did not shy away from -- when we got here, I felt that the offensive line was an area that needed massive improvement," Sumrall said during Wednesday's SEC Teleconference.

Thankfully, he has Phil Trautwein to coach the group and Rusty Whitt to get them into shape. And they did.

Phil Trautwein takes over Florida's offensive line 18 years since he last played for the Gators. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

After working with multiple groupings to figure out a starting five, Sumrall named the starting group of left tackle Bryce Lovett, left guard Knijeah Harris, center Harrison Moore, right guard TJ Shanahan Jr. and right tackle Emeka Ugorji last week.

Lovett, in particular, was the big surprise after struggling at tackle last season. Notable body changes have been key to his improvement. Ugorji is someone who, despite struggles last season as a true freshman at Stanford, Trautwein had high hopes for.

Harris, Moore and Shanahan Jr. were not surprises. Harris is the lone full-time starter returning from last year's team, while Moore and Shanahan Jr. come with starting experience and familiarity with the coaching staff after Moore played under offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner at Georgia Tech and Shanahan Jr. played under Trautwein at Penn State.

Trautwein, a former UF offensive lineman himself, has been the turning point for their improvement.

"Phil is really detailed. He's a great teacher. He's very consistent," Sumrall said. "Phil's a guy who doesn't get too high or too low, he shows up the same way every day. Like I said, consistency is a key there. And I think just finding ways to help guys maximize who they are. Different guys receive things in different ways from a coaching standpoint, and so, how we reach each player is a little bit unique.

"But he's very thorough with his preparation for his guys and I think he's done a great job."

Faulkner admitted this week that he has seen notable improvement, too , from the group. However, he still has some concern about the depth. At this time, he says Florida has "seven or eight" guys who they are comfortable playing now. He wants to get to at least 10.

"I do think that we've improved tremendously. We're not where we want to be yet as a whole," he said. "We're still continuing to find depth, like the right depth. You know, if this guy's got to come out, which guy's gonna go in? We're gonna have some moving parts as far as that goes, but that's a definite work in progress."

The offseason improvement has been noted and has put the Gators in a much better spot up front than anticipated. The only question is will it be enough to handle the nine-game SEC slate?

"I think we've made improvement," Sumrall said. "Is it high enough for us to play the game at a level that we desire to? We're gonna find out real soon."

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