Predicting Florida's Outside Linebacker Rotation After 2026 Spring Camp

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators concluded its first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall with its annual spring game, which gave fans its first true glimpse of the program for the 2026 season.

Camp also gave Sumrall his first look at his first roster as he looks to build competitive depth and establish starters at multiple positions. Sumrall added that he would spend the first few days of the post-spring offseason talking with the entire roster about where they stand individually on the depth chart going into the summer.

We previously broke down Florida's offense, comprised of the quarterback room, running back rotation, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive line. After beginning the defensive predictions with the defensive line, we continue up front with the outside linebackers/edge rushers.

Overview

Sumrall's successful retention of sophomore outside linebacker/edge rusher Jayden Woods despite his entry into the portal may have been his most impressive recruiting win to date. It also gave the Gators a headlining player on defense.

After a freshman campaign in which he recorded 28 tackles, five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, Woods returns to Gainesville for his sophomore season and is poised for a big campaign as Florida's top returning pass-rusher. He is also tasked with leading an outside linebacker/edge rusher room under new position coach Bam Hardmon, while looking to prove that Florida's re-recruitment efforts were worth it.

"Some people look at it like you've got to prove yourself, but I feel like I kind of approach that way of saying 'I just got to show what I already am," he said. "So, just trying to show up and be the best I can every day... the biggest compliment you can pay me is that I show up the same every day. That's all I try and do, I try to be consistent and just show up the same to work every day."

Jayden Woods may be Florida's top defensive player this season. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Hardmon, meanwhile, has expressed appreciation for the way Woods has handled the coaching change while embracing Hardmon's coaching.

"He’s a junkie for football. He does all the right things to be honest with you, not only that but he has athletic ability, which helps in my case, and the thing I appreciate about him as well is he’s coachable," Hardmon said. "We talk about different techniques and different ways to approach something that we’re trying to get accomplished and he embraces it and tries it and so as a coach you can do nothing but appreciate those type of things, when a guy is willing to be coached and wants to be coached hard and also willing to try."

Also in the room is veteran Kofi Asare, true freshman KJ Ford and walk-ons Erich Seager, Titus Bullard and Charles Emanuel III.

Asare is in his second season with the program after transferring from UMass after recording 19 tackles and a sack as a reserve/rotational piece a year ago.

"He brings a lot of length at the position," Hardmon said. "He's a guy that has a nice motor. He's experienced in the standpoint of he's going to his last year. So, we're hoping to get some plays out of him as well. And I think he's put himself in a position to be productive as well."

Ford, meanwhile, arrived at Florida as one of the top signees in the 2026 recruiting class as a consensus four-star prospect and the No. 17 edge rusher in the class (Rivals). Despite his youth, Hardmon said that Ford was "coming along really well" during camp.

"He still has those freshman mistakes, if you see the big picture, he’s still a high school student right now," Hardmon said. "He came in early, so he’s still having some of those brain farts a little bit, but he’s coming along really well, he’s eager to learn, he has a really good attitude, he’s coachable. So, really impressed with how he’s coming along so far, and it will only put him farther along with these extra reps he’s able to gain in the springtime, so that in the fall, it should put him in position to have a really good role.”

Outlook

Woods will be the starter and will be in a position to be the Gators' sack leader while solidifying himself as one of the nation's top pass-rushers. The only question moving forward is if Asare or Ford will be the first one on the field after him.

Asare's length at 6-foot-5 and relative experience are strengths, but Ford's ceiling, despite being a true freshman, makes him hard to ignore. If he compounds his developmental spring camp with a breakout fall camp, Ford could easily be the next in line behind Woods. Hardmon expects as much from Ford.

"The biggest thing for high school guys when they enroll early is how is that transition piece, how does it work for him?" Hardmond said. "I think he’s been going about it the right way from the standpoint of, he’s able to learn the playbook, because that’s the first thing you’ve obviously got to know what to do, and then I think his skillset allows him to do it as well.

"... He still has some room to grow, don’t get me wrong, but we’re trying to put him in a position to where he can have a role and he’s approaching it the right way from a standpoint of his work ethic.”

KJ Ford was one of Florida's top recruits in the 2027 signing class. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

While Asare and Ford battle to be Woods' immediate backup, Woods will look to continue developing his holistic game. Hardmon previously praised Woods' ability to drop back in coverage if needed, and it is a trait that will be necessary for defensive coordinator Brad White's scheme.

“That’s big just adding value, the more guys we have that can do multiple things it adds from a defensive scheme, Coach White I’m sure appreciates that because he has that flexibility to make different calls," Hardmon said. "... now we’re able to bring a backer off the edge who can rush, because Jayden is able to drop and it’s not a mismatch to where we’re in a liability in a sense within our defense scheme."

A wildcard in the room, even if he is not listed at the position, is field end Emmanuel Oyebadejo, whose 6-foot-6 and 303-pound frame allows him to be flexible across the line of scrimmage. He has already cross-trained at the three-tech tackle position and at field end under position coach Gerald Chatman, but putting him in a position to play at the edge in certain formations may not be out of the ordinary, albeit where he does not drop back in pass coverage.

Depth Chart Prediction

Starter: Jayden Woods (So.)
Backups: Kofi Asare (R-Sr.), KJ Ford (Fr.)
Reserves: Erich Seager (R-Jr.)*, Titus Bullard (R-So.)*, Charles Emanuel III (R-So.)*

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