Why Brad White Chose to Become Gators DC

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- It took Brad White all but 30 seconds to accept the defensive coordinator position with the Florida Gators when Jon Sumrall called to offer the job. It would have taken five seconds, but before he could formally accept it, he had to call his other boss.

"So, I called my wife, said we had this opportunity. And she said, 'You said, Yes, right?' So that was the only thing that took that long," White said.

White arrives at Florida after eight seasons at Kentucky, including the last seven as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. Three of those seasons from 2019-21 saw White coach with Sumrall, who was the inside linebackers coach for two seasons before becoming the defensive coordinator in 2021.

Defensive coordinator Brad White spent eight seasons at Kentucky under former Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That season would be Sumrall's last as an assistant as he became the head coach at Troy in 2022, head coach at Tulane in 2024 and head coach at Florida this past winter. Those three seasons together, as well as Sumrall's instant success as a head coach, made the choice to join his staff at Florida the obvious choice for White.

"Working with Coach, you understand what he's about. You understand his mentality," White said. "He's going to do things the right way - the way he's going to treat his staff, the way he's going to treat the players, the accountability within the program is going to be right. At the end of the day, winners win. He's been a head coach for four years. He's been to four conference championships - the resumé speaks for itself."

Some of White's best years with the Wildcats came while coaching with Sumrall.

Leading Kentucky to four top-25 defenses in his time, two of those came with Sumrall (2019, 2021). From 2018-24, the Wildcats had a top 45 defense in the FBS. Florida, meanwhile, has not touched the top 50 since 2021, ranking mostly in the 70s throughout the last four years, including a No. 97 ranking in 2022, and has not had top 10 defense since 2019.

White specifically pointed to the culture Sumrall built in the linebackers' room as a large reason for their defensive success, calling the 2019-21 group "the standard" because of their knowledge, execution, the way they approach life off the field, etc.

It also further cemented his decision to join Sumrall, this time with Sumrall as a head coach.

"The linebacker culture that he had there was gonna be no question that those dudes were gonna show up on game day and play at a really, really high level," White said. "... So knowing that he'd have that influence throughout the entire team, just like he had in his room through the defense, and to be able to sort of have that offense, defense, special teams. It's no secret why his teams win."

A Brad White Defense

Schematically, White brings a 3-4 defense with "a lot of 4-3 sort of principles," where they could use four down linemen or drop an athletic edge rusher back in coverage. He will adjust the scheme to the strengths of his players rather than force bad-fit players into a specific scheme. Nonetheless, there is one trait that is non-negotiable in his defense.

"You can’t play in this defense if you got a shot to inflict some damage and you don’t take it," he said. "We are going to play with our pads."

The Gator Standard 🐊@CoachWhiteFB | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/0kmQ66P10L
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) February 4, 2026

With White comes some Kentucky carry-overs. Namely, Florida named former Kentucky assistant Chris Collins, who worked under both White and Sumrall, as the safeties coach while promoting quality control coach Dae'one Wilkins, who also worked under White at Kentucky before joining Florida in 2024, to coach the nickel-corners.

Collins specifically pointed to White's aforementioned adaptability with both players and assistant coaches as one of his biggest strengths. For coaches, this may include changing verbiage to fit what his staff may know rather than make them learn something new. For players, it is about creatively exploiting their strengths early.

"Especially for young players, like, he identifies what they do well, and then he elevates that," Collins explained. "And so he maybe builds a package around him, or he maybe puts them in those positions to build confidence, and then all of a sudden we're continuing to work on those things they don't do great, right, and we're elevating those and so they're not necessarily weaknesses anymore."

A prime example of this, Collins said, came in 2023 with then-linebacker Trevin Wallace and defensive lineman Deond Walker, ironically against the Gators.

Collins explained that under White and Sumrall, Wallace did not necessarily "understand how to play linebacker," but was a "natural finder of the football." Walker, meanwhile, was light on his feet. As a result, White put in packages for Walker to drop back in coverage.

The result? Walker hitting tight end Arlis Boardingham, causing a Graham Mertz pass to be intercepted by Wallace early in Kentucky's blowout win over Florida.

"It makes them hungry to continue to do the things that they haven't necessarily mastered or gotten close to, making them at least neutral," Collins said. "I think that's been one of his superpowers, for lack of a better word, that ability to continue to adapt and not get stuck in like, ‘Okay, this is who we are. This the only way.'”

How are we not talking about this enough?

DEONE WALKER, ALL 6'6" AND 350LBS OF HIM, DROPPED BACK INTO COVERAGE ON A 3RD DOWN WITH A 3-POINT LEAD AND HE CAUSED AN INTERCEPTION!!!

Brad White is a wizard! pic.twitter.com/iuMYGh9iB5
— WT - Mo D Enthusiast (@WildcatsTongue) October 1, 2023

Year One

Just as big as Sumrall's task of turning a program in the midst of its worst stretch of the modern era with four losing seasons in the last five years, White is tasked with turning around a defense in the midst of its worst stretch in the history of Gators football.

That is also not to say Florida does not have talent. Junior linebacker Myles Graham, sophomore edge rusher Jayden Woods and senior safety Bryce Thornton headline the starting talent that returns, while Kentucky transfer safety Cam Dooley and Jacksonville State transfer defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo are two instant-impact newcomers.

With spring camp less than a month away, White's focus right now is determining which have the right mentality to play on his defense. A player may not be the best at offseason drills, but if they have the right mentality, they can overcome those deficiencies when the pads are put on, White explained.

"You want to over recruit them. You want to put that guy that he's super tall and long and fluid. Put him in the gate and he won't let (his backup) get in the game because it's a mentality," he explained. "So I'm looking for guys that have that mentality. I know we're going to have plenty of talent at Florida, but the greatest talent on defense is that dude that's just got that that dog him.”

White also has long-term goals for the program. Echoing Sumrall's consistent "win now" message, White explained that how the Gators win is just as important. A family-driven focus while learning valuable life lessons will also be at the forefront.

"People aren’t going to hate their life walking in the building and then they walk out and they’re like ‘yeah I got a ring, but I didn’t get anything else out of it’. They are going to walk out with a ring and be like ‘that was the best four years of my life’, until I get married and until I have a kid and hold that child, then that becomes the best thing," he said. "They’re going to enjoy their time with their teammates, with their coaches in this building, enjoy the process, learn how to love grinding.

"Some guys are still learning how to love to grind. We’re just grinding. Once you learn to embrace it, that’s when you take off.”

A Brad White Defense

Year One

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