Jon Sumrall Admits Gators Haven't Adjusted to Major Offensive Loss

The Florida Gators offensive struggles have been difficult to ignore over the past several weeks, and head coach Jon Sumrall believes he hasn’t done enough to adjust to one significant change.

Following Florida's 23-7 loss to Oklahoma, Sumrall acknowledged that the offense has struggled to find consistency without wide receiver Vernell Brown III, who has been dealing with an injury.

Speaking Monday ahead of Florida's matchup with Kentucky, Sumrall admitted that the coaching staff hasn't done a good enough job adapting to Brown's absence.

Brown's absence has forced Florida to find other ways to generate production offensively. While Sumrall praised Bailey Stockton for stepping up at times, he acknowledged that the staff needs to do a better job identifying the next players capable of filling those roles.

"When you put a lot in for maybe certain guys and things maybe, to some degree, are built for them package-wise,” Sumrall said. “We may haven't done a good enough job of finding who's next.”

Florida's loss to Oklahoma was another frustrating performance, and they’ve scored just 15 points over their last two games. Sumrall made it clear that the coaching staff shares responsibility for the team's shortcomings.

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"Every area of our program has to grow. So coaches, players, all of us are in this together,” Sumrall said.

Sumrall also discussed the importance of remaining involved in every aspect of the program, including the offense. Although he isn't the primary play-caller, he regularly meets with his coordinators and looks for ways to help the team improve.

He acknowledged that Florida's offensive coaches have been frustrated with the recent results but believes the group still has the ability to turn things around.

"I've told them, like, 'Hey, guys, the same people that are in here that scored 50-some points against Ole Miss, they're still here,'" Sumrall said.

With Brown out, teams have been able to focus on running back Jadan Baugh. He rushed for at least 135 yards in each of the Gators' first four games, which all included Brown, but he's only averaging 47.2 yards per game in the last five. Florida's competition has ramped up several notches, but so has the focus on Baugh.

Florida will have another opportunity to get its offense back on track Saturday when it travels to face Kentucky. The Gators enter the matchup at 5-4 and need to find answers quickly as they approach the final stretch of the regular season.

For Sumrall, that starts with finding better ways to utilize the players available rather than allowing one absence to continue affecting the entire offense.

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