Florida Gators Commits React to Jon Sumrall's Hiring

Florida hired Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall on Sunday with plenty of Gators commits giving their reactions.

Jon Sumrall was named the next head coach of the Florida Gators on Sunday. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

With former Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall now officially announced as the new coach of the Florida Gators, retaining Florida’s 13th ranked recruiting class becomes a top priority entering his first offseason with the program and just under two months away from national signing day.

The 19-player Gators class has remained patient despite the uncertainty at the helm for Florida, with no decommits since the firing of head coach Billy Napier. Now aware of who will take over for the Gators, many from the class have shared confidence in their pledge after the announcement.

“Great guy, I’m ready to work,” four star wide receiver Marquez Daniel told Florida Gators on SI after the hiring.

The composite top 50 receiver notably visited Sumrall and Tulane this month, while he was back in the Swamp for Florida’s season finale against rival FSU.

Gators recruits took to X to support the new hire as well.

“Welcome home my dawg, lets do this,” five-star edge rusher JaReylan McCoy posted.

Four-star edge rusher KJ Ford tweeted a Gators emoji after the news broke. Notability, the Texas native Ford had taken multiple visits since the firing of Napier, even receiving multiple crystal balls to flip to Texas A&M in the past few weeks.

🐊

— Kevin “KJ” Ford Jr 🛸 (@KJ4ord) November 30, 2025

On top of Florida recruits, Tulane’s top commit, four-star offensive lineman Tylan George, was announced to have flipped to the Gators just after Sumrall was announced, yet he later said the report was false. Regardless, his name is one to watch along with other Tulane commits who may want to follow the Green Wave coach.

While Sumrall and Florida will have to work hard to keep the talented class together, the new Gators coach already inherits a better class than he has ever had as a head coach. With a career best 64th ranked class at Tulane, Florida brings much more opportunity for talent, as well as far better resources.

“At this level, the challenge is that you have limited resources from a rev share and NIL component,” Sumrall told Adrian Wojnarowski in an interview while at Tulane. “We still start with the grassroots of high school recruiting to build a roster… I can’t just go out and build a roster from the portal because those guys cost dollars that I don’t have.”

A group of commits—notably four-star quarterback Will Griffin, four-star receiver Justin Williams and four-star linebacker Malik Morris— revealed plans to remain committed to Florida shortly after Napier's firing on Oct. 19.

"Just getting everybody together, locking in. Everybody knows the plan. We're staying Gators," Williams told Florida Gators on SI on Nov. 13.

With early signing day just around the corner, starting Dec. 3, Sumrall and Florida will need to put in a strong effort to continue to recruit the Gators class already committed.

With good feedback early from the hire, there is still a sense that some could decommit in the near future, yet nothing is guaranteed in the world of college football.