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- [00:00]
A
It's almost football time in Gainesville. Year number one of the John Sumrall era at Florida, just around the corner, helping us break it all down, talk all things Florida fall camp. He's boots on the ground down there in Gainesville. Of course, I'm talking one of the best in the business. One of my good friends and friend of the show, Nick Marcinko, who covers Florida for Gator Country. Nick, appreciate you taking the time, my friend. Really excited to chat with you once again. And I'll admit I'm. I'm looking forward to. To our next outing at Mothers. I've been dreaming about that, I think, since I was there back in the spring.
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B
Yeah. Yeah. Next time you're in Gainesville, we'll. We'll get a group together and, and head there that way.
- [00:38]
A
Yeah, we got to make it happen, man. Again, appreciate you taking the time, Nick. Obviously, you are there. Boots on the ground. Like I said at Florida, the John Sumrall era is off and running. And officially we'll get going a few weeks when toad meets leather. I do want to ask you this, though, as we sit just, what, over two and a half weeks or so from kickoff? How much different have things truly been under John Sumrall? Because I, I know that talking to Florida folks, they'll tell you he's won the off season, he's won the press conferences. We all saw that at media days, the I want to throw this freaking podium at you thing. And like, I, I think we've talked about how he's a great fit for the Gators, just personality wise. But you've seen him now, actually, coach. You saw him in the spring, certainly, but you're seeing him now coaching practice on the field. How much different of a feeling does this fall camp happen does Florida Gators football have under John Sumrall?
- [01:29]
B
Yeah, I mean, I. The, you know, the feel is definitely different. You know, I've been telling people that Summerall has kind of sent a jolt of just energy and transparency through this program that, quite frankly, has been, you know, lacking in the last few years. And so. And I do want to point out that it feels like every time there's a coaching change, and this is not a Florida issue, but. Or really an issue in general, but every coaching change, of course, there's going to be a different level of optimism. And so, you know, I think. I think that you're getting a level of optimism. But for me, the key difference is the off season. And I don't just mean the energy and the optimism and the transparency, I mean, what he was able to accomplish in the off season, and I think that's the key difference. I mean, you look at his coaching staff that he built. He got Buster Faulkner, who widely regarded as one of the best offensive coordinators in the country. You get Brad White, who's been, you know, an SEC defensive coordinator at a high level. And so I think some of these moves you see in the off season that he made, it's like, okay, you know, he's, he's serious. This isn't, this isn't a joke. He wants to win, and he wants to win early. And so I think that is what's creating the level of excitement and the optimism that's maybe different from the last few seasons.
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A
Nick, let's jump right to it. I know the big question. I'm sure you get on a daily basis from your followers or people follow you guys content, which you do a great job over it. Gator country is the quarterback battle. Aaron Philo, the Georgia Tech transfer who follows Buster Faulkner, Tramell Jones Jr. Obviously, the youngster who returns. There's a lot of hype and optimism and excitement around both. Obviously, it is a battle, an ongoing battle. John Summer, I've been mentioning, I thought it was interesting at SEC media days that just because a guy starts week one doesn't mean that he'll be the starter, let's say week three, week four, and, you know, even mentioned previous stops where they had played two quarterbacks. So you've been out there, you've seen these guys firsthand. I know we obviously still kind of have a long way to go. There'll be a couple of scrimmages, I'm sure, before week one. And heck, maybe it's a battle that even goes into week one. Your thoughts on both these guys and, you know, from what you've been able to gather from what you've seen her just overall thoughts on where we stand right now with the quarterback battle.
- [03:41]
B
Yeah. You know, one thing that stood out to me that Summer has, has said over and over and over again, and Bucktor Faulkner as well, is that they feel like they can win with both quarterbacks. And I feel like in the year 2026, that's pretty rare. I mean, you talk about, everyone talks about the transfer portal and nil, and the one thing that's changed in all of this is the, the depth that you're able to create, especially at a position like quarterback, where you got to pay up to get somebody decent. I mean, it's no joke. Miami's paying Mensa. I mean, you have to pay up, and that's the bottom line. So I think it's create. It's harder to create depth. So I think Florida has kind of a rare case where they do have two quarterback quarterbacks that they feel good about. Now, certainly there's question marks with both of them. You know, Tramel, you know, got to. Got to campus as a freshman and was limited from, you know, an ACL injury that he suffered in high school. So he was about 70% all the way leading up to camp. He ended up working his way up the depth chart, earning the backup quarterback role. But. But he's improved pretty drastically in the off season. I mean, you just look at him. The arm strength looks better. He looks more comfortable in the pocket. He's running, you know, over 20 miles an hour. I think 21. Over 21 miles an hour. I mean, the off season really did him wonders. And then, and then you have Philo, who obviously Faulkner, you know, was confident in over at Georgia Tech. And I had some people, you know, national sources in the industry were telling me, well, Georgia Tech wasn't happy to see Philo go. You know, they had him penciled in to be their starter in 2026. So I think that speaks volume, speaks volumes about who he is. And so I think you have a true, you know, people always ask, you know, is it a true competition or is this going to be Philo? Is this going to be Philo's job? And I do think it's a true competition. I mean, I was out at practice in spring camp and they were splitting, you know, the reps as close to 50, 50 as you can get. I mean, I wasn't out there counting, but, you know, I do think it's a true competition and Florida feels that they can win with both. So. And like I said, I think that's rare in college football.
- [05:42]
A
Nick, I know it's hard for you to predict or project or maybe even impossible because you're not in John Some Rawls and Buster Faulkner's head. But what, what would you give the likelihood? I think it's interesting. Florida obviously gets going with Florida Atlantic week one, Campbell week two. So you. You really kind of have a landing pad coming in the season of you're going to have two weeks to, you know, dust off the cobwebs, get out the kinks and figure out if you haven't by then who your guy is. What do you give the likelihood if you've been able to pick up anything or I guess if you just. If you had to guess, what do you give the likelihood this quarterback battle actually goes into the season?
- [06:19]
B
Tough question. And this is something that's talked about all the time, especially on my message boards. I think Philo. My prediction right now would be Philo takes the first snap of the first game. And the reason I say that is, you know, he's a year older than Tramell. He's played in more games than Tramell. He's. He's played against some good teams. He has more game experience, and from my understanding, he processes the offense a little bit of a faster rate and, you know, that's to be expected. Look, the guy's a year older. He's played college football longer, played in more games. But I do think if Tramel can. And we spoke to Tramell the other day, and he was fantastic. And he just said, look, I knew entering spring that I had to process the offense at a faster level and I had to execute better. And he feels he's done that. The staff feels he's done that. Which is part of the reason I believe this is a, you know, a true quarterback competition. Now, as far as using the first two weeks as like a, you know, tryout or whatever you want to call it, like I said, I'm not in Summerall's head or Faulkner's head, and so I can't really speak for themselves Now. I know they have said that they're not opposed to kind of running two quarterbacks out there week one and just seeing what they got. I mean, they compared it to Steve Spurrier, who's done that in the past. So, you know, I'm not, you know, I would say I would be against kind of using those first two games as a tryout for. For the simple reason of, like, you know, you had all off season to, to. To figure out who your quarterback is, who, you know, who's the stronger quarterback. I mean, we're talking thousands of passes in the off season. And so you're going to, you know, you're going to take a game or two games, you know, against Columbia and fau, who are obviously inferior teams. And, you know, each quarterback may get 20 passes. And to me, that's not going to tell you who's actually the better quarterback. I mean, not until you seriously get thrown into the fire and, and kind of get in the mix there. But so I'll say this, I think philosophy. My prediction would be Philo takes the first snap. But I believe the coaching staff when they say, hey, just because you start the first one doesn't mean you're going to start the last. And another thing, and this is one thing I wanted to bring up today, and I found it very interesting. Summerall told us that pretty much every year he'd been a coach, there's been a quarterback competition. So this isn't anything new for the head coach. I mean, he's been there, done that. So I think if you're Florida and you're in, you know, you're a part of Gator Nation, you just. You got to trust the fact that they're going to work through whatever issues they have at the quarterback position, and ultimately, the best one's going to rise.
- [08:53]
A
Nick, believe it or not, there are other storylines around Florida football outside of the quarterback position. That's hard to believe for some, but let's stick with the offensive side. Obviously, some really fun Portal additions were made, newcomers. I mean, there's a lot to like. It returns as well with obviously Jaden Ball at running back. Dallas Wilson, Vernell Brown. But talk to me about the new guys, because Eric Singleton, you pick up via the portal. Micah Maze, you pick up as well. He broke out in the spring game. I know a couple of offensive linemen. You, Gori Moore, Shanahan Jr. They come from Stanford, Georgia Tech, Penn State, respectively. Just talk about the portal guys and maybe some of the freshmen, some dudes have. There's. Has there been anyone that, in your opinion, has flashed on that side of the ball that's a newcomer?
- [09:37]
B
Yeah, certainly. You mentioned Americ Singleton Jr. And Micah Mays Jr. I mean, you know, I mean, Singleton, what. What's kind of intriguing about him is he's played under pretty much his entire offensive staff. I mean, Buster Faulkner, he was there for, you know, two seasons, went to Auburn. Didn't have a great year at Auburn, but, you know, their offense wasn't, you know, obviously not spectacular, so kind of hard to get production there. But, you know, Singleton's. He ran over 23 miles an hour in the off season. He's the fastest on Florida's team. One of the faster receivers in the country. I bet Mike Mays is a playmaker, downfield threat. And so, you know, I think Florida entering the off season, they felt really good about Vernon Brown coming back and Dallas Wilson coming back, but they really wanted to, you know, add a perimeter, explosive playmaker. And I think they got two of them in, Singleton and Maze, and I think they're going to fit in, you know, flawlessly. You mentioned the offensive line. You know, I've been Telling people this. I think, I think Florida doesn't, they don't take the backseat to anybody from a, from a playmaker standpoint. I mean, you know, there's your Ohio states and your Texas is of the world, but I think Florida could end up being right in the conversation, you know, in terms of their running back room and their wide receiver room. Now, the offensive line has some question marks. And part of the reason I'm, you know, I'm optimistic about, you know, this season, but, but part of the reason I'm kind of holding myself back is when you enter the season in on offense, your two question marks are quarterback and wide receiver. Your two question marks are quarterback and offensive line. It's hard, it's really hard to, you know, start talking about playoffs and, and things of that nature. And so there's a competition, you know, happening right now at offensive tackle. And like you said, everyone wants to talk about the quarterback competition. Quarterback competition, Walker, spring camp, summer, all goes. I want to know who's going to step up a tackle. And I think to a certain extent, Florida will be fine at quarterback. We just might not know who it is immediately or we don't right now, but to me, I'm more concerned about offensive tackle. You've got five guys. You mentioned a couple of them, a Mecca, Egan Boyer from Penn State, Kaden Jones returning last year. And so to me, that's the, that's the concern where I'm at right now with Florida is can they have somebody elevate at a tackle spot? They feel good about the interior offensive line. They feel like they're gonna be able to run the ball. Well. You mentioned, you mentioned Jaden Baugh, obviously one of the best in the country. They have weapons, but can they find guys to step up at those key positions such as quarterback and offensive tackle?
- [12:11]
A
Nick switching to the defensive side of the football, obviously. You mentioned Brad White takes over at D.C. a veteran D.C. from Kentucky who did a really good job with the Cats. I, I think the defense is interesting from the standpoint of the back end of the defense is a lot of new unproven guys via the portal. Talented but unproven. The front seven, a lot of returners, great linebacker room, a lot of talent in the front four in the defensive front, but a lot of guys that. It's like you start the sentence with if he can make the jump. If he can make the jump. Right. Talk to me about the defense. Where are you at with them? What have you seen from that group would have been the most intriguing Storylines. And what stood out to you at fall camp with Brad White's unit?
- [12:53]
B
Yeah, I think I, I think you nailed that. You know, Florida's got guys pretty much all around on defense that were highly touted out of, you know, high school. I mean, you look at their cornerback room, I think they have five guys that were top 100 or 120 players in their respective classes. I mean, they got loads of talent, but a lot of inexperience as well. And that's kind of the theme around the entire defense. You know, you mentioned the linebacker corps. The linebacker course, they're very sound. I mean, you got experience there. That room has about 2,000 snaps of experience. Miles Graham, Jaden Robinson, Aaron Charles. Those guys, those guys are going to be fine. To me, it's. Who can step up in the front seven or on the defensive line, I should say. I look at a guy like L.J. mcCrae, who was a former number one defensive line recruit in the country, Five Star, had offered from every, every single school in the country. Well, he didn't, you know, he didn't have the freshman season he would have liked. And then he came back last year, thought he had a good off season, got hurt, ended up only playing in four snaps. When he's back, you know, looks way more explosive than he has, than he has previously, you know, running faster, looks just more explosive off the line, quicker burst. He's a guy that I'm circling on this team where it's like, hey, if you can live up to that potential that you carried yourself, you know, here from, from high school, Florida's going to be, Florida's going to be good off the edge, because on the other side, you got Jaden woods, who, I don't know, you know, if you remember, but entered the portal. Texas wanted him badly. So, I mean, this guy's, you know, one of the more athletic, you know, edge Russians in the country. So. And I'll add this. I think entering spring, my concern on the defense was interior defensive linemen or defensive tackles. And I think the staff actually feels a lot better about that room now because you saw growth from guys like Jeremiah McLeod who, you know, had some experience, you know, late last season in his freshman season, you got a guy in DK Clue who came in from Baylor that maybe surprised some people with his athleticism and power. And then Brendan Bet. Everyone's talking about Brendan Bett this off season. It just feels like he's had a very, you know, explosive off season, that he's really taking that next jump and you know, you got other guys in the mix. Joseph Mbachu, Jamari Lyons is back. So I actually feel way better about the front seven right now than I did entering spring camp, and I think that's a good thing right now. I think the question mark is at cornerback. Like you mentioned it in your opener there, it's like they have all this talent but. But nobody's really played games. I mean, Ben Hanks last year was a freshman. Undersized freshman. Jamari Flowers in the same boat. Dejan Johnson has had some experience. Well, he got hurt last year and still kind of slowly recovering from that right now. And so you got all these young guys mixed with a couple of injury situations and it's just, it just feels like a question mark. But you know, there's no denying the talent in that room. You got guy like Ben Hanks and Jabari Flowers, who are two highly touted prospects out of their class and they're now in their second year and, and what kind of jump can they make? And so I think those are some of the questions that we're asking right now. And, but there's no denying the talent on defense is just, can it all come together? Can some guys elevate their game and make this a formidable unit?
- [16:11]
A
Nick, one player on offense, one player on defense and we'll let you have the floor. Obviously, guys that maybe aren't household names that you think could pop. I'm not asking you to sit here and predict like an all American season for somebody we've never heard of, but like, are there guys that you've seen that have caught your eye that you're like, hey, that, that could be a dude that, you know, maybe early season, by mid season, whenever that that pops off. And we're talking about more.
- [16:37]
B
Yeah, I'm gonna go with freshman edge. He's playing Jack right now. K.J. ford. He is. They've drawn, he's drawn great reviews throughout camp and has seemingly progressed a ton since spring camp. And the tricky thing for him will be he's backing up Jaden woods, who I obviously just talked about. And so it's going to be a struggle to, to, for him to maybe get on the field and find snaps. But from everything I've been, I've been hearing about him, it's going to be tough for Florida to keep him off the field. I mean, we're talking about a guy who's 65 or 6 4, 25 0. He's got great size for a true freshman, very athletic, has strong hands, gets to the Quarterback. I mean, you know, you can turn on Florida spring game tape and he's just working, you know, some of the offensive linemen there. And so I think he's a guy that by about midseason, like you said, towards the end of the season, that's really, really going to pop on tape. Offensively, I will go with as tough because there's a lot of them and you said no household names, but they're all household names. I'll go with Micah Mays. I mean, this is the guy that, you know, if you were looking on papers, probably wide receiver, four or five in the room just because, I mean, they got Dallas Wilson, Vernal Brown, Eric Singleton. Like, there's. There's some guys, some real guys in that room. But I think Mike Amaze offers something that maybe some of the other guys don't. And that's like, he is a true, true downfield threat. He has real open field speed and, you know, so like Chris, I was watching him in spring and I don't know if you how much of the spring game you caught, but he was electric. I mean, just down the field tracks the ball really well for somebody his size, decent hands, can get open vertically. And I just think he's kind of been the missing piece to this wide receiver room over the last few years. And then I'll throw another one in there. I like Bailey Stockton a lot from Georgia Tech. His connection with Philo is obviously fantastic. They've practiced a lot for the last few years. They also went to high school together. He's a guy that's a better athlete than he's given credit for, really. Moves well in open space. Got some, you know, make you miss ability. So, yeah, those are the guys I'll go with.
- [18:45]
A
Nick, before I get you out of here, I think Gator fans would be screaming at us through their screens right now if I did not ask you about special teams. How, how do the special teams look, Nick? It's. It's funny, like most people that I have on. We're going to be, you know, having these conversations with many folks at different schools. Special teams probably isn't going to come up, but when you've been through what Florida's been through the last couple years, I, I feel like. I feel like it is worth noting. How do we look? Does it seem like a functional unit? Are we going to get 11 guys on the field? Are we not going to have any number mishaps? I would assume the, the pad that was on the ground that was numbered is gone. And I know you bring over, it's largely, it's essentially all of Tulanes special from a year ago who were really, really good, by the way. So like, what's the deal with special teams?
- [19:37]
B
So I'll tell you this. We, we start, you know, they're, you know, we, the media is allowed to go out to fall camp and you know, for 20 minutes or so and we go out there and the first thing they do every practice, and this is dating back from when they got here in spring, is they start with special teams drills. And I never saw that under Napier. I'm sure they worked on them, but, or maybe they didn't, but I, I never saw it. But they, they start every single practice with special teams drills. We're talking and everybody works through them. So I think that's what's cool is it's not just like, hey, you guys are special teamers, this is your drill. The other everyone else just go off and do whatever. Everybody participates in this drill. You know, they got gunners, they got 300 pound tight ends running as gunners. Everybody's participating. So they really do emphasize it, I think at a very high level. And then you just talk about some of the skills positions or the, you know, the, the specialists I should say that they brought over. And Patrick Durkin obviously had a fantastic year kicker at Tulane last year and Alec Clark has been a productive punter as well. And, and then in the return game you got a guy in Verno Brown who was able to step into that role as a true freshman last season and excel at it. I mean, I think he was nine. He averaged. I want to say. I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to misquote this number, but he was the 19th most average yards per return last year as a true freshman. And that's a big role. You got it. You got to have a ton of confidence in yourself to go out there as a true freshman on top of learning. Everything else you got to do to prepare for an SEC game, but you also got to go out there and return punts and it's a lot of pressure and I think he's one of the best in the country at returning punts. So I think you've got a good mix of athleticism in the return game. You got a coaching staff who emphasizes it. And so I think it's going to be a pretty good unit.
- [21:21]
A
Nick, final thing, I'll get you out of here again. Nick Marcinko, Gators country. You guys do fantastic Work. One of the biggest stories at a fall camp had, well, I won't say nothing to do, but it wasn't an on field story. It was the uniforms. Nick, what are your thoughts? John Summerall, kind of leaning into the history. They're honoring Steve spurrier in that 1966 Heisman season. Thoughts on the new unis for the Gator? They look pretty sharp.
- [21:47]
B
Yeah, I think they look great. Look, I'm not, I'm not a guy who kind of sits there and critiques.
- [21:52]
A
You're not on the uni board. You're not, you're not in the uni threads.
- [21:55]
B
Like, look, I appreciate a good looking uniform and I think they did a good job with that, but I'm not a guy who sits there and it's like, oh, you know, they need to only wear this or wear this because of this. No, I don't care. Go out and win football games. I want to cover a winning football team. I haven't yet. And so I, yeah, no, I, I, I'm not a guy who sits there and critiques uniforms, but I do think they look really nice and I think it's a cool tribute to Spurrier. And I think the, you know, I think the blue helmets look sharp, but I, I don't have a strong opinion on it either way. I really don't care what they wear. But I, but I think all white with the blue caps. I think it looks good.
- [22:30]
A
Put, put Nick in the, they could wear pink tutus as long as they win.
- [22:35]
B
I just, I just want to cover winning football, Chris. It's that simple.
- [22:38]
A
Fair enough. I think that's you, you get to
- [22:40]
B
cover winning football in some capacity.
- [22:42]
A
Some teams, yeah, pretty, pretty lucky in that regard. But I, I would love to cover a winning Gators football team and be right, by the way, about Florida and preseason. I've not been close recently. Nick Marcinko. Gatorcountry.com does a fantastic job, Nick. I always appreciate you taking the time. It's always a blast. Let folks know in case they're curious and, or they're living under a rock, really, where they can find all your great work.
- [23:04]
B
Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter or x Marcinko Underscore nick. And then gatorcountry.com appreciate you having me on, Chris.
- [23:11]
A
Yeah, Nick, you're the man. Let's definitely do it again soon.
- [23:13]
B
Yes, sir. Absolutely.
- [23:37]
A
Sam.