Florida: ‘It ain’t gonna break me’: Sumrall vows to turn Gators around.
Florida · KentuckyAfter four years playing in conference championship games, coach Jon Sumrall is pushing to qualify for a bowl game during his first season at Florida. The Gators' answered lopsided defeats to Missouri and South Carolina with an upset win Oct. 17 at Texas .
It can be challenging to get yourself up off the mat sometimes for certain guys. "But it's my job to get them there and help them understand that every Saturday you get a new opportunity — go take advantage of it."
Sumrall has stayed the course as frustration, outrage and criticism outside of UF's Hevener Football Center have intensified over the state of his program. But few have felt the weight of the mounting questions more than the 44-year-old coach himself.
"I'm sure there's a lot of pissed off people. I don't know anybody in America is more pissed off Saturday night than me.
KEY POINTS
- ‘It ain’t gonna break me’: Sumrall vows to turn Gators around.
- Three games remain, beginning Saturday night at No. 13 Kentucky, for Florida (5-4, 3-4 SEC) to get back on track and become bowl eligible after consecutive double-digit losses for the second time this season.
- Sumrall hopes his team responds similarly against the surprising Wildcats (7-2, 5-2), who are led by 37-year-old, first-time head coach Will Stein, but also coming off a 34-6 comeuppance at Tennessee.
- "If you look at this conference week in and week out, you have to be prepared," Sumrall said Monday.