For UF students, the Fall semester marks more than just the start of a new school year: It stamps the beginning of another football season in The Swamp. While the excitement is overwhelming, it can be hard for students to keep track of exactly who they will be cheering for on Saturdays and what kind of season they should expect the Gators to have.
This uncertainty is more apparent than ever this year, with new head coach Jon Sumrall at the helm of the program, new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner calling the shots and Florida football seeing 34 players hit the transfer portal and book their ticket out of Gainesville.
Still, a plethora of new faces, with some key returners in the backfield and the wide receiver corps, are gearing up to give Gator fans plenty to celebrate this season. A new-look offense is at the forefront of it all as Florida looks to rebound from last season’s struggling scoring unit.
Quarterbacks
Last season, sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway secured the starting spot well before the final snap of the 2024-25 season. But this year, a true 180 is in store for the Gators, who face a tight quarterback battle.
The now-Baylor signal-caller closed out his second campaign in Gainesville with 14 interceptions thrown, which trailed Florida Atlantic’s Caden Veltkamp for most in the country (17).
With little time to go before Florida’s season opener, the competition between redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. and redshirt sophomore Aaron Philo hasn’t seen a winner. However, Philo seems to be the more likely option for the first start.
The redshirt sophomore got the start in the spring game and has the edge with experience. He started one contest for Georgia Tech last season, and he played in five games during his freshman campaign.
With Faulkner also coming from Georgia Tech and Philo’s familiarity with the offensive coordinator’s system, Philo gets another leg up on Jones that may be the deciding factor Sept. 5.
Philo, a former three-star prospect from Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia, made a name for himself before the hourlong drive to GT. The 6-foot-1 quarterback led the state in high school all-time passing yards with 13,922, passing 2021 NFL No. 1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence.
If Jones were to start against FAU, it would be the first start — and only the third contest — of his collegiate career. He had the chance to take over for the second half of Florida’s matchup with Kentucky last season with Lagway benched, and he threw for 60 yards on 9-of-17 passing.
“I constantly take it head-on with them,” Sumrall said of the quarterback competition Aug. 10. “I'm a firm believer where there's a lack of communication, negativity fills that void always. … Every year I've been a head coach, there's been a quarterback competition.”
Running backs
When Jadan Baugh decided to return to Gainesville, Florida’s running back room instantly transformed into a top-10 unit.
Baugh is undoubtedly one of the premier running backs in college football. The junior shouldered the workload in 2025, recording 220 carries for 1,170 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He’s also become a strong passing option, posting 210 receiving yards on 33 receptions.
Just this month, he was selected as a preseason first-team All-American and named to both the Maxwell and Doak Walker Award Watch Lists.
But what makes this room so strong is the depth behind Baugh. Seasoned transfer Evan Pryor comes off two solid seasons at Cincinnati, and he started six games last year, rushing for 522 yards on 76 carries. Redshirt junior London Montgomery is also a veteran option behind Baugh. He was a standout at East Carolina last season and emerged during the spring game as the primary kick returner.
Redshirt freshmen Duke Clark and Byron Louis are also crucial depth pieces despite their relative inexperience. Louis is a solid receiver, and Clark’s advantage is his elite quickness. The former saw action in just one contest while Clark nabbed six carries across four games.
Wide receivers
While the running back crew boasts impressive depth, Florida’s wide receiver group is arguably its most talented on either side of the ball.
Headlining the group are the Gators’ elite returners, sophomore Vernell Brown III and redshirt freshman Dallas Wilson. Despite battling injury throughout the season, Wilson’s freshman campaign was a successful one.
In his first collegiate season, Wilson started every game he was available (four) and set the UF record for yards (111), catches (six) and touchdowns (two) by a true freshman in their first career start. Wilson was sidelined for the spring due to injury, but Sumrall said he’s “fired up” about the youngster nonetheless.
Brown also had a standout freshman year, becoming the first true freshman Gator to lead the team in catches (40) and receiving yards (512). He also served as the primary punt and kick returner. His performance earned him 2025 Freshman All-SEC Honors, and he will see a majority — if not all — of the starts this season. The unit's other main returner, redshirt sophomore TJ Abrams, will also likely see plenty of action again this season after playing in 10 games and making one start last year.
Georgia Tech transfer Bailey Stockton and Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr. were also key additions whose familiarity with Faulkner and Philo raises their stocks. After a 12-start, 534-yard 2025 season for Singleton, the senior will likely emerge as a starter for the Gators this year while Stockton, a redshirt junior, takes on a backup role. The Georgia native’s ties with Philo go back to their high school days. The pair won two state championships with the Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines before suiting up for the Yellow Jackets and now the Gators.
But if there’s one name every Gator fan who attended the Orange & Blue Game now knows, it’s Micah Mays Jr. The redshirt junior transfer from Wake Forest commanded The Swamp in his first outing in orange and blue, posting 122 yards and two touchdowns, and he has been noted as a continued standout through training camp. While he likely won’t be a regular starter, he is arguably the most promising depth piece in Florida’s receiver room.
Tight ends
The tight end unit is brimming with potential but remains unnervingly unproven as it stands.
Hayden Hansen and Tony Livingston headlined the Gators’ 2025 tight end room. The pair combined for 373 receiving yards before transferring out of Gainesville. Hansen appeared on the 2025 Mackey Award Watch List and started 25 consecutive games for Florida before trading in the orange and blue for the Oklahoma crimson and cream. Livingston also took his talents elsewhere and will be on the receiving end of Lagway’s passes once more at Baylor.
Florida’s room currently holds eight tight ends, five of whom are underclassmen. Amir Jackson, a redshirt sophomore, will be one of UF’s primary options. He appeared in the Orange & Blue Game, logging three receptions for 44 yards, including a 33-yarder.
Jackson originally planned to enter the NCAA transfer portal following his four games in 2025, but he’s chosen to return. He now joins redshirt freshman Micah Jones as the only familiar faces in Florida’s tight end room.
Jones made his collegiate debut Oct. 18 against Mississippi State, but he logged just one snap. He came out of Madison Central High School ranked the No. 14 player in Mississippi.
Lakota Dippre, Luke Harping and Evan Chieca all joined Florida’s roster by way of the transfer portal. Harping adds another name to the list of former GT athletes; he was featured in all 13 games for the Yellow Jackets last season. Harping logged 158 yards on 13 receptions and three catches for 43 yards in 2024.
Heze Kent, Tripp Brown Jr. and Jaylen Jordon round out the tight end room, but one stands above the others. Kent, a freshman from Brunswick, Georgia, is slated at 6-foot-6 and 288 pounds — 34 pounds greater than the second-heaviest tight end (Jones). Kent’s immense size should bolster the room, even though he lost roughly 35 pounds since arriving in Gainesville.
Offensive line
The Gators' offensive line had a lot of catching up to do ahead of this season and rivals the tight end unit as the season’s most concerning. The group started spring ball the weakest of any unit, and visions of an offensive line struggling to protect two relatively inexperienced quarterbacks became all too real for UF.
In the offseason and throughout camp, Sumrall said the squad has made strides, but UF’s new coach still didn’t seem completely comfortable with the unit.
“Some guys are elevating,” Sumrall said Aug. 17. “The challenge there has been consistency. We have to be dialed in. We have to be detailed in assignment, fundamentals and technique.”
Florida’s offensive line is anchored by center Harrison Moore. The junior has big shoes to fill, replacing All-American center Jake Slaughter. But the GT transfer has plenty of experience leading a successful offensive line.
Veteran Knijeah Harris will return to his post as starting left guard, and TJ Shanahan Jr. will likely take on the other starting guard role. However, Sumrall said Shanahan and redshirt junior Bryce Lovett are still competing for right guard.
Meanwhile, another competition stands at tackle, with Eagan Boyer, TJ Dice Jr., Caden Jones, Fletcher Westphal and Emeka Ugorji all in the mix. Boyer, a 6-foot-8 redshirt sophomore, transferred from Penn State, and Ugorji comes from Stanford, while the rest are returning players. The Gators have six offensive linemen who stand at 6-foot-6 or taller, and the unit’s size should prove to be a major advantage in the trench-dominated SEC.
Contact Ava DiCecca and Riley Orovitz at adicecca@alligator.org and rorovitz@alligator.org. Follow them on X @avadicecca24 and @rileyorovitz.
Ava DiCecca is a third-year sports and media journalism student and is the Summer 2026 assistant sports editor. Now in her fourth semester at The Alligator, she previously served as sports editor, the Gators volleyball beat reporter and an enterprise writer. In her free time she watches Boston sports (Brad Marchand we still love you).
Riley is a sophomore sports journalism student in her second semester at The Alligator. She is the beat reporter for Gators Gymnastics and Swim & Dive while also contributing to the Gators Football Beat. She previously served in the same role in her first semester with the newspaper. Riley is an avid South Florida sports fan and enjoys playing/following all sports in her free time.
