With game week upon Florida football, head coach Jon Sumrall and Co. have released an official depth chart, etching players into starting roles for the Gators’ season opener against Florida Atlantic Saturday.
The one thing Sumrall made clear? Everyone on the roster knows where they stand. The staff has been uber transparent to ensure there aren’t any surprising roster shake-ups in the final week of the offseason.
“Everyone on our depth chart, wherever they are, they know why,” Sumrall said Monday. “There’s no surprises. We take things head-on; I think the players deserve that.”
Sumrall had already made it clear Aaron Philo would start at quarterback, and it wasn’t much of a secret Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson and Eric Singleton Jr. would round out the receiving corps.
At tight end, a handful of players have made a case for a starting role. Senior Lakota Dippre has shown consistency, while freshman Heze Kent has been one of the most improved true freshmen. Also showing flashes throughout camp, juniors Amir Jackson and Luke Harpring have earned some run at tight end. Rounding out the room, senior Evan Chieca is questionable for Saturday’s game but has been moving around in practice.
“Lakota [Dippre]’s been really, really steady all training camp; he’s been really consistent his entire time here, and so, fired up about what he’s done from a consistency standpoint day in and day out,” Sumrall said. “Behind him, I think you know Heze [Kent] has made as much improvement for a freshman as anybody on our team since January.”
Slotted in as Week 1 starters on defense, sophomore Jayden Woods, juniors Myles Graham and Aaron Chiles and seniors Bryce Thornton, DJ Coleman and Brendan Bett are players who Sumrall named as strong, emerging leaders entering the season.
Senior Jaden Robinson will serve as the remaining linebacker along with Graham and Chiles. He will provide a steady veteran presence in the middle of the field, but arguably the biggest question lies in who will fill out the defensive line.
Sophomore Jeremiah McCloud and senior DK Kalu will likely start at defensive tackle and be backed by fifth-year Jamari Lyons, while Bett and Joseph Mbatchou will clog the middle of the line at nose guard, but the competition on the edge stands out.
Senior Kamran James, junior LJ McCray and fifth-year Emmanuel Oyebadejo have all made strides through camp, and all three are likely to split reps at defensive end. Who emerges as the weekly starter remains to be seen through Week 1 and beyond.
Rounding out the line, Woods will see significant playtime at the JACK position with fifth-year Kofi Asare and freshman KJ Ford slotting in behind Woods. Asare is likely to see more run than Ford, but Sumrall spoke highly of the freshman after a strong camp.
“I think KJ Ford had a really good spring,” Sumrall said. “I think sometimes as a freshman you could hit a wall; he hit a little bit of a wall maybe early training camp, and then responded the last week of training camp, which I was pleased with.”
In the secondary, senior Kanye Clark will take on the versatile STAR role and will be backed by fifth-year Alfonzo Allen Jr. Clark made an immediate impact upon his arrival from UCLA and should allow Florida to show multiple different defensive looks with his versatility at STAR.
Sophomore Ben Hanks III has also impressed through the offseason and is set to take on a starting corner role along with senior Cormani McClain. However, senior Dijon Johnson and sophomore J’Vari Flowers have the ability to see some run as valuable depth pieces and could move into the lineup interchangeably. The four are all likely to see the field with defensive coordinator Brad White’s plethora of defensive schemes.
“Excited to see him play more of a prominent role,” Sumrall said of Hanks. “He's got good length, he can run, he plays the ball in the air well, he's got good ball skills. He's a guy that works incredibly hard.”
With positions secured, at least for Week 1, and the bulk of the preparation behind Florida, Sumrall enters Saturday ready to trust the training and the work put in throughout camp.
Much like Gator fans, the new head coach looks forward to seeing how it all comes together as he takes on his first opponent in the Swamp.
“Monday through Friday, those are my days. Saturday is the players’ day, and I can't wait to watch them go play Saturday night,” Sumrall said.
Depth Chart
Quarterback
Aaron Philo
Tramell Jones Jr.
Running Back
Jadan Baugh
Evan Pryor
Duke Clark
London Montgomery or
Byron Louis
Wide Receiver
Dallas Wilson
Micah Mays Jr. or
Kahleil Jackson
Wide Receiver
Vernell Brown III
Bailey Stockton
Wide Receiver
Eric Singleton Jr.
TJ Abrams
Tight End (Y)
Lacota Dippre
Heze Kent
Tight End (H)
Amir Jackson or
Luke Harpring
Left Tackle
Bryce Lovett
Eagan Boyer
Left Guard
Knijeah Harris
Roderick Kearney
Center
Harrison Moore
Jason Zandamela
Right Guard
TJ Shanahan Jr.
TJ Dice Jr.
Right Tackle
Emeka Ugorji
Caden Jones
END
Kamran James or
LJ McCray or
Emmanuel Oyebadejo
NG
Brendan Bett
Joseph Mbatchou
Defensive Tackle
Jeremiah McCloud
DK Kalu or
Jamari Lyons
JACK
Jayden Woods
Kofi Asare or
KJ Ford
Linebacker
Myles Graham
Myles Johnson
Linebacker
Aaron Chiles
Ty Jackson
Linebacker
Jaden Robinson
TJ Bullard
STAR
Kanye Clark
Alfonzo Allen Jr.
Cornerback
Ben Hanks III
Dijon Johnson
Cornerback
Cormani McClain or
J’Vari Flowers
Safety
Bryce Thorton
Cam Dooley
Safety
DJ Coleman
Lagonza Hayward
KO
Patrick Durkin
Brandon Rabasco
PK
Patrick Durkin
Liam Padron
LS
Carter Milliron
Lincoln Anderson
SS
Lincoln Anderson
Carter Milliron
P
Alec Clark
Nicholas Inglis
H
Alec Clark
Nicholas Inglis
KOR
London Montgomery
J’Vari Flowers
PR
Vernell Brown III
Bailey Stockton
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @avadicecca24.
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).
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
