Jon Sumrall reveals message of inspiration from Urban Meyer: 'Like taking to myself 20 years ago'

Before accepting the offer to become Florida‘s next head coach, Jon Sumrall spoke on the phone to former Gators HC Urban Meyer. On Friday, Sumrall revealed what the pair discussed, along with one of Meyers’ comments that stuck with him.

“We talked a lot about the weight room,” Sumrall told Julianna Reichenbach. “The offseason program. He said, ‘Man, I kind of feel like I’m talking to myself like 20 years ago.’ I was like, ‘Can you say that again?’ That was like one of the coolest sideways compliments I’ve ever gotten.

“The ultimate competitor, ridiculously detailed, super intense — he’s speaking at our coaches clinic here in a month and a half. … Man, very, very just blown away with how much he’s been open and willing to maybe giving me some feedback as I’ve been at Florida.”

If Sumrall can accomplish a fraction of Meyer’s success, Florida fans have some exciting years ahead of them. Meyer was Florida’s head coach from 2005-10.

During his relatively short tenure, Meyer led the program to two SEC titles, two national championships, a 65-15 overall record and a 36-12 conference mark. Sumrall is doing everything he can to guide Florida to similar success.

“I don’t sleep much,” Sumrall said. “The old adage, ‘If you’re not fiery with enthusiasm, then you get fired with enthusiasm.’ You can say a lot of things about me, but you can’t say I don’t have juice.”

Sumrall spent the past two seasons as Tulane‘s head coach. At the helm of the Green Wave, he amassed a 20-8 overall record and 14-2 mark in conference play. Moreover, he guided Tulane to its first-ever CFP appearance this past season.

Before coaching at Tulane, Sumrall was Troy‘s head coach for two seasons. He led the Trojans to a combined 23-4 record and back-to-back conference titles. Sumrall is confident in Florida’s future. Sumrall is confident in the program’s future.

“The standard here is championships. That’s why I came,” Sumrall said at his introductory press conference. “I’m built for this job. I was made for this job. Winners win; I’m a winner; we’re going to win.

“… We’re going to play with an edge, a blue-collar mindset, and a chip on our shoulder. We will be tough. We will have grit. We will not be outworked. We will play with passion and physicality.”

Jon Sumrall replaced Billy Napier, who spent four seasons as Florida’s head coach. Sumrall also spoke with former Gators head coach Steve Spurrier before taking the reins of the storied program.