Urban Meyer reacts to Jon Sumrall saying players must earn the right to wear Florida logo: 'I love it'

Florida head coach Jon Sumrall made headlines last week when he revealed that Florida players must earn the right to wear the Gator logo across their chests. This isn’t a new tactic, as former National Championship wining head coach Urban Meyer employed the same strategy during his stop in Gainesville (2005-2010).

“We haven’t earned a damn thing,” Sumrall said on Jan. 25. “All we’ve got is our name. When are we gonna put our freaking name on everything? To wear the Florida Gator logo, to wear the Gators across your helmet and script and Gator head man, you gotta earn that.”

Sumrall was hired this offseason to succeed Billy Napier, who led the program to a 22-23 record across 45 games (2022-2025). Sumrall has an impeccable track record, as he’s led his teams (two seasons at Troy and two seasons at Tulane) to a 43-12 record and an appearance in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff (Tulane).

Urban Meyer loves Jon Sumrall’s decision to withhold Florida logo from players

Urban Meyer, who attended Sumrall’s introductory press conference alongside Steve Spurrier, claimed that he ‘loves’ the decision by Sumrall during Wednesday’s edition of ‘The Triple Option’ podcast.

“I love it,” Meyer said. “I agree with it, and I did it at a couple of stops. Bowling Green I did it, but we didn’t have gear. We didn’t have enough money to buy gear. Utah we did it to a degree. I’m just a firm believer that you have to earn it. Once you earn it, you really get rewarded. That’s the way I was brought up, and that’s what I believe in.

“At Florida, we took everything away and I wanted to prove a point. The expectations are a National Championship caliber team and that’s what Steve Spurrier did. If you’re not doing that, you’re going to hear it. I expect that out of this staff and out of the players. They weren’t allowed to wear Florida gear, and you earned it back.

“There was a time where coaches would get a raise as a staff. I took that away. I said ‘we’re not doing that’. If you’re a great coach you get a bigger raise. If you’re not a great coach, you won’t get the raise. We don’t do it as a group. You do it as individuals. Same with the team. You don’t just earn it back, you earn it back if you bust your ass.”

Under Sumrall, Florida is seeking its first 10-plus win season since 2019 (11-2).