‘I knew we were’ — Florida HC Jon Sumrall’s confidence in one area of the Gators’ performance continues to show after Saturday’s big win
The No. 1 thing Jon Sumrall knew he needed to address was the offense, and that has resulted in an explosive unit.
Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall hasn’t just started well, it arguably couldn’t have gone much better. The Gators beat the Auburn Tigers 44-39 on Saturday night, in a game that honestly felt like a 15-point blowout.
The offense put up a whopping 495 yards, and nearly making it three consecutive games where the Gators had 500 yards on offense. He knew that his offense was going to do this to the Tigers.
“I knew we were going to do what we did on offense tonight. Hey, I’ve watched them enough to know how we were going to play on offense,” said Sumrall after Saturday’s win.
Florida Gators finally have an explosive offense again
There were fair questions about whether or not the Gators’ offense was legit after the first two games were against Florida Atlantic and Campbell. That didn’t phase Sumrall, who knew Buster Faulkner’s unit was going to be that good.
“I had no doubt how we were going to play on offense,” Sumrall continued. “Like, the people that were concerned about how we’re going to play on offense – I’m probably more concerned about our defense holding up, to be honest with you, but offensively, I knew we were going to run the ball on them, I knew we were going to throw the ball on them. They’re good up there, but I felt like we were better. I felt like the matchup leaned our way.”
This unit was both great at sustaining drives and attacking defenses. Quarterback Aaron Philo wasn’t just efficient; he was explosive getting the ball to both running back Jadan Baugh and wide receivers Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III.
Their 14% explosive play rate ranked in the 95th percentile and their 11.12 yards per dropback was also in the 94th percentile. Faulkner did a great job of creating explosives by manipulating coverages and putting his star players in advantageous situations. That is something that will translate no matter who you play.
Their next matchup is going to be even bigger than this one, with the undefeated Ole Miss Rebels coming to The Swamp after a 32-24 revenge win over Lane Kiffin on Saturday night.
Even with them coming in, the Gators finally have that explosive offense we’ve wanted for years.
