Curan Ahern

Best of luck to the defending champs! 🐊

UF offensive line coach Phil Trautwein explained his approach to developing his players. His key notion: Chemistry off the field is just as important as on the field to get players to battle alongside one another in the trenches and listen to each other when motivation and corrections are needed.  MORE: alligator.org/article/2026/0…

Sources: DT Caleb Banks suffered a broken foot at the Combine that will sideline him until June. The injury happened the night before his on-field testing. He performed a partial workout not knowing the extent of the injury. The fracture of the fourth metatarsal was surgically repaired by Dr. Norman Waldrop on March 9. NFL teams have been informed.

Harris on Sumrall’s push for UF to become a “player-led team:” “Before you can get a player led team, the guys have to really understand what it takes to get themselves going.”

“Taking the ball away is an art, but at the same time, a lot of it is just doing the things that your coaches are asking you to do,” Harris said. “It's not going out there trying to be Superman, the guys that go out there and try to do everything. It's not the guy that's making plays. It's the guys that's detailed in his work being exactly where the coach wanted him to be.”

UF cornerbacks coach Brandon Harris on his strength in recruiting South Florida: “It’s a huge part of any job you take. Wherever each coach is from, you got to be able to have some type of impact in recruitment in that area. And me, just being a kid growing up in South Florida and being a native of that area, I think naturally I would be involved in a lot of recruitment that goes down in that area. So I take a lot of pride in it.”

“Last season's over, now it’s a new season,” Trautwein said. “You’re going to have some great plays, you're gonna have some bad plays but making sure that you don't let one bad play make the next play bad and then you have a whole bad series or a bad first half.”

Trautwein on Bryce Lovett: “He has great quickness, you know, we're going outside zone and we're going to pull, and he does that very well.”

Trautwein on Jason Zandamela: “He’s doing a heck of a job. I'm really excited about him. You know, he's going to be a future center.”

Trautwein on Caden Jones: “He's competing, he's getting better, he's working on it. You know, the great thing is he's willing.”

UF OL coach Phil Trautwein on UF’s depth at OL: “It’s definitely competitive … I don't know who the starting five are.”

I'm here at the Heavener Football Training Center for today's media availability featuring cornerbacks coach Brandon Harris, OL coach Phil Trautwein, DL Kamran James, OL Caden Jones and LB Jaden Robinson. Follow along for live updates.

Florida is set to hire Wofford co-defensive coordinator Jonathan Saxon to work alongside DL coach Gerald Chatman with UF’s defensive line, per @PeteThamel. @alligatorSports

UF DB Dijon Johnson underwent season-ending surgery to repair his meniscus Sept. 22, 2025. Fast forward to March, and Johnson is ready. He’s feeling good about attacking his rehab and believes he’s prepared to step into a leadership role in 2026. MORE: alligator.org/article/2026/0…

Chatman on matching younger players with older ones for mentorship: “I've been doing that for the last two years, kind of like a mini big brother, little brother program. So this year I actually didn't assign it. They kind of pointed the big brother, little brother, out themselves.”

Chatman on coaches getting involved in drills: “It's not just me being a coach and I'm telling you what to do. I'm in the ring with you, we got extra eyes.”

UF DL coach Gerald Chatman on Brendan Bett: “I've always been very demanding with him. He's had to grow a lot, and I do believe he's grown … He’s taking on more of a leadership role.”

Sumrall on the QB room: “All of them are communicating well, they're trying to lead, they're trying to be assertive.”

Sumrall on the offensive line: “I think what's unique there right now, if you said ‘Hey, who's the starting five?’ I go, ‘Oh, not 100% sure yet.’ What I like is we have competitive depth … There's just a lot of guys playing competitive football.”