Florida football spring practice report on QBs, injuries and more

Florida football held its first spring practice on Tuesday, March 3, at the Sanders Practice Fields under head coach Jon Sumrall.

In all, the Florida Gators will practice 15 times before the spring game on April 11 at The Swamp (noon, TV, TVBD).

Sumrall wants to establish physicality and accountability in his first season as UF football coach. It was evident early, as offensive and defensive linemen took on some contact despite not being in shorts and pads.

"I like a lot about what happened today and we've got to stack days," Sumrall said. "Everybody gets excited for day one, I've never seen anybody not get excited about the first day of practice. The trick is great football teams get excited about every day and so, we've got to sustain that type of energy and enthusiasm about what we're doing."

A handful of former Florida legends watched the first practice of the spring, including Heisman-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, wide receiver Chris Doering, wide receiver Wille Jackson and wide receiver Ricky Nattiel.

Here are other takeaways from UF's first practice:

Florida football QBs Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr work up tempo in workouts

Florida football quarterbacks Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. worked on timing with receivers during individual portions of drills.

Philo looked more consistent than Jones throwing deep passes, hitting transfer receiver Eric Singleton in stride. Jones' best throw of the day was a downfield strike to Vernell Brown III.

Overall, Sumrall was pleased with how the quarterbacks threw the ball but admitted that timing was off on some throws. Sumrall said the defense recorded one interception during the opening practice, but didn't disclose which quarterback threw it.

Florida RBs going through ball security drills #Gatorspic.twitter.com/PHH9chdqWV

— KevinBrockwayGators (@KevinBrockwayG1) March 3, 2026

LB Myles Graham, WR Dallas Wilson among players out for first Florida football spring practice

Linebacker Myles Graham and wide receiver Dallas Wilson were among players who didn't take part in the first day of spring drills. Wilson was not seen on the field working out with receivers, while Graham was spotted in the weight room wearing on an orange non-contact jersey.

Sumrall said Graham is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and is taking an "abundance of caution" approach with Wilson after he sat out eight of 12 games with a broken foot.

"I've had guys with similar issues and I want to make sure we do everything we can to get him extremely healed, like 100% and be right, right, not kinda right," Sumrall said of Wilson. "If we had a game this week, he's practicing, but I've got a pretty good pulse of what he's about and what kind of player he is so we're gonna be smart and tough there."

Defensive lineman Kameron James (shoulder) took part in defensive line drills wearing an orange jersey, while offensive lineman Fletcher Westphal (wrist) was in an orange jersey and did not take part in drills. Also out were cornerback Dijon Johnson (recovery from torn ACL), defensive end Titus Bullard (hamstring), defensive end Javion Toombs (shoulder, took part in non-contact drills).

Sumrall said five more players are out for the entire spring, defensive lineman Kendall Guervil (knee), defensive lineman Jalen Wiggins (hip), cornerback CJ Bronough (shoulder), offensive lineman Chancellor Campbell (knee) and defensive lineman Daniel Pierre-Louis (hip).

Florida football DT Joseph Mbatchou bulking up to play the nose

Sophomore Jospeh Mbatchou (6-5, 323 pounds) has bulked up more than 20 pounds to prepare to play nose tackle in UF's new 3-4 defensive scheme. Mbatchou showed off that added strength during sled drills in UF's spring practice.

"He's a strong guy in the weight room," Sumrall said. "He's really dedicated himself to his craft, physically."

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football spring practice report on injuries, QBs, more from Jon Sumrall