Jon Sumrall hires former Gator Bam Hardmon, Tulane assistant Chris Gasparato to coach linebackers

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GAINESVILLE — Former Gator Bam Hardmon will join new UF coach Jon Sumrall from Tulane to coach outside linebackers after he oversaw the position and coordinated the Green Wave’s run defense in 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Chris Gasparato will coach inside served as Tulane’s defensive coordinator and safeties the past two seasons.

Hardmon and Gasparato, both confirmed by a source, coached together the past two seasons in New Orleans.

In 2024, the Green Wave ranked 24th nationally in total defense (323.5 yards per game) and 23rd in scoring defense (20.4 points per game), but were 67th in total defense (374.2 ypg) and 49th in scoring D (22.6 ppg) in 2025 entering the CFP against Ole Miss.

Entering Saturday’s CFP loss at Ole Miss, Tulane ranked 30th nationally in run defense (120.3 yards per game), tied for 23rd in tackles for loss (81) and 19th with 34 sacks. The Green Wave tied for 10th with 24 takeaways.

In 2024, Tulane was second in the American Conference (18th nationally) in third-down defense (32.95% conversion rate). The ’24 Green Wave allowed opponents to score touchdowns at 47.73% rate, ranking second in the AAC and 12th nationally.

Hardmon, a native of Jacksonville who played at UF from 1999-2002, recorded 168 tackles during his final season. The total is fourth all-time during a single season at Florida as Hardmon earned second-team All-SEC honors in former coach Ron Zook’s first season.

Gasparato followed Sumrall from Troy, where he was the Trojans’ defensive coordinator in 2023, when the Trojans yielded an average of 17.1 points (10th nationally) and 308.1 yards (14th) while setting a conference record with 47 sacks.

Hardmon and Gasparato will oversee a unit spearheaded by Gators’ defensive leader Myles Graham, who as a sophomore led the team with 76 tackles and seven quarterback hurries, along with four pass breakups. In addition to Graham, a promising linebacking group features Aaron Chiles, a versatile defender at 6-foot-2 ½, 244 pounds who recorded 52 stops as a sophomore, and rising senior Jaden Robinson, who had 102 tackles, including 7.5 for loss.

Under Hardmon, Sam Howard became a force.

A former walk-on at Austin Peay, where he was one of the players at the FCS level, Howard recorded 63 tackles at Tulane in 2024. Entering the Ole Miss loss, he had 44 stops, including four sacks, but missed two games with a fracture fibula suffered Oct. 9 against East Carolina. Incredibly, he returned to record a sack during a 38-34 win at Memphis.

Linebacker Chris Rodgers, who followed Sumrall from Troy after the 2023 season, has also shined. He stepped in for leading tackler Dickson Agu after he suffered a season-ending injury in September to record 75 tackles.

Hardmon, 44, coached defensive line at Troy under Sumrall and eight seasons overall (2015-23).

After five seasons as a professional, the final two in NFL Europa for Hamburg, Hardmon reunited with Zook at Illinois as a graduate assistant from 2008-11. After a season at Charleston Southern coaching outside linebackers and special teams, he coached Idaho’s defensive line for three seasons.

Gasparato joined Sumrall after two seasons at Louisville, coaching outside linebackers (2022) and safeties (2021). Two stints at Appalachian State (2013-14, 2018-19) sandwiched three seasons at Wofford (2015-17) — where he played safety from 2005-08. Gasparato was the co-defensive coordinator at Army while coaching safeties in 2020.

Gasparato got is coaching start at Richland Northeast High School in South Carolina, following by a season at Juniata (2011) in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and another at Division III Brevard College (2012) in North Carolina.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

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