Shane Beamer discusses Jon Sumrall, Florida ahead of Week 6 matchup
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Florida football head coach Jon Sumrall will face off with South Carolina skipper Shane Beamer for the first time on Saturday when the Gators and Gamecocks meet inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Week 6.
Both had spent time on SEC sidelines before earning their head coaching jobs. They first met when Sumrall was the inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator at Kentucky while Beamer was Oklahoma's tight ends coach and assistant head coach for offense.
“I got to know him when he was an assistant at Kentucky. I think my first season here he was in the league before he went and took the Troy job,” said Beamer, who began his head coaching career at South Carolina a year before Sumrall took over for the Trojans in 2022.
“He’s somebody I’ve admired and respected for a long time. He’s done a great job wherever he’s been: Troy, Tulane and now Florida. He’s elevated the Florida program already in a short period of time and clearly has put his imprint on it.”
The Gators were off to a 4-0 start this season — the best opening salvo since 2019 — scoring at least 44 points in each game while also tying the school record for most points against a top-five opponent with 52 against Ole Miss. However, Sumrall and Co. ran into a brick wall last weekend at Missouri against the Tigers, who shut them down on both sides of the ball en route to a 45-17 blowout win.
“Missouri did a really good job of stopping the run and they hit some explosives against Florida’s defense. I saw really talented Florida team that, with two minutes left in the second quarter, it’s 10-10 game. And then as you see in this league, a play here or a play there and the score can get out of whack," Beamer noted.
“And that’s what happened in the third quarter. But give Missouri credit, they played really well. As Florida, as I’ve talked about before, you get out of your gap or you make a mistake, it’s an explosive touchdown in this conference and that’s what happened.”
Beamer's squad arrives in Gainesville with a disappointing 2-3 record and unranked in both major polls, having failed to prevail in any of their three conference matchups so far. But every weekend in the SEC offers a chance for redemption.
“We’re excited to get down there. Hopefully we can play a good game,” Beamer said. “We just gotta play and coach better on Saturdays than what we’ve done more consistently.”
Kickoff for the battle between Florida and South Carolina inside the Swamp is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Shane Beamer discusses Jon Sumrall, Florida ahead of Week 6 matchup
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