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Florida football is striving to become the fastest and most physical team in the SEC.
That process continued during summer weight training under new Florida Gators strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt.
Florida football coach Jon Sumrall said team-wide, Florida is lifting 14,000 more in weight in the four main lifts (bench, squat, clean, deadlift) compared when offseason conditioning began last January.
"The offensive line made significant gains in the weight room," Sumrall said. "That was needed. I didn't hide from that."
An example is the body transforming of projected Florida starting right guard Bryce Lovett, who lost 43 pounds of fat while gaining 22 pounds of muscle. Lovett enters fall camp at 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, down from his playing weight of 321 pounds last season.
"I was walking in the indoor a couple of weeks ago and Bryce Lovett was in there doing some drills on his own with his shirt off," Sumrall said. "Bryce Lovett seven months ago wouldn't have taken his shirt off. And I think when you've put that kind of work in and you've made the changes; it helps you build confidence."
Other offensive linemen who transformed their bodies included tackle Fletcher Westphal (309 pounds, down from 342 pounds last season) and tackle Caden Jones (319 pounds, down from 333 pounds last season).
"They still gotta go play," Sumrall said. "You know, you don't win games by just looking good or your physique being better. You gotta go play the game. But I think it gives them an opportunity to improve their style of play and be more productive as players."
Whitt pointed out other notable strength and top-end speed gains Florida players made during the offseason. He credited Florida football director of nutrition Jake Sankal for taking on an important role as well as monitoring what players put in their bodies.
The gains included:
WR Eric Singleton Jr.: 22.74 mph, 23.32 mph
WR Venrell Brown III: 20.99 mph, 22.58 mph
TEAmir Jackson: 20.42 mph, 22.09 mph
QBTramel Jones Jr: 19.92 mph, 21.71 mph
"That's close to 22 mile per hour speed which is elite level for a quarterback," Whitt said.
TE Lacota Dippre: 18.17 mph, 20.17 mph
CB Cormai McClain: 21.73 mph, 22.48 mph
CB Ben Hanks II: 21.74 mph, 22.09 mph
"If you have a bunch of 22 mile per hour guys at your corners and wideouts, you're gonna be in the mix," Whitt said.
LB Myles Johnson: 20.7 mph, 22.32 mph
DE LJ McCray: 18,5 mph to 20.31 mph, added 21 pounds of lean muscle mass and enters camp at 6-6, 270 pounds.
DE Kam James: 19.05 mph, 20.09 mph
TE Heze Kent: Down from 313 pounds to 288 pounds. Whitt had Kent walk 30-45 minutes per day in a 30-pound weighted vest to lose the weight.
Overall, Whitt said, Florida currenly has 54 players who can power clean more than 300 pounds and 56 players who can run more than 20 mph. Improvements to UF's weight room in May, Whitt said, made workouts more efficient.
"There's a lot of teams in our league who can say comparable numbers, but we have a fighting chance," Whitt said. "We're in the mix. We just have to keep pushing our guys and live right and do right."
Sumrall said the strength and speed gains Florida football made during the offseason gives the coaching staff more confidence to push players in fall camp without fearing potential injuries. Last year, Florida suffered two key injuries in fall camp, as wide receiver Dallas Wilson and defensive tackle Caleb Banks both went down with foot injuries that never fully healed. Wilson appeared in just four games for the Gators in 2025, while Banks played just three games.
"Some injuries are, you can't prevent," Sumrall said. "This is a physical game. You have to practice that way if you want to play that way. We also have to be thoughtful with our practice planning."
Sumrall said the Gators will go four days in a row to start fall camp, with again mostly morning practices, like during the spring.
"We will have more of like a lower load, higher load, lower load, higher load, they will stagger it," Sumrall said. "But we also have to be cognizant of yardage, distance cover, each practice. A lot of times it's your skill guys, they get soft tissue, worn down, so we'll make good decisions there. This practice model, it’s very player friendly in that regard, but you have to do some of the tough, gritty things to play the game the right way.”
Both Sumrall and Whitt are proponents of lifting hard through fall camp and during the season in order to mitigate the risk of injury.
"I'm stoked in our improvement, but we have to keep the wheels on in August," Whitt said. "The coaches and I have a great relationship and a great communication structure to do that. We've got to keep our strength; we've got to keep our hydration and keep our speed up."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How Florida football players transformed their bodies this offseason
Continue reading...
That process continued during summer weight training under new Florida Gators strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt.
Florida football coach Jon Sumrall said team-wide, Florida is lifting 14,000 more in weight in the four main lifts (bench, squat, clean, deadlift) compared when offseason conditioning began last January.
"The offensive line made significant gains in the weight room," Sumrall said. "That was needed. I didn't hide from that."
An example is the body transforming of projected Florida starting right guard Bryce Lovett, who lost 43 pounds of fat while gaining 22 pounds of muscle. Lovett enters fall camp at 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, down from his playing weight of 321 pounds last season.
"I was walking in the indoor a couple of weeks ago and Bryce Lovett was in there doing some drills on his own with his shirt off," Sumrall said. "Bryce Lovett seven months ago wouldn't have taken his shirt off. And I think when you've put that kind of work in and you've made the changes; it helps you build confidence."
Other offensive linemen who transformed their bodies included tackle Fletcher Westphal (309 pounds, down from 342 pounds last season) and tackle Caden Jones (319 pounds, down from 333 pounds last season).
"They still gotta go play," Sumrall said. "You know, you don't win games by just looking good or your physique being better. You gotta go play the game. But I think it gives them an opportunity to improve their style of play and be more productive as players."
Florida football strength coach Rusty Whitt notes, strength, speed gains
Whitt pointed out other notable strength and top-end speed gains Florida players made during the offseason. He credited Florida football director of nutrition Jake Sankal for taking on an important role as well as monitoring what players put in their bodies.
The gains included:
WR Eric Singleton Jr.: 22.74 mph, 23.32 mph
WR Venrell Brown III: 20.99 mph, 22.58 mph
TEAmir Jackson: 20.42 mph, 22.09 mph
QBTramel Jones Jr: 19.92 mph, 21.71 mph
"That's close to 22 mile per hour speed which is elite level for a quarterback," Whitt said.
TE Lacota Dippre: 18.17 mph, 20.17 mph
CB Cormai McClain: 21.73 mph, 22.48 mph
CB Ben Hanks II: 21.74 mph, 22.09 mph
"If you have a bunch of 22 mile per hour guys at your corners and wideouts, you're gonna be in the mix," Whitt said.
LB Myles Johnson: 20.7 mph, 22.32 mph
DE LJ McCray: 18,5 mph to 20.31 mph, added 21 pounds of lean muscle mass and enters camp at 6-6, 270 pounds.
DE Kam James: 19.05 mph, 20.09 mph
TE Heze Kent: Down from 313 pounds to 288 pounds. Whitt had Kent walk 30-45 minutes per day in a 30-pound weighted vest to lose the weight.
Overall, Whitt said, Florida currenly has 54 players who can power clean more than 300 pounds and 56 players who can run more than 20 mph. Improvements to UF's weight room in May, Whitt said, made workouts more efficient.
"There's a lot of teams in our league who can say comparable numbers, but we have a fighting chance," Whitt said. "We're in the mix. We just have to keep pushing our guys and live right and do right."
How Florida football strength and speed gains will impact fall camp
Sumrall said the strength and speed gains Florida football made during the offseason gives the coaching staff more confidence to push players in fall camp without fearing potential injuries. Last year, Florida suffered two key injuries in fall camp, as wide receiver Dallas Wilson and defensive tackle Caleb Banks both went down with foot injuries that never fully healed. Wilson appeared in just four games for the Gators in 2025, while Banks played just three games.
"Some injuries are, you can't prevent," Sumrall said. "This is a physical game. You have to practice that way if you want to play that way. We also have to be thoughtful with our practice planning."
Sumrall said the Gators will go four days in a row to start fall camp, with again mostly morning practices, like during the spring.
"We will have more of like a lower load, higher load, lower load, higher load, they will stagger it," Sumrall said. "But we also have to be cognizant of yardage, distance cover, each practice. A lot of times it's your skill guys, they get soft tissue, worn down, so we'll make good decisions there. This practice model, it’s very player friendly in that regard, but you have to do some of the tough, gritty things to play the game the right way.”
Both Sumrall and Whitt are proponents of lifting hard through fall camp and during the season in order to mitigate the risk of injury.
"I'm stoked in our improvement, but we have to keep the wheels on in August," Whitt said. "The coaches and I have a great relationship and a great communication structure to do that. We've got to keep our strength; we've got to keep our hydration and keep our speed up."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How Florida football players transformed their bodies this offseason
Continue reading...
