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‘Celebrate playing American tackle football’ — Jon Sumrall highlights changes to Florida Gators’ spring game

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Tyler Forness | Last updated Apr 7, 2026 4:28 PM ET

The Florida Gators are preparing for their spring game on Saturday afternoon. It will be the first for head coach Jon Sumrall, and he’s bringing real change to how the game is played.

“We’re going to celebrate playing tackle American football like we’re going to tackle the guy with football,” said Sumrall during a Tuesday press conference.

Florida Gators going back to basics with spring game

Each team has different rules for the spring game, with some of them awarding points for sacks, turnovers, and other big plays. Sumrall is having a very traditional scoring system on offense with a very simple format rooted in traditional football.

“The offense will get six points for a touchdown. They’ll get three points for a field goal. They’re going to get one point for an extra point. Very radical, extremely unique football score,” said Sumrall.

“It will not be two split teams that are drafted like there’s an offense and defense on the sideline, offensive Defense on that side is going to be offense first defense. So the offense will be in blue, the defense will be in white. The defense will be called the orange team, because we’re not going to actually wear orange and blue, because that’d be ridiculously confusing for two teams being in a color jersey, the quarterbacks will be in orange.”

Florida HC Jon Sumrall spoke about what to expect from the Orange and Blue game and how the point system will work. #Gators pic.twitter.com/CC6BYVDGlm
— Andrew Abadie (@AndrewAbadie) April 7, 2026

Pretty novel concept, right? Sumrall is building up a no-nonsense program that is rooted in the basics of football, but they are still going to have some fun. Here’s where things get interesting.

“Now, I did omit one part. The offense can go for two from the three-yard line. I think I put in the rules for Buster, they can go for three from the five and four from the 10. So if they’re down late, because the defense has some unique scoring.

“So the defense gets, I believe it’s three points for a three-and-out. If I’m not mistaken, one point for any punt that’s forced, it’s not a three. Now they get six points for a turnover. So there’s a defensive scoring method. Statistically, in the box store, I look at it as a fourth down stop as a takeaway gets to take away the downs, and so the defense will have scoring.”

Sumrall did note that he will be releasing the full ruleset later in the week. Offense versus defense in Gainesville on Saturday afternoon. With a new staff and a roster filled with new players, it will continue to create a competitive atmosphere.