One of Jon Sumrall’s first orders of business as the new college football coach at Florida was to overhaul the weight room. The Gators needed to update its equipment for safety reasons.
The previous setup lacked enough space for the big fellas!
Now that the college football program is best set up for success during its offseason and midweek workouts, the head strength and conditioning coach can really put his players to work. He recently debuted a lesser-utilized technique for squats that are so much harder than the traditional form.
Florida needed a new weight room for college football.
Sumrall was hired to replace Billy Napier as the head football coach at the University of Florida on the last day of November. He officially took over full-time after Tulane lost in the Playoff.
One of his top priorities was the $85 million weight room, which actually underwent a facelift as recently as 2022. Sumrall and director of football performance Rusty Whitt realized the need for an upgrade during a workout of their own. The 43-year-old told Gators Online that it “wasn’t real safe.”
“The flooring was kind of coming up […] there were a lot of parts of it that were peeling up.”
The new floor is more gentle on the body. Specifically, the joints.
“And so, when you’re loading your back with 400-500 pounds like some of our guys do to squat at times or you’re deadlifting 500-plus pounds, man, the surface you do it on is pretty important.”
Space was another issue. The layout was not efficient. Players were crammed during workouts. Especially the offensive and defensive linemen.
Here is a timelapse video of the new buildout:
Weight room upgrade 📈 pic.twitter.com/skxKuZItDu
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) May 5, 2026
Squat racks were perhaps the biggest priority. The Gators will now use Sorinex Excercise Equipment for their workouts.
Whitt explained the difference:
“The previous racks were double-sided half racks, and they lacked the adequate spacing for our players to move in and out and spot each other. I also like our heavyweights to squat inside of a power cage for safety purposes, and the new equipment allows us to do that.”
Fair enough! The new coaching staff at Florida had a specific vision for its weight room and got it done.
The Gators debuted a new squat technique.
Rusty Whitt has been with Jon Sumrall since his time with Troy. The veteran strength and conditioning coach followed him to New Orleans and now to Gainesville.
He recently posted the following video of a workout in the new weight room:
Whitt is big on the Zercher squat. It is a front-loaded squat variation where a barbell is held in the crooks of the elbows. This variation, like a traditional back squat, targets the quads, hamstrings and glutes. However, the forward load also engages the upper back and core.
The Zercher squat is a great way to build functional strength and to improve (or bypass) any issues with thoracic mobility. They are considered safer for the back than a traditional squat, reduce spinal compression and help to encourage more upright posture.
“Do your research on injuries regarding Zercher squats,” Whitt said. “Not much happening out there.”
Most of the pain comes with holding the heavy weighted bar on the forearms. Whitt does not believe in forearm pads because “they don’t play with forearm pads.”
Now, this is not a daily thing. Whitt likes to mix things up. Some days they do traditional front squats. Some days they do traditional front squats. Zercher squats are also in the mix.
They are generally considered to be more difficult, target different muscles, and teach grit. None of it would be possible without the weight room upgrades!