GAINESVILLE — When Florida head coach Jon Sumrall surveys the college football landscape, he sees a sport barely recognizable to the one he played more than 20 years ago at Kentucky.

The transfer portal, seven-figure NIL deals and legal loopholes abound, but Sumrall isn’t bitter about it. The 43-year-old former linebacker pushes to keep pace.

A recent case hit close to home. Sumrall’s former quarterback, Darrian Mensah, who played under him at Tulane, is now at Miami — his third school in three seasons.

Mensah left Tulane for Duke before heading to Coral Gables, with a pot of gold at the end of each stop.

“He got a big bag, and I’m not even mad about that,” Sumrall said with a smile. “I’m happy for Darrian.”

Sumrall isn’t going to hate the player, even as the game becomes no-rules-barred pursuit of top talent.

Name, image and likeness legislation gives athletes agency to seek the biggest payday. The portal provides programs the fast track to a turnaround.

Wednesday’s National Signing Day no longer serves as a finish line for coaches building their program’s future. 

“It’s not really signing day anymore,” Sumrall said. “That’s kind of gone and passed. We kind of already know who’s on our team.”

The Early Signing Period in December and the transfer portal window in January reshaped the recruiting calendar. The Gators’ roster, like most programs, was finalized before February.

For all the change, Sumrall isn’t resisting.

The 2026 Gators are a collection of 30 transfers, led by Georgia Tech quarterback Aaron Philo, 20 high school signees and 62 returning players. For a program coming off a 4–8 season — its fourth losing record in five years — the portal provides the chance for a faster rebuild.

“I like the transfer portal. I like NIL. I like revenue sharing,” Sumrall said. “I think it’s great our players get paid. I’m for all that. I love the portal. Love it.”

Even as Sumrall celebrates the new model, he recognizes darker realities.

Once done in the shadows, tampering thrives in the current recruiting ecosystem. Coaches, agents and boosters from rival programs increasingly contact players under scholarship to gauge their interest before players have even entered the portal.

“I don’t know what’s enforced right now,” Sumrall said. “There’s been all this talk the last couple weeks about tampering. Yeah, no kidding. Every player on our team has been tampered with — 100 percent. I don’t lose my mind about it. Until there are penalties for it, what’s going to stop people from doing it?”

Sumrall said he’s not among those tampering, but acknowledges there are plenty of “back channels” — from agents to family members— that facilitate movement.

Along the way, things can get messy.

Mensah’s exodus from Duke to Miami spurred a lawsuit and a settlement because he’d agreed to a two-year contract the Blue Devils intended to enforce.

The NCAA’s recalibration of dates and rules escalates the issues.

Seeking to balance opportunities for transfers and high school recruits, decision-makers moved the Early Signing Period in 2025 to the first Wednesday in December to better align with the December transfer window. The NCAA then moved to portal to a single, 15-day window from Jan. 2-16.

“We moved the early signing period to protect the high school kids from losing their spots to transfers,” Sumrall said. “But then right after we did that, we moved the transfer portal back. So it’s like, why did we move the high school signing day in the first place? We fix one problem and create another.

“It just feels a little scattered.”

Sumrall doesn’t spend his time complaining.

This past Sunday, Sumrall sat courtside as Florida overwhelmed Alabama 100-77 despite the recent addition of 7-footer Charles Bediako, eligible because of a temporary injunction granted by a Tuscaloosa judge — and Crimson Tide booster.

The controversy inspired one of Sumrall’s funnier quips Wednesday.

“I wasn’t planning on sharing this today,” he said. “But we’re going to file a temporary restraining order and see if Tim Tebow can play short-yardage and goal-line quarterback. I don’t know what the hell is going on with all that.

“We’re going to coach who they let us coach and recruit who they let us recruit. But the problem is I think that’s such a moving target that you don’t know who’s allowed to play, and the rule may change tonight or tomorrow or whatever.”

At Tulane, Sumrall proved he could adapt faster than most.

The Green Wave’s 2025 roster featured nearly 60 new players, including 35 transfers. The most notable was BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who joined as a walk-on following a suspension for violating the school’s honor code.

Retzaff passed a thorough background check, earned the starting role and led the Green Wave to the College Football Playoff.

A similar scenario in Gainesville isn’t necessarily expected, but nothing surprises Sumrall anymore.

While college football is increasingly chaotic, Sumrall remains pragmatic.

“You can sit here and whine and complain about the way the rules are or you can just embrace them and try to adapt and make them work the best for you,” he said.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.