Jon Sumrall - Football Coach - Troy University Athletics

Jon Sumrall

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
jmorgan@Troy.edu
Phone:
3682

One of the most successful head coaches in the country the last two seasons, Jon Sumrall has guided Troy to a 23-4 record, two Sun Belt Conference championships, a pair of double-digit winning streaks and was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year twice.

Sumrall was named Troy’s football head coach on December 2, 2021, and returned to Troy after spending three seasons (2015-17) as the assistant head coach on Neal Brown’s staff.

Troy’s 23 wins during Sumrall’s two seasons as head coach are tied for the third most in the country, trailing only Georgia, Michigan and Washington. Additionally, Troy joins Michigan as the only two programs to win conference titles in 2022 and 2023.

Sumrall and the Trojans enter the 2023 76 Birmingham Bowl riding a 10-game winning streak for a second straight season – Troy ended 2022 with wins in its final 11 games – after defeating App State, 48-23, in the 2023 Sun Belt Championship Game. Troy’s two victories in the Sun Belt Championship Game have come by an average of 22.5 points; the other three SBC title games were decided by a combined 26 points.

During Sumrall’s tenure, Troy is 12-0 against opponents on its side of the Sun Belt, and three of the Trojans’ four losses came to teams either ranked in the Top 25 at the time or ended the season ranked. Additionally, attention on Troy Football is at an all-time high as eight of Troy’s 13 games were nationally televised, including five of the Trojans’ seven home games.

The 2023 Trojans have dominated on both sides of the football boasting the nation’s sack leader in Javon Solomon and the nation’s second-leading rusher in Kimani Vidal. Troy enters the bowl game tied for the Sun Belt record with 45 sacks as a team, while Solomon’s 16 individual sacks are the most by a Trojan in the program’s DI era.

Vidal has completely rewritten the record books, laying claim to Troy’s career, single-season and single-game rushing yardage records while also setting the Troy single-game touchdown record after finding the end zone five times in the Sun Belt Championship Game, the most by a player ever in any FBS conference championship game. Additionally, Vidal was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, Troy’s first since 2009.

Troy has held eight of its 13 opponents to fewer than 300 yards of total offense entering the Birmingham Bowl, while the Trojan offense topped the 400-yard mark nine times. Quarterback Gunnar Watson and Vidal became just the third duo in program history to top the 3,000-yard passing and 1,000-yard rushing mark in the same season, while Solomon and Richard Jibunor became just the second Troy duo to record nine or more sacks in the same season.

The Trojans handed Army its first shutout at home in 20 years and first overall shutout in nine seasons, and Troy defeated in-state rival South Alabama for a sixth straight season.

His first season at Troy couldn’t have been scripted any better as the Trojans posted a 12-2 record, won the Sun Belt Conference championship, ended the season on an 11-game winning streak – second only to National Champion Georgia – won the only bowl matchup pitting two conference champions by defeating UTSA in the Cure Bowl.

It was a season of firsts for the Trojans under Sumrall in 2022, as Troy finished the season ranked in a major poll for the first time in program history, checking in at No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Additionally, Troy’s appearance in the Coaches Poll and College Football Playoff Poll after its Sun Belt Championship Game victory were also firsts for the program.

Troy hosted and appeared in the Sun Belt Championship Game for the first time, reached the 12-win mark at the FBS level for the first time and hosted Army in front of a Veterans Memorial Stadium record crowd of more than 31,000 fans.

Sumrall was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and Carlton Martial, who Sumrall recruited as a walk-on during his days as an assistant coach, was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year after he broke the NCAA FBS record for career tackles, in addition to Sun Belt and Troy career tackle marks.

Troy paced the Sun Belt with six first team selections in 2022, and Martial became the first offensive or defensive player to become a four-time All-Sun Belt First Team selection in league history.

Known as a defensive mastermind, Sumrall’s first defensive installment at Troy did not disappoint. Troy held all 14 of its opponents to under their season average in scoring, including three of the top 25 scoring teams in the country – UTSA, Western Kentucky and App State. The Trojans limited UTSA to just 10 offensive points in the Cure Bowl, with three of those 10 points coming on a 4-play, 7-yard drive following a turnover; the Roadrunners entered the game averaging 38.7 points per game.

The Trojans held eight of its 14 opponents scoreless in the fourth quarter and allowed an average of just 3.64 points in the final 15 minutes of the game. Additionally, Troy ranked eighth nationally in turnovers gained, 14th in sacks, eighth in scoring defense, 19th in total defense and 24th in rushing defense.

Offensively, Kimani Vidal became the 11th 1,000-yard rusher in program history, while center Jake Andrews was selected by the New England Patriots in the 4th Round of the NFL Draft, Troy’s first draft pick in six seasons. Andrews was invited to the NFL Combine while he and Martial played in the Senior Bowl. Additionally, left tackle Austin Stidham was a finalist for the Campbell Trophy and earned Academic All-America honors for the third time in his career.

Promoted to co-defensive coordinator on Mark Stoops’ staff at Kentucky prior to the 2021 season, Sumrall coached the Wildcats’ inside linebackers for the squad that finished the season with a 10-3 record and ranked as high as No. 22 in the country. Kentucky finished second in the SEC East, marking the first time since the league split into divisions in 1992 that UK ended the season in sole possession of second place in the East. The Wildcats allowed 17 or fewer points in seven of its 12 games in 2021 and held No. 1 Georgia to its second-lowest offensive output of the season.

Kentucky finished with the nation’s No. 25 defense in addition to ranking third in fourth-down defense, 20th in rushing defense and 13th in defensive touchdowns.

During his tenure at Troy, Sumrall helped lead the Trojans to a pair of bowl victories, the school’s first since 2010, the 2017 Sun Belt Conference title, and a stunning victory at LSU. The Trojans won a school-record 11 games in 2017, and the Troy defense ranked first in the nation in red zone defense (.614), second in tackles for loss per game (8.6), seventh in rushing defense (105.3), 11th in scoring defense and 24th in total defense per game (336.6).

In his first season at Troy, the Trojans finished with the second-best turnaround nationally in opponent 3rd-down percentage (14.62 percent), the fourth-best turnaround in yards per play allowed (-1.13), the fifth-best improvement in tackles for loss per game (2.59) and 16th-best improvement in total defense (-62.7).

Troy held opponents to 391.2 yards per game, an improvement of 62.8 yards from the previous season and under 400 yards for the first time since the 2008 season. The Trojans scored five defensive touchdowns, the third-most in the country and most by a Troy team since 2004.

Troy finished the 2016 season 10-3 with a victory in the Dollar General Bowl, the first top-25 ranking in school and Sun Belt Conference history and the best win-improvement in the country.

The Trojans finished the year second nationally in passes intercepted, fourth in turnovers forced, 17th in rushing defense, 21st in holding opponents to 22.1 points per game and 28th in third-down defense. Sumrall departed Troy for Ole Miss before the 2018 season and returned to his alma mater in Lexington, Kentucky the following year.

Sumrall oversaw an effective four-man rotation at the middle and weakside linebacker positions in his first season at Kentucky. UK’s defense kept every opponent at or below 30 points, the first time the Wildcats have done that since 1979. UK ended the season with a thrilling win over Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl, UK’s fourth straight bowl appearance.

Sumrall’s starting linebackers, Jamin Davis and DeAndre Square, were two of the top three tacklers in 2020, combining for 162 total tackles. Davis made a significant impact under Sumrall’s tutelage, making 144 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, five interceptions, three pass break ups, three quarterback hurries, one blocked kick, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. He ranked fourth in the SEC in tackles per game (10.2) and was first-team All-SEC by Pro Football Focus and second team All-SEC by Phil Steele. Davis was a first-round draft pick by the Washington Football Team in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Kentucky capped the most unusual of seasons with an impressive victory in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, the program’s third consecutive bowl victory, tying the school record set from 2006-08. The 23-21 victory over No. 24 NC State also marked the second win over a ranked team in the 2020 season. UK also defeated No. 18 Tennessee.

Sumrall was a three-year letterwinner at middle linebacker at Kentucky from 2002-04. He started every game in 2004, leading the Wildcats with 72 tackles. He also excelled off the field as he was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and was selected to the Frank G. Ham Society of Character. After earning his degree in finance in 2005, Sumrall served as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats during the 2005 and 2006 seasons under head coach Rich Brooks.

He left Kentucky in 2007 and spent five seasons under head coach Ron Caragher in various positions at San Diego, including defensive coordinator during his final two seasons. He served as the defensive line coach, recruiting coordinator and camp coordinator for the first three years before assuming the defensive coordinator and linebackers coaching role in 2010. During his final season with the Toreros, Sumrall was promoted to assistant head coach.
In 2011, the Toreros ranked 15th nationally in run defense (113.0), 13th in pass efficiency defense, fourth in sacks (3.64), and 16th in third-down defense (32.2 percent).

The San Diego defense had numerous players receive accolades. Defensive end Blake Oliaro was named Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year, Associated Press Football Championship Subdivision second team All-American and first team all-conference.

In Sumrall’s first season as defensive coordinator in 2010, the defense ranked first in scoring defense (16.1), total defense (265.0), run defense (67.1), and third-down defense (31.7 percent) in league play, and was also ranked second in pass defense (197.9).

Following the 2010 season, defensive end Mario Kurn was named a Ted Hendricks Award finalist, Buck Buchanan Award Finalist, first team All-American by Phil Steele and The Sports Network, second team All-American by the Associated Press and first team all-conference.

In 2007, Sumrall coached defensive end Eric Bakhtiari, a 2007 Walter Camp First Team All-American, an Associated Press First Team All-American, a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award and was the PFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Before joining the Troy staff in 2015, Sumrall spent three seasons at Tulane (2012-14), where he coached the defensive line the first two seasons before coaching the linebackers his final season.

In 2013, he was a crucial part of Tulane’s run to the New Orleans Bowl as the Green Wave finished second in the nation with 35 forced turnovers. It was Tulane’s first bowl game since 2002 and third since 1988. Tulane finished fourth nationally with 16 fumble recoveries, sixth with 19 interceptions, 22nd nationally in total defense (352.1), 13th in sacks per game (2.92) and 11th in red zone defense (73.5 percent) that year.

Under Sumrall’s tutelage, defensive end Julius Warmsley earned First Team All-Conference USA honors after leading the team with 18.5 tackles for loss. Sumrall also was named a finalist for FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year along with coaches from Michigan State, Stanford and Missouri.

The Huntsville, Alabama native was a two-time all-state performer and a four-year letter winner at Grissom High School. He was inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Hall of Fame in April 2023.

Sumrall was a three-year letterman at middle linebacker for Kentucky from 2002-04. He started every game as a senior and led the Wildcats with 72 tackles. Sumrall completed his bachelor’s degree in finance in 2005 and has completed coursework on a master’s degree in sports leadership.

He is married to the former Ginny Nixon, also of Huntsville, and the couple has four children, Sam, Sadie, Stella and Selah.