1 of 1- catfishboy
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Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss has hired Jon Sumrall as its new assistant coach for linebackers, head coach Matt Luke announced Monday.
Sumrall, a three-year letterman at Kentucky, helped lead nationally-ranked defenses at Tulane and Troy, where he spent the past three seasons as assistant head coach working primarily with linebackers and serving as special teams coordinator.
"Coach Sumrall became a defensive coordinator at a young age and has led turnarounds on that side of the ball everywhere he has been," Luke said. "He is a relentless recruiter and gets the very best out of his players. His passion, energy and toughness make him a great fit for our staff, and we can't wait to get him on campus."
For the second straight season, the Troy defense was tops in both the Sun Belt and NCAA in multiple defensive categories on its way to a school-record 11 wins in 2017. 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).
Sumrall oversaw a Troy special teams that ranked second in the country with 27.71 yards per return and had a freshman All-American return specialist in Marcus Jones.
Sumrall joined the Troy staff after spending the previous three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Tulane. In his first season at Tulane, Sumrall's defensive line accounted for 27.5 tackles for loss, including 13.5 sacks, recorded 11 quarterback hurries, forced four fumbles and recovered two.
In addition to ranking among the nation's best in forcing turnovers, Sumrall's 2013 defense finished 22nd nationally in total defense (352.1), 13th in sacks per game (2.92) and 11th in red zone defense (73.5 percent). That season he was named a finalist for FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year along with coaches from Michigan State, Stanford and Missouri.
Prior to his arrival at Tulane, Sumrall spent five seasons in various positions at the University of San Diego, including as the defensive coordinator during his final two seasons. He spent his first three seasons as the defensive line coach, recruiting coordinator and camp coordinator 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.
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 was a two-time all-state performer and a four-year letterman at Grissom High School in Huntsville, Alabama.
Sumrall completed his bachelor's degree in finance in 2005 and has completed coursework on a master's degree in sports leadership.
Sumrall's Coaching Career:
2005-06 -- Kentucky -- defensive graduate assistant
2007-09 -- Univ. of San Diego -- defensive line/recruiting coordinator
2010-11 -- Univ. of San Diego -- defensive coordinator/linebackers
2012-14 -- Tulane -- co-defensive coordinator
2015-17 -- Troy -- assistant head coach/linebackers/special teams coordinator
2018-present - Ole Miss - linebackers
SOURCE: "Football Adds Jon Sumrall as Linebackers Coach." olemisssports.com, 22 January 2018,
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- M.D. Still
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
Sounds like a promising addition to the staff. Now we just need to recruit some players for him to coach!
The early bird gets the worm, the 'second' mouse gets the cheese. mark twain
- Semper
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
I think this is a good hire. I get the impression that Matt Luke wants to be a head coach, overseeing the staff and the program but not micromanaging his assistants. Supposedly Luke was not a fan of Freeze's sometimes micromanaging style. To be successful with this approach, the one at the top must hire good staff. So far, Luke seems to be trying to do this. I hope it all works out on the playing field.
- Sooper_Rebel
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
I'm taking a "we will see" approach.
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- MeridianOMRebel
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
Sooper_Rebel wrote:
I'm taking a "we will see" approach.
Same here. If Luke can get successful coaches on staff, and stay out of their way, then he's got a shot at doing really well. Hopefully he learned from all of the mistakes he made last season (such as what an onside kick is, how to use timeouts, growing a set of balls, etc...).
- Rebelbowhunter
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
Of course Luke didn't like Freeze's micromanagement style. I'm sure he didn't like having his ass chewed regularly for having the worst performing group on our football team every single year. But rather than get better he leveraged his assets to stay on board.
Of course he's going to stay out of their way. Lol.
How else does he avoid getting canned when they falter? Rinse and repeat. Built in excuses for mediocre at best to failure at worst.
I'm taking the shut up and show me approach. So worn out with all of the bullshit and sunshine pumping coming out of the network. Has to be similar to when Hitler controlled the nazi media.
Time will soon tell if Luke has it or not. I don't think there will be many if any that will be truly surprised if he falters. The problem between now and then is the amount of sheep that get led into believing he's the next JHV only to realize he isn't even Steve Sloan...
Last edited by Rebelbowhunter (1/23/2018 10:11 pm)
Follow Your Arrow-------->
- catfishboy
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
Luke must have spent some time around Mutt because both sure know how to make excuses and deflect blame. Most likely Ole Miss will be mediocre at best with Luke as HC. If he does not produce, he always has the excuses of the limited scholarships, NCAA investigation, rebuilding, etc. He is in like Flint and politically protected by a solid network of GOBs.
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Thread Starter- Rebelbowhunter
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
I've tried to refrain from commenting on this debacle. I know most on here are surely tired of reading my negativity so I've tried to read and scroll on without responding.
Had a colorful conversation with a good friend earlier this week that lives in Oxford. He's towing the same sunshine pumping line others are. Luke was all that was available. Had to get him signed up for recruiting.
He had ZERO response when I asked him why if we were going to hire Luke did we rush to do so before the NCAA released it's penalties? Wasn't like Luke was going anywhere. Wasn't like it was going to impact the current or coveted 19 class either way so why rush? Wait until the penalties are released then hire the best coach available. If that's Luke I would not have had an issue with how it was done but you see that removes one fo the biggest built in excuses for hiring Luke. The "we don't know what the NCAA is going to do so no other coach is coming". Sorry if I'm in the minority to see the snow job that was performed here.
I'll do my best to just read and not comment.
Hope he is the right man for this job and if he is all will be well and I'll be first in line to admit I was wrong.
If he isn't I hope they have the stones to do what needs to be done and what should have been done a couple of months ago. The only issue then will be how far the most recent knee jerk reaction sets us back and how long it takes us to overcome it.
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- catfishboy
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Re: Ole Miss adds Jon Sumrall as linebackers coach
When Bjork posted the job Luke became infuriated that the position was being advertised to the public. Luke began to circle the wagons and get political backing from GOBs. His methodology worked and he was able to get the full time position. As mentioned above, I will be the first to eat some crow if things work out positively with Luke as HC. Seeing his coaching results in the past should make most people with football knowledge scratch their heads and wonder how he will be successful in a championship type nature. Time will tell and if the results are not positive, then Ole Miss will once again be set back several years before any possibility of being a winner is realized.
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Thread Starter