Whitt took the Florida job after two seasons of serving as Tulane\u2019s director of strength and conditioning under Jon Sumrall. Prior to Tulane, the military veteran served as strength & conditioning coach at Troy from 2020-23 and led the Trojans to back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships.<\/p>\n
Now, entering the Gators\u2019 2026 campaign, Whitt expects to prepare UF\u2019s players to grow together and face adversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to make sure that any entitlement in this program is squashed out,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whitt brings over 25 years of experience as a strength and conditioning coach to Florida, as well as a distinguished 6-year military career that guides his approach to player development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the military has affected his leadership capabilities by teaching him \u201cThe standards, the accountability, [and] the urgency you have to have to be successful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking to heighten the standard of Gators football and bring an increased level of accountability to the program, Whitt has installed a familiar strength and conditioning regime that his programs have braved for decades \u2014 \u201cthe gauntlet\u201d. An intense training program used to build strength and camaraderie \u2014 and highlight weak spots among the team\u2019s physicality or chemistry \u2014 the gauntlet, will be run until the Gators get it right. If they do it wrong, they start over.<\/p>\n
Whitt explained \u201cthe gauntlet\u201d helps a team prepare for adversity and that you can really see a team grow together in a short amount of time when they\u2019re pushing toward the common goal of success. He said he\u2019s seen four teams \u2014 two at Troy and two at Tulane \u2014 complete the gauntlet in his time as a coach and that the Gators are working to be number five. He noted that they completed their fourth attempt at \u201cthe gauntlet\u201d this morning, and that they got closer than the previous run.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys are so used to being successful that they don’t understand what failure really means,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cI learned a lot about myself and the urgency and desire to exist and to last and to mean something. And I try to get that instilled to our players at a young age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitt takes accountability seriously, not just for his players, but for himself. He\u2019s confident the Gators will shine in the trenches and that his approach to development will allow Florida\u2019s lines to remain steadfast on both sides of the ball.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI take a lot of pride in our offensive line and our defensive lines inside the box players, and they are a direct reflection of your strength program,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cIf they\u2019re getting beat up and pushed around, it\u2019s my fault. You know, fire me, it\u2019s my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He also harped on the idea that leadership and being a leader starts with leading yourself, and hopes to see UF players take accountability and push themselves as leaders. He\u2019s set a 9 p.m. bedtime as the ideal routine for the Gators and was adamant that his guys need to learn that they can\u2019t live the same lives as regular college students and 20-year-olds. Once they learn they have to alter their behavior, they\u2019ll get it, Whitt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to bring standards and accountability to this program,\u201d Whitt said. \u201cThe guys that we absorb here understand it, and we\u2019re all going to be on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n
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