Florida coach Jon Sumrall expected a routine offseason photo shoot inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Instead, he came face-to-face with a seven-foot alligator named Helena.
The viral moment happened over the weekend during a promotional shoot. Sumrall didn’t even know about the live gator until his wife told him the day before.
“She somehow found out from either my administrative team or my operations team before I did,” Sumrall told On3’s JD PicKell. “She’s like, ‘Hey, you know you’re gonna see an alligator tomorrow.’ I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?'”
Sumrall thought it would be a baby gator. Helena was much bigger.
“I’m like, ‘Hang on, how many feet?'” Sumrall said. “‘I’m supposed to get how close?'”
The alligator came from a nearby farm for the shoot. Video shared by Florida football showed Helena snapping her head back and hissing toward the coach.
https://t.co/1DvwT8WSG8 pic.twitter.com/ithBA1Fy2s
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) March 2, 2026
“When that alligator decided it was going to hiss and snap real fast, it let me know, ‘Hey, don’t mess with me,'” Sumrall said.
Sumrall’s getting used to The Swamp, but the natural predators are still new territory. He called the encounter humbling and said Florida’s live mascot is “pretty powerful” up close.
The photo shoot went smoothly despite the surprise. Sumrall completed the promotional work without incident.
