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Published May 16, 2019
New kid in town: Getting to know incoming freshman DE Lloyd Summerall
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Zach Goodall  •  1standTenFlorida
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@zach_goodall

As reported on Monday by Gators Territory beat reporter Jacquie Franciulli, four Florida Gators incoming freshmen have enrolled in Summer A term.

Cornerback Kaiir Elam (Benjamin School - Palm Beach Gardens, FL), defensive end Khris Bogle (Cardinal Gibbons - Fort Lauderdale, FL), defensive end Lloyd Summerall (Lakeland HS - Lakeland, FL), and athlete Trent Whittemore (Buchholz HS - Gainesville, FL) have made their way to the University in order to begin school before their first season in orange and blue.

With that being said, let's get to know each Baby Gator and what role they will be serving with the team in the immediate future. We've profiled Kaiir Elam and Khris Bogle already, now let's check out defensive end Lloyd Summerall.


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Summerall, 6-6, 210 lbs., is yet another lengthy prospect in the first four summer enrollees. Length appears to be a key factor in the prospects head coach Dan Mullen and his staff are scouting for.

Though listed as a weak-side defensive end in his Rivals recruiting page, where he is considered a 4-star prospect, Summerall has the potential to be a legitimate 5-technique defensive end with added bulk over time. Also known as the strong-side defensive end, which lines up directly across from the offensive tackle's outside shoulder. Redshirt senior Jabari Zuniga is currently starting at 5-tech for the Gators.

Yesterday's profile of Khris Bogle hammered the appeal of his length as a weak-side defensive end, but Summerall provides enough length to the point where he may be best suited as a 5-technique. His lack of bending ability and rather straight-line speed and power furthers that belief.

5-tech's utilize their length as containment players and true edge setters who can play with inside leverage and work through the interior more often than the weak-side end. Summerall has some weight and muscle to put on before being able to wreak havoc at that position, but much like Bogle, Summerall's frame is long enough to project the ability to add healthy weight over time without losing much athleticism.

Summerall recorded 14.5 sacks and 35.5 tackles for loss in two seasons on varsity, including a whopping 27 tackles for loss as a senior. He also intercepted four passes and forced three fumbles.

Summerall plays with a lot of straight line speed on tape, however he doesn’t possess the bending traits that Bogle does.

At 5-tech, bend isn’t as necessary compared to a weak-side rusher. However, all-around size and strength is. Summerall’s ability to pair healthy, added weight with his length won’t hurt his 40 time enough to make him less affective, and that size fits the 5-tech mold.

Bogle needs to add weight as well, but Summerall has the potential to add a lot more without slowing down drastically. Thus making Summerall a better projection at 5-tech than Bogle.

Summerall gets off the line with a bit of a late first step, which is something he will need to improve on at Florida. However his plant foot off of the first step is really powerful when working inside towards the B-gap, which gives him a boost shooting the hole in order to blow the run play up in the backfield.

Once he clears the gap, Summerall stays patient waiting for the running back to shift his hips back inside before lunging to make the tackle, in order to prevent an outside run. An excellent edge set and explosive - albeit late - play through the offensive line by Summerall flashes his 5-technique potential.

Considering the lanky figure he owns, Summerall fights through contact very well which is another translatable trait for playing 5-tech in college. Summerall easily gets off the initial cross-face block from the tight end, putting him in the ground and tugging at Summerall's feet.

Summerall then out-muscles the pulling guard with low pad level to drive himself into the following running back for no gain. He's a slippery player, and with added muscle, this ability can translate to the next level.

All about setting and containing the edge. Summerall plays vertically to cut off the back-side run from getting outside, taking on the blocking H-back with an outside long-arm move in order to maintain inside leverage anticipating a cut-up from the RB following his edge set.

Summerall wins with his long-arm move and gets off the block in-sync with the RB cut-up and makes the tackle for a minimal gain. These edge sets are consistent from Summerall, even with an occasional late first step off of the snap, and are key factors to his team's run defense.

They're also key responsibilities for the 5-technique position.

Now, Summerall isn't just a run defender. He has some solid pass rushing traits as well. Summerall begins this rep with an inside step to prevent the tackle from opening his hips wide then counters with a violent swim move to get up field and turn his corner towards the quarterback.

Summerall doesn't bend well which prevents his corner turn from being sharp, but his speed is utilized after making the turn to chase the quarterback down before escaping the pocket. Overall, it's a solid sack with a violent, polished swim move.

Summerall attempts a spin move inside but plays tall which makes the move too stiff, losing momentum and nearly getting push out of his rush lane.

However, Summerall puts his balance on display after he failed spin move by planting his right foot with his toes pointed at the quarterback and generates torque off of his spinning movement to attack the quarterback through contact.

He ends up with an unorthodox sack, and the balance shown on the play only furthers his potential to play 5-tech and holding up moving inside.

It will take some time to both add bulk to Summerall's frame and develop him as a true 5-tech, but the traits and talent he's shown on film gives him potential to play that position. He's a stout run defender with a ton of play strength and natural length that helps set the edge and contain runs, with pass rushing upside and a nice swim move to work around tackles.

It would benefit Summerall to redshirt his freshman year with talent above him on the depth chart at 5-technique, and in that year add weight to his frame and learn the in's and out's of the position. His play strength will only get stronger with better technique and development, which could turn Summerall into a forceful player as a strong-side defensive end in the future.