Florida head coach Billy Napier made it clear when he arrived at UF that college football is a “talent acquisition business”. Whether it's through the classic high school recruiting trails or the transfer portal, the teams with the most talent across the nation are typically competing for national championships at the end of each season.
Since 2019, Georgia and Alabama have finished in the top four of the 247 overall recruiting rankings, and in those years, have combined for three national titles and four College Football Playoff berths.
When the Gators competed for and won national titles in the early-to-mid 2000s, they finished No. 2, No. 1, and No. 5 in three consecutive recruiting classes. Now, Napier is trying to return the state of Gators recruiting back to that level.
UF’s 2024 recruiting class finished No. 7 overall, including two of the top four recruits in the country: Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and freshman defensive lineman LJ McCray. In total, the class included 36 commits, two five-star recruits, 18 four-star recruits and 15 three-stars.
In Napier’s 2025 recruiting cycle, Florida is far beyond where they were a year ago, sitting at No. 43 in the nation with less than a month until the early signing period ends Dec. 4.
According to 247Sports composite rankings, UF’s 2025 class consists of one five-star, five four-stars and six three-star recruits.
The lone five-star is wide receiver Vernell Brown lll. The No. 25 recruit and No. 6 receiver in the class chose the Gators over Miami, Ohio State and Florida State. Brown lll is a UF legacy. His father, Vernell Brown II, played defensive back for UF from 2001-05.
The only other Top-100 recruit in the class is cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. Hanks Jr. is the No. 96 recruit and the No. 12 cornerback in the 2025 class. He chose Florida over Miami and Louisville. Along with Brown lll, Hanks Jr. is a UF legacy. His father played linebacker for the Gators from 1992-95.
UF’s 2025 class lacks immense depth and has several holes, most notably along the line of scrimmage. Florida has just one commit in its 2025 class that plays on the offensive or defensive line.
The inability to sign elite offensive lineman isn’t a new trend for Florida, who has not landed a top-100 offensive line recruit since Richard Gouraige in 2018, according to 247Sports.
With time winding down on this year’s recruiting cycle and Napier’s job status confirmed for 2025, expect he and the Gators to be aggressive at the end of the cycle and in the transfer portal.
A name to keep an eye on for UF fans is four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. He is the No. 237 player in the 2025 class and the No. 21 quarterback, according to 247Sports. Jones Jr. recently decommitted from Florida State and will take an official visit this weekend at Florida.
The Gators will matchup against No. 22 LSU on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Multiple experts predicted Jones Jr. to flip his commitment to the Gators before he announced his decommitted from the Seminoles.
Along with Jones Jr., plenty of other high-profile recruits will be in Gainesville for Saturday’s game. Five-star cornerback and Ohio State commit Na’eem Offord will be in attendance. Offord is the No. 11 player in the 2025 class and ranked the No. 3 cornerback.
Five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench will also be on an official visit Saturday. The Texas commit is the No. 24-ranked player in the 2025 class and the No. 5 wide receiver.
Lastly, LSU commit and five-star cornerback DJ Pickett is set to visit UF. Pickett is the No. 9 player in the 2025 class and the No. 2 cornerback. Pickett and French are both Florida natives.
Stay tuned for more recruiting updates as we inch closer to the early signing period and National Signing Day.
Contact Chandler Hawkes at chawkes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @HawkesChandler.
