Florida football loses three-star defensive line commit to Ohio State
Perez, listed at 6-foot-4-inches and 330 pounds, initially pledged to Billy Napier's program on May 18, capping his official visit to Gainesville by telling Florida football coaches he was ready to make Florida home.
"For me, see, I'm from Ohio," Perez previously told Gators Online's Blake Alderman. "I had Ohio State and being an Ohio kid, that's usually the dream, but I always dreamed of playing in the SEC. I feel like I'm an SEC type of body, I'm an SEC type of player. Florida just made it home."
His connection with defensive line coach Gerald Chatman was key to Florida landing his early commitment. But just two weeks later, Perez locked in an official visit with Ohio State–a trip that ultimately shifted the momentum back to Columbus.
That visit, which took place June 13-15, was reportedly when confidence spiked that the Buckeyes would flip him.
The impact for Florida is minimal. The Gators recently secured a commitment from Kendall Guervil, a four-star defensive lineman out of Fort Myers.
While losing an Ohio native to the in-state Buckeyes isn't necessarily a shock, it's another reminder that the recruiting battle in the trenches never stops–especially for a Florida staff trying to stack SEC-caliber depth.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
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