Latest news with #BillyNapier
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2 days ago
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Florida Wins Major Recruiting Battle for In-State Lineman
Florida Wins Major Recruiting Battle for In-State Lineman originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Billy Napier and the Florida Gators have been one of the more aggressive teams in their college football recruiting. Advertisement Already securing lots of high end talent, they are in the running for plenty of more recruits, who they would love to see in Gainesville. Their 2026 recruiting class has continued strong, as they look to secure another top 10 recruiting class, currently with the No. 13 class in the country. On Monday, the Gators received major recruiting news, as they have won a big recruiting battle with in-state three-star offensive lineman Javarii Luckas, who will join the team in Gainesville in 2026. Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and quarterback DJ Lagway (2).© Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Florida beat out the Miami Hurricanes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and West Virginia Mountaineers for the 6-foot-6, 305 pound offensive tackle. Advertisement Luckas is now the 11th recruit so far in the 2026 class, with him being the third offensive lineman recruit. Still looking to claim their first top 100 recruit of the window, they certainly are off to a strong start with rounding out their recruiting board. Looking a step earlier to their 2025 class, there is a lot of promise going into the first season with quarterback DJ Lagway at the helm full-time. With the returning players on the offensive side of the ball, as well as a five-star wide receiver Vernell Brown III coming in, Lagway and the Gators look to be one of the more explosive teams in 2025. The Gators will be kicking off their 2025 campaign with two home, in-state games against LIU and USF, before beginning SEC play at LSU. Advertisement Related: Five-Star Wide Receiver Makes Major Recruitment Announcement Related: Latest Florida Commit Shares Incredible Stat With NFL Legend This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
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Florida Receives Massive News on Five-Star Edge Rusher
Florida Receives Massive News on Five-Star Edge Rusher originally appeared on Athlon Sports. One of the best recruits in the 2026 college football recruiting class is Trenton Henderson, a five-star edge rusher from Pensacola, Florida. Advertisement With the '26 class beginning to shape up with commits from big schools all over the country, the chance to acquire Henderson will help immensely in their team's future. Rightfully so, Henderson has been in the eyes of seemingly every big school in the country, and has since narrowed his list down to his top three schools. The 6-foot-5 230 pound edge rusher's list now consists of the Florida Gators, alongside SEC foes in the Texas Longhorns and LSU Tigers. Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier celebrates a fourth-down stop against the Ole Miss Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images While a commitment date has yet to be announced by the highly ranked defender, making it to the top three for someone of this caliber is terrific news. Advertisement 247Sports has slotted their infamous crystal ball prediction that has Henderson landing with the Gators in 2026. Still searching for their first five-star commit in the 2026 window, head coach Billy Napier and the Gators are off to a great start, securing four highly sought after four-star recruits. Currently sitting just outside the top 10 as the No. 14 recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports, they have an opportunity to move into the top 10 should they win over the commitment of Henderson. Looking forward to a couple months from now, quarterback DJ Lagway and the Gators hold the No. 9-ranked recruiting class in the country, and look to improve on an up-and-down 2024 campaign. Advertisement Wide receiver Vernell Brown III highlights an elite list of talent heading to Gainesville, and look to make some serious noise in a difficult SEC as they look to make it to the College Football Playoffs. Related: Florida Wins Major Recruiting Battle for In-State Lineman Related: Five-Star Wide Receiver Makes Major Recruitment Announcement This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
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Florida in a Fight With Two SEC Powerhouses For Five-Star TE
Florida in a Fight With Two SEC Powerhouses For Five-Star TE originally appeared on Athlon Sports. One of the top recruits in the 2026 class has announced his top three schools and when he will announce his decision. Five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro has confirmed he will announce his commitment on July 12 between the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, and Texas Longhorns. Advertisement Prothro is a blue-chip talent who dropped the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide from consideration. He is ranked the No. 29 overall player in the class, according to On3 Industry Rankings. They also have him as the No. 4 player in Georgia and the No. 2 tight end behind USC Trojans commit Mark Bowman. Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart. Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Bowdon High School prospect has taken official visits to all three schools over the last month. He could take some unofficial ones before his commitment date, but nothing has been announced as yet. A few hours after his announcement, On3 recruiting pair Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons logged expert predictions for the Bulldogs to land Prothro. It's no surprise to see, given that he's a Georgia native and Kirby Smart and his staff are known for developing tight ends. However, there is still plenty of time for Florida and Texas to make a push before he announces his decision. Advertisement Billy Napier and his staff have been on fire with the 2026 class over the last month, moving into the top 15 of On3's Team Recruiting Rankings. The Gators are now at No. 14 thanks to a whopping 11 commits in June, six of them four-star players. Seven of those were in-state pick-ups as they look to win the battle against the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes. Related: Florida Receives Massive News on Five-Star Edge Rusher This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
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2 days ago
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Michigan Four-Star Commit Puts Florida Gators on Alert
Michigan Four-Star Commit Puts Florida Gators on Alert originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Florida Gators have been dealt some hope regarding a four-star Michigan Wolverines commit. Cornerback Brody Jennings has spoken to On3 regarding his recruiting process, and Billy Napier's Gators and the Miami Hurricanes will love hearing what Jennings has to say. Advertisement "I am not shutting things down yet," Jennings told On3. Both teams have continued to push for the Wolverines commit, who is a Florida native. He has been committed to Sherrone Moore's team since July 2024. However, they will need to continue to ensure that the relationship with Jennings remains strong as his home state schools look to convince him to flip. Florida Gators coach Billy Napier© Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Jennings is coming off an official visit to Ann Arbor, and despite still feeling good, he continues to explore what other programs can offer him. He has also taken OVs to the Georgia Bulldogs, the Florida State Seminoles, as well as Florida and Miami over the past several weeks. The Seminoles should also be on each other, as he is an FSU legacy whose father was a linebacker for the program. Sadly, he passed away just a few weeks ago. Advertisement The Mandarin High School prospect is currently in Indianapolis, coming in the Rivals Five-Star Challenge alongside the top 100 recruits from the 2026 class and beyond. It shows the character of Jennings; despite losing his father, he continues to put in the work regarding his future, all while dealing with the loss. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound corner is ranked the No. 29 cornerback and No. 41 player in Florida per the On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the No. 293-ranked player in the nation. Related: Florida in a Fight With Two SEC Powerhouses For Five-Star TE This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 days ago
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Florida Loses Out on Four-Star Safety to In-State Rival
Florida Loses Out on Four-Star Safety to In-State Rival originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Florida head coach Billy Napier has been on his game in the recruiting prowl since the calendar turned to June, including an incredible last week that saw the Gators secure a number of blue-chip athletes. Advertisement However, UF got dealt some difficult news on Monday, as four-star 2027 safety Jaylyn Jones committed to the Miami Hurricanes over Florida, first reported by Hayes Fawcett of On3. With this announcement, Jones becomes the third commit of the class for Mario Cristobal's team. Jones' final three schools he was considering were Miami, Florida and Auburn, as he ultimately decided to stay in his home of south Florida with the Hurricanes. The Hollywood, Florida native and McArthur High School defensive back is the No. 9 player at his position, per 247Sports. He had a very productive sophomore season at Davie, Florida's Western High School, recording 82 tackles, 14 pass breakups, three interceptions and three sacks, according to On3. Advertisement Jones was in Gainesville this past weekend at the Gators' final recruiting event before the start of this year's summer dead period. Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier.© Melina Myers-Imagn Images Despite losing out on Jones, Napier and Florida have been very active in recruiting as of late and have a promising outlook on the future. UF got its first commitment of the 2027 recruiting class on Saturday with four-star athlete Tramond Collins. In the near future, Florida ranks No. 14 in On3's 2026 Industry Rankings and hopes to add to its 13 total commits in that recruiting class before the end of the summer. Jones will have the opportunity to watch the Hurricanes take on the Gators in Miami Gardens in week four this September, one year removed from UM's 41-17 rout of Florida in the opening game of the 2024 season. Advertisement Related: Florida Lands Recruit Who Can Play 4 Positions This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
