Gentry Hawk

The Gators hosted over 15 top prospects last weekend during Florida’s 48-20 win over the Kentucky Wildcats.

After allowing only four third-down conversions and 312 total yards in Florida’s devastating loss to the Tennessee Volunteers two weeks ago, Florida’s defense made it a priority to prove that a major turning point could be a reality halfway through the 2024 season. The Gators proved just that against the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend, making one of their biggest statements of the season through eight weeks.

The score may not show it, but Florida’s 14-point loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in no way reflects the massive effort and dominance that was put on display from the Gators’ defense in Jacksonville on Saturday. Despite losing quarterback DJ Lagway to a devastating injury in the second quarter, Florida’s defense continued to force turnovers on the other side of the ball and kept the Gators in the game up until the final minutes against the Bulldogs.

The Gators hosted several top targets this weekend during Florida’s matchup against LSU, which resulted in a commitment from four-star quarterback Tramell Jones on Sunday afternoon. With the Gators heating back up on the recruiting trail, 2025 four-star defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou has given a second look at the Gators after backing off his commitment in October.

The Gators hosted several top targets this weekend during Florida’s first ranked win of the season against LSU. Florida’s lone 2026 cornerback commit Jaelen Waters was back on campus for the entire weekend and was impressed with Florida’s defensive performance against one of the top ranked passing offenses in the country.

2026 four-star athlete Jermaine Bishop was in attendance this past weekend during Florida’s big upset win over the LSU Tigers. The 5-11, 155-pounder currently holds 18 offers while logging 13 interceptions and 112 total tackles so far in his high school career. The Texas native currently attends Willis High School, which happens to be the home of Florida’s starting quarterback DJ Lagway.

Despite giving up 464 yards of total offense and struggling at times on Saturday, Florida’s defense held the Rebels to 3 of 14 third down attempts and 2 of 4 fourth down attempts with only 17 total points, tying their season low. Ole Miss came into Saturday’s game with the second-ranked passing offense in the country while also ranking second in total offense sitting right behind Miami, according to the NCAA.

After flirting with the Gators long before the Mandarin defensive back even committed to the Trojans or the Hurricanes, talented four-star safety Hylton Stubbs has flipped from the Miami Hurricanes to the Florida Gators on Monday afternoon. The top 5 safety gives the Gators a total of 23 commitments in the Class of 2025, making it their 12th commitment in just 21 days. A recruiting class that once ranked 51st in the country 43 days ago is close to signing a top 10 class as signing day approaches on Dec. 4 th

The Florida Gators 2025 recruiting class looked as if it couldn’t be recovered back in September but winning can change everything. After winning three-straight games to close out the season, the Gators signed the No. 11 class in the country after ranking in the 60’s in the summer. At the receiver position, the Gators signed three players who complete an underrated haul when it comes to skill players who signed with Florida.

Florida’s improvement on defense midway through the season didn’t just win the Gators football games, but it landed them three top 100 defensive backs in Ben Hanks Jr., Hylton Stubbs and Lagonza Hayward. Florida’s secondary recorded 11 interceptions and 45 passes defended this season, their most since the Gators recorded 16 interceptions in 2019 and 53 passes defended in 2018.