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The Florida football team, led by coach Billy Napier, faced major scrutiny at points in the 2024 season. However, after starting 4-5, the Gators won four consecutive games, concluding with a 33-8 Gasparilla Bowl victory against Tulane for an 8-5 final record. Now, recruits are flooding in.
After flipping the script last season, Napier has one of 2025’s highest-ranked recruiting classes in the nation, on that features numerous sought-after top players.
Early Signing Moves
Midway through the 2024 season, Florida didn’t have a top-50 recruiting class. Now, it’s in the top 10, according to 247Sports recruiting rankings, with 26 athletes signed and most on campus. In November and December, Napier began making a splash in the recruiting world, snagging transfers and top-300 recruits left and right.
A plethora of four stars joined the Gators in the 2025 class’s early signing period in December, including edge rusher Jayden Woods, cornerback Ben Hanks Jr., safety Lagonza Hayward Jr. running back Waltez Clark, receivers Naeshaun Montgomery and Vernell Brown III and tight end TaeShaun Gelsey.
Additionally, four-star linebacker Ty Jackson flipped his commitment from USC to join the Gators while four stars Tramell Jones Jr. (QB) and Drake Stubbs (safety) committed to Florida out of Mandarin High School in Jacksonville.
Napier also made moves to strengthen the Gators’ run game, adding three-star offensive lineman Daniel Pierre Louis and three-star running back Chad Gasper during the early signing period.
The most notable addition was four-star receiver Dallas Wilson who flipped his commitment from Oregon in December.
Signing Day
On Wednesday’s National Signing Day, Napier flipped three-star cornerback Onis Konanbanny from Tennessee. At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Konanbanny’s explosiveness and agility make him a strong defensive back prospect. He recorded 76 total tackles (64 solo), one interception, two pass deflections, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble during his senior season.
Napier on Recruits
During Florida’s National Signing Day news conference, Napier noted that he’s proud of Florida’s recruiting efforts in 2025.
“The entire organization as a whole, I think we did a good job evaluating and recruiting in this cycle,” Napier said. “And that’s been confirmed by this group of rookies that has been here for about four weeks now, so we’ve been very pleased.”
Napier also praised Florida’s recruits and how they have impacted the structure of Florida football, stating that “Overall they have hit-the ground running.”
The Florida coach, who is entering his fourth season in Gainesville, also said rising sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway aided recruiting.
“With DJ showing promise as a young player … I think that helped our ability to attract talent,” Napier said.
