Florida Football: Edge Rushers Room Deep

Amidst a 2024 season that started rough, it was a different story for a specific position group. The Florida Gators’ depth at edge rusher proved itself to be strong throughout the entirety of the campaign. The group combined for seven fumbles and 20 sacks throughout the year, maintaining pressure and disrupting offenses week after week.

However, after losing the group’s leading tackler Jack Pyburn and role-player T.J. Searcy in the transfer portal, the carousel of rushers will look different. Regardless of the loss, the unit will continue to shine and may surpass the previous season’s marks. With returning standouts notching more experience and new additions joining the mix, here is who to look out for at edge rusher in 2025.

Tyreak Sapp

There’s no player who improved more from 2023 to 2024 than Tyreak Sapp. The rising redshirt senior helmed a much larger role last season and he delivered, notching 46 total tackles, seven sacks, and two forced fumbles. Those marks notched him the fifth best Pro Football Focus grade (90.4) for edge rushers in the SEC and tenth in the nation. PFF also ranks Sapp as the seventh best edge rusher for 2025 after his rise to prominence last year.

Highest Graded Returning Edge Rusher for the 2025 Season:

Tyreak Sapp, Florida: 90.4@GatorsFB pic.twitter.com/7SLhh4ybAe

— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 21, 2025

Now looking ahead, Tyreak Sapp will be the leader of the group and will look to continue his dominance at the position. Preparing for his fifth year at Florida, Sapp is one of the most experienced players on the roster and should carry a veteran presence in a young locker room. As for his play, Sapp is one of the most versatile stars on the defensive side. The 6-foot-2 breakout excels at run defense but pairs it with a formidable pass rush as well, making him one of Florida’s most dangerous weapons. If the Fort Lauderdale native is as good as he was last year, opponents’ quarterbacks will not be excited to try and evade him again this year.

George Gumbs Jr.

From a familiar face at Florida to a relatively new star, George Gumbs Jr. is in line for yet another good season. Following three years at Northern Illinois, Gumbs Jr. transferred to Florida for the 2024 season. The move proved beneficial for both sides, with Florida bolstering its depth and Gumbs Jr. having the best year of his career against top talent. The 6-foot-4, 253 pound rusher appeared in all 13 games with three starts, finishing second on the roster in tackles-for-loss at eight and sacks at five.

Gumbs Jr. will fill in the role that Jack Pyburn did last year, most likely seeing an increase on the three starts he had in 2024. While Pyburn’s shoes are big ones to fill, the man from Chicago proved he’s more than ready for the task. Like Tyreak Sapp, Gumbs Jr. provides an excellent veteran presence that a team with many young recruits desperately needs. The coaching staff are also big fans of Gumbs Jr., highly praising him to the media. After a strong season last year and an increased role heading into 2025, George Gumbs Jr. has the chance to overpower offensive linemen and contribute largely to the defensive effort.

Mike Peterson on George Gumbs Jr:

“He’s like a sponge. Anything I tell him, he soaks it all in.” https://t.co/xPte5bcGvs

— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) March 25, 2025

Young Guns and Powerful Depth

Aside from the two stars at edge, the Gators sport a wide array of fill-in options for the two when they are not on the field. Returning for the 2025 season are junior Kamran James and sophomore L.J. McCray, two previously highly touted recruits that also appeared in every game last season. James saw more reps than McCray, notching two sacks and 28 tackles in addition to four starts. However, don’t count McCray out of the mix, as the No. 1 edge rusher recruit in the Class of 2024 also posed a threat to opposing quarterbacks with five hurries across his snaps. The Gators also broadened their scope when looking for edge rusher talent, reeling in high-level recruits.

The Gators brought in December signee and four star Jalen Wiggins to start a flurry of moves on the recruitment trail. The move followed with a flip of Penn State commit Jayden Woods, the No. 10 edge rusher in the Class of 2025, and former UMass defensive lineman junior Kofi Asare. The important moves give Florida one of the deepest units of edge threats in the nation purely based on talent. After many tough departures on the defensive line, Florida has refilled the edge position well and now touts one of the best units of defensive ends in the nation.

Freshman edge Jayden Woods shedding a block in drills. He has been the talk of camp so far, especially in the weight room.@ESPNGainesville #Gators pic.twitter.com/Sd4HDApBKJ

— Nick Abreu (@NickAbreu13) March 11, 2025