Florida Gators fall behind for elite five-star defender after making excellent progress in recent weeks

Recruiting has been red hot for the Florida Gators over the last few weeks. After entering the month of May with just one commitment in four-star quarterback Will Griffin, head coach Billy Napier has bolstered the 2026 class to include seven commitments with the inside track to have numerous more in the upcoming weeks.

One player who has been a crucial target for Napier is five-star safety Jireh Edwards out of St. Frances Academy in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The Gators did a great job in getting him to Gainesville with an unofficial visit between his visits to both Auburn and Alabama. They made a really big impression ahead of that visit and it landed the Gators in his top six.

When he did come to Gainesville, Napier and his staff went all out to make it as close to an official visit as possible. The momentum was going the way of the Gators, but that has started to close off.

On Wednesday morning, Edwards received an expert prediction from On3 Sports' Steve Wiltfong to commit to Alabama. This came after 247 Sports gave a crystal ball to Georgia for Edwards' commitment.