Florida Gators take massive blow in recruiting and it was one we all saw coming

DT Jamir Perez flips from Florida to Ohio State

This is one that was projected to happen over the last couple of weeks, but it stings nonetheless. 

Perez quickly committed to the Gators after an official visit in May, and it looked like a coup. He is a massive body at 6'4 and 330 lbs and looks to be an undervalued player on the interior at this point in the recruiting cycle. Perez ranks as the 61st overall defensive tackle and 596th overall recruit per the On3 Sports Industry Ranking.

When Perez decided to visit Ohio State after making his commitment to the Gators, it started the speculation that the Buckeyes were going to be able to make the flip. He's from Cleveland, Ohio, and convincing him to stay home seemed to be an easy task.

This puts the Gators' defensive line class back a notch after getting Guervil to commit. They now just have him and four-star JaReylan McCoy in the class, and would like to add at least one or two more.

The Gators' 2026 recruiting class currently looks like this with 14 commitments: 

• Four-star CB C.J. Bronaugh
• Four-star DT Kendall Guervil
• Four-star WR Marquez Daniel
• Four-star DL JaReylan McCoy
• Four-star WR Justin Williams
• Four-star S Kaiden Hall
• Four-star RB Carsyn Baker
• Four-star QB Will Griffin
• Four-star CB C.J. Hester
• Three-star OT Chancellor Campbell
• Three-star iOL Desmond Green
• Three-star iOL G'Nivre Carr
• Three-star TE Kekua Aumua
• Three-star OT Tyler Chukuyem
• Three-star OT Javarii Luckas