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Florida Receives Promising Recruiting News on Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 4:50 PM ET

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier comes into 2025 with an overall record of 19-19.

Now that Napier has secured his first winning season, he is building through recruiting. Rivals' Steezo reported on X Sunday that Florida was one of four finalists for four-star defensive lineman Preston Carey.

Carey's other finalists are the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the Auburn Tigers, and the Georgia Bulldogs. He will be picking one of those schools on Monday.

He attends the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and is listed at 6-foot-4, 280 pounds.

The Penn State Nittany Lions, USC Trojans, Texas A&M Aggies, and Ohio State Buckeyes are among the teams that have extended offers to him.

Carey is the No. 30 DL in the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2026 class.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine currently has Rutgers as the leader, at 24.9%. Florida (18.2%) is in second, followed by Georgia (12.5%) and Auburn (7.9%).

If the Gators are who Carey goes with, the prospect will join a class highlighted by four-star corner CJ Bronaugh, four-star receiver Marquez Daniel, four-star defensive lineman JaReylan McCoy and four-star receiver Justin Williams.

Florida was one of the last teams to visit with Carey before his commitment date, with the Gators hosting him for an official visit on June 6.

Napier has been putting in work on the recruiting trail. Florida has made a good impression with 2027 five-star offensive tackle Kennedy Brown.

The Gators were also a finalist for another five-star prospect, in 2026 safety Jireh Edwards. Edwards will pick from Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn and the Oregon Ducks on July 5.

Florida opens year four of Napier's tenure against Long Island on August 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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