Gators Rise in ESPN's Latest Recruiting Rankings Update

Entering the summer with just one commit in four-star quarterback Will Griffin, the Florida Gators have been fast risers in the 2026 recruiting class, adding 17 commits over the last two months and are in a position to be a top 10 class nationally.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Craig Haubert released the site's latest 2026 recruiting class rankings with the Gators, who were ranked No. 14 prior to the update, now ranked as the No. 12 recruiting class in the country. Of Florida's 18 total commits, 13 are ESPN300 commits with Griffin (No. 69) and five-star edge rusher JaReylan McCoy (No. 9) headlining the Gators' offensive and defensive commits.

Should McCoy sign with Florida, he would be the Gators' highest-rated signee in ESPN's rankings in over a decade, Haubert noted.

Meanwhile, Griffin is Florida's longest-tenured commit, pledging to the program in June 2024. After taking an official visit this summer, Griffin detailed his role in the class as the lone quarterback and overall leader of the group.

"I mean, yeah, the quarterback is kind of a leader. Even if you're not ready for that opportunity or ready for that spot, you're already a leader," he said. "You're a natural leader. You have to be. And I'd be glad to have the pressure on me. I like having the ball in my hands in tight games. I like pressure. So it's not even pressure recruiting these kids. You just gotta be yourself, be genuine."

The other commits in the ESPN300 are four-star edge rusher KJ Ford (No. 148), four-star linebacker Malik Morris (No. 171), four-star running back Carsyn Baker (No. 173), four-star tight end Heze Kent (No. 185, listed as an offensive lineman), four-star safety Kaiden Hall (No. 190), four-star corner CJ Bronaugh (No. 225), four-star receiver Marquez Daniel (No. 227), four-star defensive back CJ Hester (No. 253), four-star defensive tackle Kendall Guervil (No. 270 and four-star receiver Justin Williams (No. 287).

At Florida's portion of last week's SEC Media Days, Napier detailed Florida's early success in the class of 2026, the complete opposite of when the Gators needed a late turnaround to build its class.

"We got a good product. We work hard at it. We evaluate. We recruit. You'd like to get them all. I feel good about the class," he said. "I do think there's some reality around you can't sign every good player. I think there's a budget component. There's a strategy around the format of the class. And then there's an awareness of the retention factor. Knowing what's coming with some of the good young players you have. So, you know, you're juggling a few different balls. We've been living life that way in the past. So I think it's a little easier for us.

Napier also cited the recent arrival of revenue share to college athletics and how it's affecting recruiting moving forward.

"We've actually been pretty systematic in terms of what the budget is, how we distribute it by position, trying to take care of our veteran players that are coming back," he said. "And then being really strategic about how we bring in the rookies. So we're executing right now, all parts of our organization right now, I feel really good."

Florida Gators on SI is tracking all of the Gators' major recruiting news, from commits to prospects of note to the official visit schedule, on our 2026 Recruiting Tracker.

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