NIL not the Biggest Factor for Florida Gators Five-Star OL Target Felix Ojo

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Despite making five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo's top eight, the Florida Gators were considered by many to be on the outside looking in. After his official visit in Gainesville, Ojo considers Florida very much in the running.

"They sit very high on my list, and they most definitely have a chance in my recruiting process," he said after leaving his visit. "If anyone thought they didn't, they most definitely do now."

The No. 1 offensive tackle recruit in the country, Ojo plays a position with high NIL demand, as seen by five-star Jackson Cantwell's commitment to Miami. For Ojo, however, NIL won't be the largest factor when making his decision, which he hopes to have sometime near the end of the summer.

"NIL is definitely a factor. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't, but I'll say, I'm going to college for relationship building more than NIL," he said, also citing development and potential NFL earnings as more important than "college money."

Ojo did note that Florida is competitive in that field.

Outside of that, Florida's investment into developing offensive linemen stands out to Ojo as well under two position coaches in Rob Sale and Jon Decoster, who has primarily recruited Ojo. The two's experience as position coaches in the NFL play into Ojo's desires to be properly developed at the collegiate level.

"It was nice, especially with all the NFL experience," Ojo said. "Just talking ball with them and talking how they run their offense and just seeing how their offense correlates to my skill sets."

While Florida took a significant step forward in their chances for Ojo, this recruitment is still far from over with the five-star set to visit Ohio State on May 30, Michigan on June 6, Texas on June 13 and Oklahoma on June 20.

Texas is considered the leaders by multiple outlets, but Ojo is still considering all options in front of him. He explained that what current players on each team will also play a big role in his decision.

"Spending time with the players is the main part because the players don't lie to you," he said. "Really building a connection with them because that's who I'm going to be playing with and building a brotherhood with."

As it stands, Florida has no offensive line commits in its 2026 class, which grew to two pledges on Sunday after a pledge from three-star defensive lineman Jamir Perez. Florida Gators on SI is tracking all of the Gators' recruiting moves in our 2026 Recruiting Tracker.

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