UPDATED [12-5-25, 4:50 p.m.]
Four-star safety Kaiden Hall, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound prospect from Milton High School in Northwest Florida, signed Friday, the last day of the Early Signing Period, with Florida, which has 18 total signees and one peferred walk-on.
“This group is a testament to both the national brand of Florida and the hard-work of some great people on staff in Gainesville,” UF coach Jon Sumrall said on the school’s website. “I couldn’t be more excited about the student-athletes that became Gators today, but also the future of our outstanding program. This is just the beginning. It’s a great day to be a Florida Gator.”
The group consists of 11 offensive players and eight defensive. The class includes five offensive linemen, four defensive backs, three wide receivers, two EDGE, two defensive linemen, one quarterback, one tight end and one linebacker.
The class is ranked 13th by On3/Rivals and 15th by both 247Sports and ESPN. Twelve players are ranked in the ESPN Top-300, tying the Gators for seventh-most in the country and third-most in the SEC.
National Signing Day for the NCAA Division I Football Class of 2026 is Feb. 4, 2026, the traditional first Wednesday in February, following the Early Signing Period this month. While many top recruits signed already, Feb. 4 is the main event for those who waited or flipped commitments.
A Memorable Transition Class
With a new coach and hope in the Gainesville air, Sumrall and the Florida Gators will spent Wednesday trying to lure recruits to the team as it resets from a lackluster 4-8 season, characterized by the departure of coach Billy Napier. Florida’s former coach departed the program in good standing, at least in his 2026 recruiting class, ranked No. 13 by 247Sports.
Despite Napier’s untimely exit Oct. 19, both the current team and the future Gators seemed to be fully behind the program. The only recent fracture was running back Carsyn Baker, who decommitted Monday after the Sumrall announcement. Otherwise, the Gators kept players believing in what the team could look like, rather than the current product on the field.
With Sumrall FaceTiming recruits and athletic director Scott Stricklin selling a Florida future full of championships, the Gators will try to lock down as many faces as possible — especially as the impending Jan. 2 (through Jan. 16) transfer portal draws near.
Here are some notable signees — ranked No. 16 by 247Sports Composite (No. 15 by ESPN) with a day to go — during the Early Signing Period:
Justin Williams, WR, Gainesville
This hometown recruit was a consensus four-star recruit, ranking highly among ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. Williams is ranked No. 9 among the country’s wide receivers for a reason: he’s the first Floridian high schooler to record over 1,000 rushing and receiving yards since Devin Hester in 2022. Additionally, the Buchholz player tallied 16 touchdowns on the ground and 13 in the air in 2024, setting the school record with 7 TDs in a single game. For his historic 2024 campaign, he earned the Sports Illustrated Florida High School Offensive Player of the Year Honors.
Williams will provide an additional target for quarterback DJ Lagway and the Gators, whose receivers have been hampered by injuries. It will also give the team a decent stopgap measure if someone like WR Dallas Wilson pursues options elsewhere. Florida will also be losing red-shirt senior J.Michael Sturdivant to the NFL Draft.
Will Griffin, QB, Treasure Island
Griffin is a four-star quarterback who finished as a 2025 Elite 11 Finalist. Ranked No. 123 nationally and No. 19 in Florida, the Jesuit High School quarterback set multiple program records, including passing yards in a season (3,404, 2024) and touchdowns in a single game (seven). He also played in the 2025 Under Armour All-American game.
CJ Bronaugh, CB, Orlando
Bronaugh, a multisport athlete, is a champion across the board. Sure, he’s a four-star recruit, the country’s No. 7 cornerback and No. 8 player from Florida. But Bronaugh is also a three-time state-champion sprinter, and his quickness helps vary the tempo that Sumrall spoke about needing in Monday’s press conference.
“On offense, when I think of Florida football, I think of aggressive,” he said. “I think of explosive, I think about mixing tempos, using it to your advantage, and dictating the game to the opponent.”
Florida finished Wednesday With 15 signees:
- four-star DL JaReylan McCoy (Listed as a five-star by ESPN)
- four-star EDGE Kevin Ford
- four-star WR Marquez Daniel
- four-star QB Will Griffin
- four-star DL Kendall Guervil
- four-star OT Tyler Chukuyem
- four-star WR Justin Williams
- four-star LB Malik Morris
- four-star TE Heze Kent
- four-star WR Davian Groce
- four-star DB CJ Bronaugh
- three-star OT Chancellor Campbell
- three-star IOL Desmond Green
- three-star OT Javarii Luckas
- three-star IOL G’Nivre Carr
*OL Corey Brown signed as a Preferred Walk-On. He is the younger brother of Gators’ wide receiver Vernell Brown III.
Thursday
Florida made the hiring of Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White official by announcing Sumrall’s first staff addition.
White, 43, spent the last eight years at UK, including the last seven in charge of the defense. Sumrall and White worked together there between 2019 and 2021, including working their final year together as co-DCs. Sumrall left Kentucky to become Troy’s coach in 2022 and spent the last two years at Tulane.
White’s defenses ranked in the top 25 nationally in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, with the ’18 unit ranked sixth nationally. White developed 14 NFL Draft picks and six selections in the top-two rounds on the defensive side of the ball.
“Brad is one of the best defensive minds in football and I’m thrilled he will be joining us in Gainesville,” Sumrall said on the school’s website. “Brad has led one of the best defenses in the SEC the last seven years and has extensive experience in the NFL as well. His defenses possess the exact characteristics we are going to have here at Florida and I can’t think of a better leader for that unit.”
Georgia Tech’s Buster Faulkner is set to become Florida’s offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Former Florida coach Billy Napier is set to make his return to the Sun Belt Conference. James Madison is expected to hire Napier to fill the coaching vacancy left by Bob Chesney, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported.
- Florida flipped four-star safety Dylan Purter from LSU. Purter, a 6-foot ½, 165-pounder, is high school teammates with Florida wide receiver signee Marquez Daniel at Booker T. Washington High School in Tuskegee, Ala. Sumrall had recruited Purter while he was at Tulane.
- Cornerback CJ Hester, a four star on ESPN’s site, signed Thursday. Hester, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder from Cocoa High School, has been committed to Florida since July 3.
