6-Foot-7 ATH Chooses Florida Over Two In-State Rivals

6-Foot-7 ATH Chooses Florida Over Two In-State Rivals originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Florida Gators and head coach Billy Napier have been heating up on the recruiting trail. Since July began less than two weeks ago, Florida added four defensive four-stars to its 2026 class.

The latest of these commits came on Friday in a stunning decision, as elite edge rusher Kevin (KJ) Ford committed to the Gators over a pair of SEC rivals in the Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas A&M Aggies.

On Saturday, Napier and the Gators got some very welcome news for the offensive side of the ball, as they landed a pledge from one of the top offensive prospects in the country in the 2026 recruiting class.

Heze Kent, who has been listed as both a tight end and offensive tackle throughout his recruitment, announced his commitment to Florida on Saturday, reported by Rivals' Hayes Fawcett.

"Gator boys stay hot," Kent said.

Kent is listed as the No. 9 athlete in the nation and the 20th overall recruit from the state of Georgia in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

The 6-foot-7, 310-pound physical specimen chose the Gators over the in-state rival Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles and SEC foe Texas Longhorns.

While he likely projects as an offensive tackle at the collegiate level due to his size and physical makeup, Kent has demonstrated great ball skills, movement and ball-carrying ability at Brunswick High School. As a junior last season, he had 41 receptions for 983 yards and eight touchdowns, per MaxPreps. He also rushed for 211 more yards and eight scores on the ground.

Not only is Kent a monster on the gridiron, but he has also shown off his abilities on the hardwood. On Brunswick's basketball team as a forward, the dual-sport athlete averaged over 17 points and 14 rebounds per game, according to MaxPreps. While he will only play football with the Gators, his basketball skills show how athletic he is.

Florida now has 18 total commits in the 2026 class, including 11 four-star recruits, according to On3. Other than Kent, Napier has gotten commitments from one tight end (three-star Kekua Aumua) and two offensive tackles (three-stars Chancellor Campbell and Tyler Chukuyem) for the class.

Now, with five blue-chip prospects committing to the Gators in the past two weeks, Napier and Florida are on a roll in the recruiting game and will look to keep it going in the near future.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.