Florida Loses Race for No. 2 Safety in Georgia to SEC Rival

Florida Loses Race for No. 2 Safety in Georgia to SEC Rival originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Florida Gators will have to wait to add their second safety commitment from the 2026 class.

On3's Hayes Fawcett reported Saturday that four-star safety Tyriq Green had committed to the Georgia Bulldogs. Green is a native of Buford, Georgia, and the No. 2 safety in the state. He is listed at 5-foot-10.5, 190 pounds.

The other schools competing for him included the Auburn Tigers and Miami Hurricanes.

If he picked Florida, he would have joined four-star safety Kaiden Hall, from Milton, Florida.

Green's commitment was predicted by On3 Sports, with four experts picking the Bulldogs to land him on Wednesday.

Green is the No. 13 safety in the On3 Industry Rankings for the 2026 class.

Head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia made the recruit a priority, visiting with him seven times before his commitment. The Bulldogs were the last time to host him on an official visit on June 13. Florida had Green in Gainesville one time, back in July of 2023.

The weekend was not all full of bad news for Florida, however. The Gators were predicted to land Heze Kent, the top offensive tackle from Georgia in the 2026 cycle. That prediction came true on Saturday, as he picked the Gators over the Texas Longhorns, Miami and the Florida State Seminoles.

Florida's class is led by four-star corner CJ Bronaugh, four-star edge rusher KJ Ford, four-star defensive lineman Kendall Guervil and Kent.

The Gators face Long Island in their season opener on August 30 to start year four of the Billy Napier era.

Related: Joel Klatt Reveals Florida's Chances to Make First College Football Playoff

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.