Florida Gators Beat Out In-State Rivals in Updated Recruiting Rankings

Florida Gators Beat Out In-State Rivals in Updated Recruiting Rankings originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Florida Gators have had a phenomenal two months on the recruiting trail. Head coach Billy Napier has been gaining commits from top-ranked recruits at an incredible pace, leading to Florida climbing up the rankings.

The Gators have also been on a tear since the calendar turned to July. In the past two weeks, Florida has gotten commitments from five blue-chip prospects, all of whom are four-stars.

On Monday, Rivals updated its Industry Team Recruiting Rankings along with releasing its initial Rivals300 Prospect Rankings for the 2026 recruiting class. In the team rankings, the Gators jumped in front of a pair of in-state rivals, as they are now the top-ranked team in Florida.

The Gators are 11th in Rivals' updated rankings, coming in just ahead of the Miami Hurricanes at 12th and Florida State Seminoles at 13th. Florida leads the state in the rankings even though it has fewer commits than both of its biggest in-state foes.

Napier and the Gators have 18 total verbal commits for the 2026 class, while the Hurricanes have 20 and the Seminoles have 22. Florida also ranks fifth in the SEC, falling behind the Georgia Bulldogs (1st), Texas A&M Aggies (4th), Alabama Crimson Tide (5th) and LSU Tigers (7th).

Of Florida's 18 commits, 10 found their way in the 2026 Rivals300. The highest-ranked Gators prospect is offensive tackle Tyler Chukuyem. The Douglasville, Georgia, native has raised his ranking immensely recently. He went from No. 286 to No. 88 since Rivals last updated its rankings. He is now ranked tenth at his position and ninth in the state of Georgia.

Chukuyem is the only Florida commit in the top 100 of the rankings, while the Gators have four from No. 100-200 and five from No. 200-300.

While Napier and Florida continue to rise through the team recruiting rankings, they are not done, as the Gators will look to add more commits from top prospects throughout the rest of the summer.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.