Florida has kept recruiting at a respectable level through coaching turnover, but the Gators’ recent history with five-star talent tells a different story. That’s the part Jon Sumrall has to clean up if he wants to change the direction of the program.
From 2020 through 2026, Florida’s recruiting classes averaged a national ranking of 11.36, with a couple of those groups landing as high as seventh. On paper, that’s a solid run.
But the five-star returns haven’t matched the hype. The Gators signed four five-star prospects in that span, according to the 247Sports Composite, and only two are now in the NFL.
One has already left the program, and another is still trying to establish himself.
Gervon Dexter was the first of that group, a five-star defensive lineman from Lake Wales, Florida, who came in with a perfect 100 rating on the 247 Composite. At 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds, he looked every bit the part.
Dexter flashed at Florida, but he never produced the kind of numbers that would push him into All-SEC territory. His best season came as a sophomore, when he finished with 51 tackles and three sacks.
Even without a dominant college resume, his size and athleticism were enough to make him a second-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2023 draft. He has been more productive in the NFL and should be in line for a strong contract when his rookie deal ends after this season.
Jason Marshall was another major win, landing in Dan Mullen’s final class. The Miami cornerback was steady throughout his four seasons in Gainesville.
He earned the No. 1 cornerback job late in his freshman year and held onto it. His strongest stretch came in his sophomore and junior seasons, when he averaged 28 tackles and 10 passes defended across those two years.
Marshall was taken by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2025 draft and is expected to have a shot at a starting role this season.
DJ Lagway brought a different kind of pressure. The 100-rated quarterback was the top player at his position in the 2024 class, and Florida leaned on him in a way few freshmen ever have.
He was tasked with trying to save Billy Napier’s job, and even with all that talent, he couldn’t pull off a rescue act. His freshman season did offer promise, though.
Lagway helped Florida finish with four straight wins, and he entered 2025 with plenty of buzz. But the season went off the rails, Napier was fired, and Lagway said he was never happy in Gainesville before transferring to Baylor.
Then there’s LJ McCray, whose Florida story is still unfinished. The Daytona Beach edge rusher arrived with big expectations and was supposed to be the next Jarvis Moss or Alex Brown.
Instead, his first season was cut short after one game because of a season-ending injury. Before that, he had 13 tackles and half a sack.
McCray stayed through the coaching change, but he enters training camp as a third-string defensive end and still has to earn his way onto the field.
That’s the problem Sumrall inherits: the rankings have been good enough to keep Florida in the conversation, but the development has lagged behind. The next test starts with the 2027 class and five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller.
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