By ESPN | Created at 2024-11-26 16:11:26 | Updated at 2024-11-28 05:46:25
1 day ago
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Napier speaks on UF's turnaround, 'unique presence' of QB Lagway (4:40)
Billy Napier joins SEC This Morning and discusses the Gators' turnaround that led to a win over Ole Miss, while also diving into the qualities that makes QB DJ Lagway special. (4:40)
Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterNov 26, 2024, 10:09 AM ET
- Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Florida flipped four-star Florida State running back Byron Louis on Tuesday morning, sources told ESPN, securing the Gators their fourth 2025 commitment in the span of less than 24 hours and dealing the latest blow to the Seminoles' incoming class this fall.
Louis, ESPN's No. 11 running back prospect in 2025, committed to Florida three days after the rusher from Plantation, Florida, visited the Gators during the program's win over No. 9 Ole Miss in Week 13. His pledge follows Florida's Monday morning flip of USC inside linebacker pledge Ty Jackson (No. 54 in the ESPN 300) before the Gators added offensive tackle Jahari Medlock (Cincinnati flip) and wide receiver Muizz Tounkara (Arizona flip) later in the day.
Florida's flip of Louis -- No. 196 in the ESPN 300 -- comes as the Gators prepare to visit Florida State to close the regular season on Saturday. Between Louis, quarterback Tramell Jones and offensive guard Daniel Pierre Louis, Florida has now added three former Seminoles pledges to its 27th-ranked 2025 class since Nov. 17.
Louis initially committed to Florida State over Georgia, Miami and Wisconsin on Sept. 21. With his move to Florida, he now represents the eighth prospect to pull his pledge from Mike Norvell's 2025 class since the beginning of the regular season, joining five other ESPN 300 prospects who decommitted from the Seminoles across the program's 2-9 start this fall.
Without Louis, a Florida State class that once boasted 12 top-300 pledges approaches the early signing period with only six commitments from inside the ESPN 300, headlined by five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas, ESPN's No. 3 offensive tackle prospect in 2025. The Seminoles received a much-needed recruiting boost last week when it flipped four-star Oklahoma quarterback pledge Kevin Sperry (No. 132 in the ESPN 300) into the program's 2025 class following Jones' decommitment from the program earlier this month.
Security around Napier's future at Florida and the Gators' strong on-field finish this fall has given the program a jolt on the recruiting trail in the run-up to the early signing period.
Louis marks Florida's eighth addition in the 2025 class since the school announced Napier would remain as the program's head coach on Nov. 7. The Gators have hosted a series of high-profile recruits over the past two weekends, including four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench and Dallas Wilson, as Florida works toward a strong finish in the 2025 cycle.
As the Gators and Seminoles battle on the recruiting trail into the final days before the early signing period, Florida visits Florida State Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.
