JUCO EDGE Brien Taylor commits to Florida Gators

Houston Blinn Community College three-star EDGE Brien Taylor has committed to Florida.

The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder chose the Gators while also holding offers from Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon, Miami and others.

Taylor is the No. 14 JUCO prospect and No. 4 EDGE, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

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Florida and Georgia emerged for the Lone Star State product, but Billy Napier and the Gators got Taylor to Gainesville for multiple visits this fall and have now added the experienced EDGE to an elite recruiting class.

“Taylor sees the opportunity to make an instant impact too. That is very important for a player who has already played two seasons of college football,” Florida recruiting insider Corey Bender wrote. “This hasn’t been the Gators’ best defensive line class either and some players transferred out. Taylor sees the opportunity to shine early and often at Florida.”

Taylor does not currently have an On3 NIL Valuation. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Taylor joins Top-Five Florida recruiting class

The addition of Taylor brings Florida’s 2024 recruiting class back up to 20 commitments. The class ranks No. 5 in the nation and No. 3 in the SEC, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

Headlining the class is Willis (Texas) five-star quarterback DJ Lagway, the No. 12 recruit and No. 2 QB in the cycle. He’s flanked by Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray and McKinney (Texas) elite four-star safety Xavier Filsaime, the No. 23 and No. 33 overall prospects, respectively.

Four additional top-100 recruits are pledged to the Gators in Atlanta F. W. Buchholz four-star linebacker Myles Graham, Largo (Fla.) four-star linebacker Adarius Hayes, Portal (Ga.) four-star tight end Amir Jackson and Clinton (N.C.) four-star DL Amaris Williams.

Florida’s class sits No. 9 nationally in blue-chip percentage at 65%. The average distance of a Florida recruit’s hometown to Gainesville is 632.4 miles and 30% of the class hails from the state of Florida. Taylor is the third Texan to join the fold, alongside Lagway and Filsaime.