Florida finishes 2025 cycle with Top-10 class in On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

Florida made a very late and very big addition to its 2025 recruiting class on Monday evening, as Miami Northwestern four-star cornerback J’Vari Flowers announced his commitment to the Gators.

A top-100 prospect in the On300, Flowers chose head coach Billy Napier and Co. over Miami, Auburn, Georgia and others. His commitment vaults UF up to No. 10 in the 2025 On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, jumping Tennessee.

The addition of Flowers completes a massive late-cycle swing of momentum for the Gators. At the beginning of July, Florida’s class ranked No. 40 in the nation. It then proceeded to get scorching hot on the trail, pulling off myriad blue-chip flips while winning other high-profile recruitments.

Now with 16 four and five-star prospects in the class, Florida jumps an in-conference rival with many of the others in the class already on campus ahead of their true freshman seasons.

Gators have sensational DB class heading to The Swamp

The secondary will be full of blue-chippers in Gainesville. With Flowers now in the fold, Florida’s 2025 class consists of four of the nation’s top defensive backs.

Miami Booker T. Washington CB Ben Hanks III is an On3 five-star, ranking as the No. 23 recruit and No. 5 corner in the cycle. Jacksonville Mandarin four-star safety Hylton Stubbs and Lyons (Ga.) Toombs County four-star safety Lagonza Hayward make for a dynamic duo, checking in as the No. 4 and No. 7 safeties in the cycle, respectively.

Stubbs flipped from Miami, while Hayward was a one-time Tennessee pledge.

“Florida has always been in the back of my mind,” Hayward told On3. “When they played Tennessee and went to overtime against them at Neyland Stadium, I was like, ‘Hold on.’ I started paying attention to them… Their defense played great. Everybody was flying around. It wasn’t just one position group.” 

Elite WR duo also sits atop the class

Orlando Jones five-star wide receiver Vernell Brown III is the class jewel, ranking as the nation’s No. 30 recruit and No. 6 WR. A Gators legacy, Brown is one half of an elite receiver duo, alongside Tampa Bay Tech four-star WR Dallas Wilson, the No. 41 recruit in the cycle.

“The program on the field is great and off the field, I can set myself up for life there,” Brown III told On3. “The outside factor that the other schools couldn’t match was me being from Gainesville and growing up around there and then, having an opportunity to build on my family’s legacy while creating my own path as well.” 

Wilson originally signed with Oregon, but was released from his signature with the Ducks and eventually opted to stay home in the end.

“It feels great,” Wilson told Gators Online about his final decision. “I love being home and just taking care of my family.”

Flips defined Florida’s 2025 recruiting cycle

November saw each of the following flip their commitments to Florida:

Shawnee (Kan.) Mill Valley four-star EDGE Jayden Woods (Penn State)
Loxahatchee (Fla.) Seminole Ridge four-star linebacker Ty Jackson (USC)
Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes four-star offensive tackle Tavaris Dice (Auburn)
Jacksonville Mandarin four-star quarterback Tramell Jones (Florida State)
Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou (Texas)
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage four-star running back Byron Louis (Florida State)
Atlanta (Ga.) Charles Drew three-star OT Jahari Medlock (Cincinnati)
Humboldt (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy three-star DL Stephon Shivers (Georgia)
League City (Texas) Clear Springs three-star WR Muizz Tounkara (Arizona)
Loxahatchee (Fla.) Seminole Ridge three-star IOL Daniel Pierre-Louis (Florida State)