Florida flips 4-star DL Joseph Mbatchou from Texas

Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star defensive lineman Joseph Mbatchou has flipped his commitment from Texas to Florida.

A previous Florida commit, Mbatchou chose the Longhorns over the Gators on Nov. 23, but has now opted to head back to Gainesville and join a UF recruiting class that’s pushing for top-10 status in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

Mbatchou is the No. 258 overall prospect and No. 22 DL in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 36 player in Georgia.

The 6-foot-4.5, 280-pounder took his official visit to The Swamp in November, where Napier and his staff made another big move in his recruitment. Florida has continued to pick up momentum on the recruiting trail, and it has now won a big battle against Texas for the Peach State blue-chipper.

“It went really good,” Mbatchou said to Gators Online about his OV to Gainesville. “The defense, they were killing LSU. I got to talk to the coaches and got to see what I saw the first time when I committed. I kind of saw the same thing, so it was a really good visit.”

Mbatchou was originally committed to the Gators from late July to late October. He was then pledged to the Longhorns for just eight days, but is now back in the mix for UF. He’s commitment No. 22 in the class and the latest blue-chipper to flip from another program.

Gators continue unreal run of recruiting wins

Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes four-star offensive tackle Tavaris Dice flipped to the Gators from Auburn on Saturday. Mbatchou is now back in the fold, too, as UF continues to land top recruits ahead of National Signing Day.

November saw UF pick up 10 commitments. Dice’s commitment comes one day after Shawnee (Kan.) Mill Valley four-star EDGE Jayden Woods flipped from Penn State. This week has also seen Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage four-star running back Byron Louis flip from Florida State and Loxahatchee (Fla.) Seminole Ridge four-star linebacker Ty Jackson flip from USC.

Momentum really began to churn for the Gators when they completed the flip of Jacksonville Mandarin four-star quarterback Tramell Jones from FSU on Nov. 17. The likes of Humboldt (Tenn.) Brentwood three-star DL Stephon Shivers, Atlanta Charles Drew three-star OT Jahari Medlock and League City (Texas) Clear Springs three-star WR Muizz Tounkara have also since committed.

The class now features 12 blue-chip prospects, including two top-100 recruits in Orlando Jones four-star WR Vernell Brown III and Miami Booker T Washington four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. The class ranks No. 15 in the nation with National Signing Day just a few days away.