4-star DB Demetres Samuel commits to Florida Gators
Demetres Samuel plans to follow in the footsteps of his cousin, former Florida defensive back Marcus Maye, and become a Gator. Samuel, a 4-star safety from Palm Bay (Fla.) Heritage, has committed to coach Billy Napier’s program, flipping from Syracuse.
His addition is a big one for Florida.
Samuel, listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, currently is the No. 6 athlete and No. 84 overall recruit for the 2026 class in the On3 Industry Rankings. But he plans to reclassify and become a 2025 recruit. His rankings will adjust once the reclassification is official.
With the Gators, several things stand out to Samuel. And they’re all positive.
“Obviously the coaching staff, and then it’s just Florida,” Samuel said. “I got family here. It’s like a DNA thing to me. I grew up in Florida. So why not?”
Demetres Samuel had a great visit to UF on July 27
Samuel visited the Gators on Wednesday for the first day of Florida practice.
Additionally, he was in Gainesville on July 27 for the Grill in the Ville recruiting event. By all accounts, it was a great experience for him. In fact, he told the staff and other recruits that day he was flipping to Florida.
“Coming back to Florida is always going to be fun, you know family tradition,” Samuel said. “Seeing (secondary) Coach Will (Harris) and (secondary assistant Beyah Rasool) is always going to be a good time. It was good getting to meet some new people, some new recruits, and some new commits and stuff. So that was good. (The highlight) I would probably say was winning the whole (Grill in the Ville team competition). We won the whole thing. We did the rap battle, double dare, and the scavenger hunt. That rap battle was fun. We got to make a little music video. It was cool.”
For Samuel, Saturday’s appearance in Gainesville was another chance to bond with Harris and Rasool — the men who will be coaching him in college.
“They’re always going to try to keep me home, so they are going to try to make everything feel good, and make me feel like I’m at home here,” Samuel said. “I feel good, because Coach Harris and Coach Bey always are going to make me feel at home because it’s Florida. It definitely feels good.”
The Florida staff had help in this recruitment. And it came from Maye, who played at Florida from 2012–16, was a second-round draft pick and currently is in the NFL.
“He’s going to try to get me to stay home, too,” Samuel said. “He wants it to work out and everything. He’s definitely been in my ear.”
It worked. Demetres Samuel is Florida bound a 2025 recruit.
