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Billy Napier praises Onis Konanbanny: Florida sees more than a 3-star talent

On3 imageby:Keith Niebuhr•about 10 hours•

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Onis Konanbanny

There was great excitement inside the Florida football program when the Gators flipped cornerback Onis Konanbanny from Tennessee on Tuesday. Why were people at Orange and Blue headquarters so giddy over a 3-star recruit? Well, the answer is fairly obvious. The Gators don’t view Konanbanny as a 3-star talent.

“I think Onis is a very underrated player, in my opinion,” Florida coach Billy Napier said Wednesday. “I mean, I see some of these rankings — I watched that tape again yesterday just to make sure I was seeing it right. I mean 6-foot and a quarter, 180, 185 pounds, and physical. Two-way player, a guy who can, you know, plays offense and defense. He’s physical. The guy who can kick a 50-yard field goal and the guy’s an elite athlete.”

Who’s right — the Gators or the rankings services who have Konanbanny as a 3-star? Check back with us in about three years.

It didn’t seem Napier’s point was to criticize those who rank players. Rather, he seemed to simply want to highlight Konanbanny’s talents — and the importance of landing him. In a nutshell, the Gators need corners and they think Konanbanny is a really good one.

Konanbanny, who officially signed with the Gators on Wednesday, is the No. 42 corner and No. 412 overall player in the On3 Industry Rankings. He’s a summer enrollee. Last season, he recorded 56 solo tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 interception and 2 pass breakups last season per MaxPreps.

For Florida, cornerback was a big position of need in the 2025 class. And prior to landing Konanbanny, the Gators had only one in the class — Ben Hanks III of Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington. Hanks, a Florida legacy, is an On3 5-star recruit. We assume Florida likes that ranking.

Meanwhile, the Gators this offseason also added senior transfer Michael Caraway Jr. from Southern Miss, a versatile players who can play corner, safety or even nickel.

“Mike Caraway is a traitsy player from Southern Miss out of the portal, height, length speed and production there,” Napier said Wednesday. “Ben (Hanks), obviously, with 13 picks to break the county record down there, and then it’s in the DNA, right? The orange and blue’s in there, you know, so I think those guys tend to play a little bit harder.

Florida Gators scholarship chart at cornerback for 2025

* — denotes redshirt

PositionTotalSeniorJuniorsSophomoresFreshmen
Cornerback8Devin Moore
*Michael Caraway Jr.		Dijon JohnsonCormani McClain*Jameer Grimsley*
Teddy Foster*
Ben Hanks III (incoming freshman)
Onis Konanbanny (incoming freshman)

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