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Florida Gators 'Grill in the Ville' date set

IMG_6615by:Blake Alderman•04/21/25•

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Melina Myers | Imagn Images

The landscape of college football recruiting is always changing. The goal is always to be different. The trajectory of your program, how you develop players, and NIL are driving factors behind why a prospect picks a school. Along with those factors being centerpieces, a strong relationship with a coaching staff is an important step along the way. When speaking with recruiting targets over the years, a consistent thing mentioned as an appeal about the Florida Gators is the approach they take to building connections with targets.

What is the Grill in the Ville?

One of the Florida Gators’ top events in a recruiting cycle is the ‘Grill in the Ville’ cookout. It allows the staff to show recruits a different experience compared to a traditional, unofficial visit. Aside from the food, there are various events to take part in. Recruits are split into teams and compete in games. A winner is selected after the event. The goal is to showcase a more laid-back environment centered around getting to know Florida’s staff away from football. In the past, the Florida staff hosted this event in the final weekend of July, in between summer ‘dead periods’. All of July is a dead period now. The Florida staff will need to pick a new date.

In July of 2024, the Florida Gators had some top targets on hand for the event. Many of those names ultimately ended up signing with the Gators in that cycle. 4-star LB Ty Jackson was a top target on hand. Despite committing to USC in the fall, he eventually flipped to Florida later in the year. Other uncommitted names at that time who later signed with UF include Naeshaun Montgomery and Joseph Mbatchou. Florida also hosted important 2026 targets that year. Some noteworthy targets include defensive lineman James Johnson, offensive tackle Chancellor Campbell, and defensive lineman Kendall Guervil. All three targets continue to be names the Florida staff is pressing for.

What we’re hearing for the Florida Gators plan this year

Gators Online has learned the targeted date for this year’s ‘Grill in the Ville’ is June 21. That will take place on the same weekend as Friday Night Lights. The month of June is already a busy time for college coaching staffs. There are weekend official visits, summer camps, and 7on7 tournaments all on campus. It will be interesting to see the turnout this year. That weekend of June 20 is during official visit season, so there is a handicap the Florida staff could face due to a recruit’s visit schedule. Gators Online will be on hand for UF’s recruiting cookout and will provide an expected visitor list closer to the event.

Florida’s 2026 class is currently made up of Tavares (Fla) linebacker Izayia Williams and Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit quarterback Will Griffin.

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