Florida football’s annual Orange and Blue game kicks off on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EDT inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and among the many attendees at the intrasquad scrimmage will be a gaggle of Gators recruiting targets.
One of those prep recruits who plan on being in Gainesville Thursday is 4-star legacy cornerback [autotag]Ben Hanks Jr[/autotag]. out of Miami (Florida) Booker T. Washington in the 2025 cycle. The 6-foot-1-inch, 160-pound high school sophomore is the son of former Gators linebacker/defensive back Ben Hanks Sr., who played for the Orange and Blue from 1992 to 1994.
For those who might not remember, Steve Spurrier took his number 11 out of retirement for Hanks Sr. and was rewarded with a 300-plus tackle effort over his three-year career at Florida, helping the team earn three SEC championships. The junior Hanks’ connection to the state’s flagship university remains strong despite the vast interest in his talents.
“Florida is a great school educational-wise and sports-wise,” Hanks previously told Gators Online. “It’s a good place to be at, especially when football games are going on. I’ve been up there a couple of times. My dad was a former player at Florida too, so he showed me around there a couple of times.
“I don’t really have a dream offer, but I have a couple of schools I like. Two of them I have already, but this offer meant everything to me. My dad went there and my oldest sister graduated from there too, so this means everything. I would love to play for the Gators in the next couple of years.”
Other schools in the mix for the coveted defender include the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles, Auburn Tigers, Michigan State Spartans and Louisville Cardinals.
Hanks Jr. is ranked No. 80 overall and No. 7 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 133 and 16, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Hurricanes in the lead for his commitment with an 84.2% chance of landing him, followed by the Florida International Golden Panthers, Florida Atlantic Owls and Central Florida Knights at 2.3%, 2.0% and 1.7%, respectively.
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