It’s not the kind of thing you expect to happen after a good win, but four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Joseph Mbatchou[/autotag] decommitted from Florida on Monday.
Mbatchou pledged his services to the Gators in late July, but he’s since garnered tons of attention from other SEC programs. Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee have all offered him in recent months.
“After deep thought and prayer, I have decided to re-open my recruitment,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I’d like to thank the entire staff at the University of Florida, and can’t wait to get back down there. I’m excited to finish this journey from a new perspective. Commitment in December.”
The decommitment comes immediately following an official visit to Texas, but he has five more trips planned over the next 40 days, including an official to Florida. Mbatchou included the Gators on his commitment graphic, so the Orange and Blue might have a small chance to bring him back into the fold.
He will visit Michigan next weekend, then make stops at Auburn (Nov. 2), Florida (Nov. 16), Tennessee (Nov. 23) and USC (Nov. 30), according to On3’s Keith Niebuhr.
Florida 2025 recruiting class dips in rankings
Losing Mbatchou is a major blow to Billy Napier and Florida’s 2025 recruiting class, which now has just 11 players under verbal commitment.
247Sports ranks the Gators 51st overall on its class of 2025 team rankings, while On3 is slightly more bullish with Florida at No. 33 in the country. Only Vanderbilt is ranked lower among SEC teams.
Should Napier finish with a class ranked this low, it would be the Gators’ worst finish since 2015 when Jim McElwain signed a 21st-ranked class. That could be the final straw for a coach on the hot seat. However, there are still two more months before the early signing period, and college football has trended toward a transfer model in recent years, especially within the SEC.
Recruiting Summary
According to 247Sports, On3, and ESPN, Mbatchou is a four-star recruit. Rivals lists him as a three-star talent, but he earns that fourth star in both composite rankings.
The 247Sports composite ranks him No. 425 overall and No. 41 among defensive linemen in the class of 2025, while the On3 industry rankings bump him up to Nos. 379 and 33, respectively.
Neither recruiting service gives any program but Florida odds to sign him, but that should change following the decommitment. Texas is a rising team on his list following the official visit. Things could change rapidly over the next two months with so many visits on his schedule.
Mbatchou also included Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Tennessee and USC on his commitment graphic.
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