Back in April, Florida quarterback commit Austin Simmons was noncommittal when the topic of reclassifying came up. He had just committed to the Gators and was only starting to look into the reclassification process.
Nearly two months later, Gators Online is reporting that Simmons has begun going through the admissions process at UF and is hopeful to move up to classes from 2025 to 2023. That would put him on campus this fall and satisfy the fourth quarterback spot Billy Napier has talked about filling since the spring game.
Napier can’t speak too much on those moves since NCAA bylaws prohibit coaches from talking directly about an unsigned player, but he remains firm that Florida will have four quarterbacks on its roster this fall and the transfer portal is all but out of the question this late in the game.
Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz and second-year Gator Jack Miller (formerly of Ohio State) are set to compete for a the starting job with redshirt freshman Max Brown behind them as a reserve. Simmons joining the team would add some competition for that third-string spot.
Next year’s room would feature Brown, Simmons and five-star commit DJ Lagway, all of whom were recruited out of high school by Napier.
Simmons is ranked No. 72 overall on the On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services. He’s also No. 4 among quarterbacks in the class of 2025, but those numbers would change as a 2023 signee.
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