Tag: decision date

Blue-chip safety recruit to make verbal commitment this weekend

Florida is a dark horse candidate for 4-star safety Lagonza Hayward, who will announce his verbal commitment this weekend.

The coming weekend is another big one for the Florida football program as four-star safety Lagonza Hayward out of Lyons (Georgia) Toombs County in the 2025 cycle gets set to make his verbal commitment. The 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound defensive back made an official visit with the Gators in mid-June and is zeroing in on his final decision.

“On my birthday, July 27, between Florida and South Carolina,” Hayward revealed as his decision date after his Florida OV.

However, he has changed things a bit since that announcement.

“The offers came in, I had a lot of choices and I had to make a tough decision. It has come down to Florida, Georgia and Tennessee,” Hayward told Gators Online. “My decision to pick one of those will be about relationships and loyalty. Those things are very important to me.”

As for why those programs stand out from the rest, it comes down to development and ambiance.

“I can go there and get developed, play early, and it’s a great atmosphere,” he said previously.” Just being in an atmosphere, you just got to love being there, loving the organization and the program.”

Recruiting Summary

Lagonza is ranked No. 95 overall and No. 11 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 100 and 9, respectively.

Tennessee holds one crystal ball prediction from 247Sports and leads On3’s recruiting prediction machine with a 71.7% chance of signing him; Georgia (25.5%) and Florida (1.1%) follow distantly behind.

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Big decision for 5-star 2025 WR recruit coming this Sunday

A time has been set for Vernell Brown III’s verbal commitment to his top program on Sunday.

This coming Sunday is a big one for the Florida football program as five-star wide receiver [autotag]Vernell Brown III[/autotag] — who is a legacy as the son of former UF defensive back and former off-field staffer Vernell Brown Jr. as well as the grandson of former player Vernell Brown Sr. — will make his verbal commitment to his preferred college program.

According to recent reports, the blue-chip pass-catcher out of Orlando (Florida) Jones in the 2025 cycle will announce the winner of his recruiting courtship at 2 p.m. ET. Along with the Gators, Brown is also considering the Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes and Ohio State Buckeyes as his future places of matriculation.

Brown talks about top schools

“I think all four schools all had the same things in common,” Brown told Swamp247. “They were all finalists because they were the schools that I think can put me in the best position to be successful not only on the field as a football player, but as a man and in life as well.

“When we’re talking about 40-year decisions, I think these schools were all really good options. Not just for football, but for things down the road in life.”

Recruiting Summary

Brown is ranked No. 25 overall and No. 6 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 33 and 6, respectively.

Ohio State holds one crystal ball prediction from 247Sports while Florida holds three of its own, with UF favored at an 85.7% chance of signing him against OSU’s 14.3%. On3’s RPM also strongly favors the Gators with an 87.8% chance of earning his commitment, followed by the Buckeyes (9.2%) and Hurricanes (1.3%).

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Florida’s top 2025 WR target, legacy recruit sets commitment date

Two Sundays from now the Florida Gators will hear legacy wide receiver Vernell Brown III’s decision.

One of Florida football’s top targets in the 2025 recruiting cycle has set a date for his verbal commitment now that the summer official visit season is in the rearview mirror.

Four-star four-star wide receiver Vernell Brown III out of Orlando (Florida) Jones — who is a legacy as the son of former UF defensive back and former off-field staffer Vernell Brown Jr. as well as the grandson of former player Vernell Brown Sr. — announced on Tuesday that he will make his commitment on Sunday, July 21.

Brown’s four finalists include the Gators, as well as the Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes and Ohio State Buckeyes. OSU appears to pose the biggest threat to the Orange and Blue for the blue-chip prospect’s talents.

Brown is not just a legacy recruit

Brown’s decision has very little to do with his family history, downplaying his legacy at times — which is common for young student-athletes in his position. Swamp247’s Blake Alderman says that the Gators are pushing the right buttons here, “recruiting him for his own abilities and not the family ties.”

“Florida’s confidence has been very high as the month of June has started to wrap up. Brown is comfortable with the program and likes the plan they have for him as a staff. UF seems to have done a good job of tying his family history with his own track of development.”

Recruiting Summary

Brown is ranked No. 25 overall and No. 6 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 33 and 6, respectively.

Ohio State holds one crystal ball prediction from 247Sports while Florida holds three of its own, with UF favored at an 83.3% chance of signing him against OSU’s 16.7%. On3’s RPM also strongly favors the Gators with an 87.8% chance of earning his commitment, followed by the Buckeyes (9.2%) and Hurricanes (1.3%).

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Blue-chip CB sets decision date, includes Gators in top choices

The Gators are well behind the Nittany Lions in the race for this top CB in the 2025 cycle but they could hear their name called on his decision date.

The summer quickly approaches, which means that college football’s official visit season as well as the commitment dates for many top prep prospects in the 2025 class. The latter category is what concerns the Florida Gators when it comes to its current recruiting efforts.

Four-star cornerback [autotag]Mark Zackery IV[/autotag] out of Indianapolis (Indiana) Ben Davis is a top recruit that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. have been keeping an eye on this spring. The 6-foot, 155-pound defensive back recently revealed his decision date to 247Sports, which is set for May 25.

The Orange and Blue is among the top schools in pursuit of the blue-chip talent and is hoping to hear the call on the big day.

Top Schools

The top schools on Zackery’s list are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Michigan Wolverines and Cincinnati Bearcats, along with the Florida Gators.

Recruiting Summary

Zackery is ranked No. 134 overall and No. 15 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 93 and 9, respectively.

Notre Dame holds two crystal ball predictions from 237Sports while On3’s recruiting prediction machine gives the Fighting Irish an overwhelming 95.0% chance of signing him.

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