Tag: Major Preston

IMG Academy DB explains reason for Florida’s official visit

The Gators have shown this in-state recruit “nothing but love” during his last visit.

Official visit season for Florida football starts on the final day of this month with the opener coming on Friday, May 31. Billy Napier and the Gators program have been hard at work wrangling up the best prospects they can find for this summer’s critical recruiting event.

One of the many prep prospects slated for a Gaineville visit is coveted defensive back [autotag]Major Preston[/autotag] out of Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy in the 2025 cycle. The 6-foot-2-inch, 170-pound defender has an official visit set with the Orange and Blue for the weekend of June 7 making Florida the first school on his itinerary so far.

As for the reason he has the Swamp in his sights this summer, he gave a simple answer.

“Florida and coach Will Harris have shown me nothing but love ever since my unofficial (visit),” Preston told Swamp247.

The high school junior also has official visits set with the Virginia Tech Hokies and Ole Miss Rebels later in the month.

Recruiting Summary

Preston is rated at three stars ranked No. 466 overall and No. 40 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite. Rivals rates him at four stars, sitting at No. 29 at his position nationally while On3 and ESPN have no data.

On3’s recruiting prediction machine Gives Virginia Tech a 55.1% chance of landing him, while Florida (32.4%) and Ole Miss (7.4%) follow behind, respectively.

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IMG Academy CB in 2025 cycle talks junior day, sets another visit

The Gators made some headway with this IMG prospect last weekend and will be getting him back on campus soon.

The 2025 recruiting cycle is in full swing and the Florida Gators are currently in the thick of things as the program looks ahead to the future.

One of the many prep prospects to stop in town recently is cornerback Major Preston out of Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy, who paid a visit last weekend for junior day. The 6-foot-1-inch, 170-pound defensive back originally from Hopewell, Virginia, had a positive experience in the Swamp Saturday on his first-ever trip to Gainesville.

“It was really good,” Preston told Swamp247. “From the campus to the coaches, I really like it.”

The high school junior received an offer from the Gators the day after Christmas 2023. Florida was not the first SEC team to offer Preston, however. The Ole Miss Rebels had already thrown its hat in the ring alongside the Florida A&M Rattlers, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Liberty Flames, Marshall Thundering Herd and Virginia Tech Hokies.

Secondary coach Will Harris has been the point man in Preston’s recruitment.

“Me and coach Harris, we got a good bond together. We talked on the phone after he offered me. I got on campus, and he told me some really great things,” he noted.

“(Harris is) a good guy,” he continued. “He’s a very great coach. Seeing that from our meeting we had together, everything he told me was everything I wanted to hear.”

It appears that things are trending well for the Orange and Blue with Preston, as he plans on making a return visit very soon.

“I’ll be here next week [January 27th].”

Preston is unrated and unranked in all four of the major scouting organizations, including 247Sports and On3. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Hokeis in the lead for his talents, holding a 69.7% chance of landing him; Florida is second at 21.6%.

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Florida offers trio of IMG Academy defensive backs

Billy Napier’s recruiting staff is always looking for talent out of IMG Academy, and the new secondary coach has caught on to the trend quickly.

A day after Christmas, the Florida Gators presented an offer to IMG Academy cornerback Major Preston.

The class of 2025 defensive back took to Twitter after receiving the offer, tagging Florida’s new defensive backs coach Will Harris as well as head coach Bill Napier.

Florida isn’t the first SEC team to offer Preston, though. Ole Miss has already thrown its hat in the ring alongside Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, Liberty, Marshall and Virginia Tech, according to Swamp247.

“Coach Will, he had hit me up on messages, asking to get on the phone,” Preston said. “He called me, we had a great conversation, and he offered me.”

Harris has looked to establish a relationship with IMG Academy since touching down in Gainesville. He also offered two rising stars from the class of 2026 — Zechariah Fort and Ksani Jiles.

Preston and Jiles are both unranked right now on 247Sports, but Fort checks in at No. 20 nationally on the composite rankings. Harris is clearly looking to keep the in-state powerhouse as a pipeline for the Gators. Getting Preston on campus is the next step.

The plan is to get Preston in town during the spring, so he can get a feel for the program and school. It will be his first time in Gainesville and meeting the staff in person. No dates are penciled in just yet.

Preston has only made two visits so far during his recruitment — a trip to Blacksburg, Virginia to see Tech beat Pitt and a stop in Miami during the fall.

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