The 2024 football season is in full swing and programs across the country are working to close out the 2025 recruiting cycle on a high note. Here are four programs that are punching above their weight in the state of Florida.
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LSU
When the state's top-ranked prospects is committed to leaving, it's a major deal. Even if it became somewhat expected for a DJ Pickett, the LSU Tigers winning out here was a bit of a surprise when it went down and they're holding on despite plenty of advances from Miami and Florida, among others. We have seen Florida's best leave the state for "greener" pastures like Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State on routine, so any other program winning out for a five-star, top-10 type recruit is big in any cycle. Of course, we'll have to wait and see how it plays out come December for Pickett, but the point remains the same with Brian Kelly's program making the major splash.
It isn't just Pickett on board, either, for the Tigers. They flipped a current SEC foe's four-star in defensive tackle Brandon Brown out of Melbourne (Fla.) Eau Gallie. It won a major summer battle for fast-rising pass rusher and fellow four-star LaJesse Harrold, one Colorado and others are working to contest, too. The Tigers were also a major player for five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench and will continue to court new Ole Miss commitment Ladarian Clardy after extending an offer his way just last week. That Tiger splash could have a few more ripples in it.
OLE MISS
The Rebels have long spot recruited in Lane Kiffin's "home" state but there has been a considerable uptick in the 2025 cycle, just as Florida and Florida State start to tread water. The Rebels boast strong numbers in the state, currently holding five pledges with the most recent addition of the aforementioned Clardy. Four of the five Floridians currently on board are rated four-stars or better by Rivals, led by South Florida native and wide receiver Samari Reed. The five Rebels on the commitment list also matches how many Floridians the Rebels brought in from the high school ranks over the previous three cycles -- combined -- so a surprise could be viewed as an understatement here.
Perhaps the biggest potential splash the Rebels could make may yet still be on the way later this year, when Winston Watkins elects to come off the board. The elite slot type has frequented the 'Sip and has spent considerable time with Kiffin along the way. The staff in Oxford even compares Watkins to a fellow Floridian who made the move to the SEC program before his NFL run in Elijah Moore. Should it land Watkins, Ole Miss would become just the out-of-state program with the most Florida blue-chips on the 2025 commitment list -- and just as much as Florida State as of this writing.
TEXAS
There could have been a few programs with more volume on the list, like Penn State, Oregon or even a Notre Dame, but Texas is heating up in the Sunshine State right at this time. It picked up the commitment of five-star wideout Jaime Ffrench in late August before flipping four-star pass rusher Myron Charles from Florida State in September. As October draws near, five-star defensive end Javion Hilson has set a return visit to Austin as the Longhorns seize momentum since his own decommitment from the Seminoles. Should Hilson follow through with the Longhorn commitment, it would make the UT run in the state as impressive as any program nationally -- especially at the top.
The expansion into the SEC has surely helped Texas compete and win battles in the state, but doing so for prospects near the top of national boards comes at somewhat of a surprise. Even with the influx of Florida talent on the UT roster with guys like Cedrick Baxter, Jerrick Gibson and others in recent years, the programs viewed among the best to dip into the state and compete would see several others listed before Steve Sarkisian's program. Should Ffrench stick with the commitment and a guy like Hilson join him, it would be more than a stamp for the program in the state, it would likely inch it closer to how we see Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and the rest of the best to splash in Florida.
UCF
Speaking of expansion into a Power Four conference, UCF's move up in the Big 12 has become a massive selling point on the recruiting trail. Even still, Gus Malzahn's staff seems to recruit better and better with each given cycle. The 2024 class was the best haul for UCF under the current regime, finishing at No. 40 overall, and the 2025 haul looks even better as it currently sits at No. 19 nationally with even more points accumulated than last year in the process. Of course that run starts within state lines and with blue-chippers, and the Knights currently boast seven four-stars from the state in the 2025 class, more than any program within the state outside of Miami and Florida. Last year UCF brought in just a trio of blue-chippers from the state.
The trajectory of the program on the field, and on the trail, isn't the biggest surprise. It's more the rate at which UCF has become a major player with the state's best. It has had no issue getting the elites on campus, and this weekend's game against Colorado has a list about as star-studded as any program in America, and the staff has been able to resonate against fellow Power Four programs. Five of the seven four-stars on the commitment list were either committed elsewhere in the Power Four or represent recruits Power Four programs have made serious advances to attempt to flip. This ain't your big brother's UCF.
