One of the longstanding recruiting jobs of the 2025 cycle has finally come through.
Tramell Jones, the Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin quarterback who had been on board and committed to Florida State since the spring of 2023, has flipped said pledge to Billy Napier and the Florida Gators.
The announcement came over the weekend after Jones took in Gainesville for an official visit. It also comes just about a week after Gator administration issued a public vote of confidence in Napier's return in 2025.
Couple it with the Gators working on flipping Jones for the better part of a year, including many under-the-radar unofficial visits to Gainesville, and the long courting pays off with the No. 4-ranked pro style passer in the 2025 cycle.
Jones is pledge No. 14 for Napier and becomes the second highest-rated prospect in the Florida class, trailing only South Florida Express 7-on-7 teammate Vernell Brown III to date.
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100
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What it means
In an era that looks like it will belong to DJ Lagway at the quarterback position, there is not much proven depth behind the freshman star and former Rivals five-star moving forward. The program has long held the pledge of 2026 quarterback Will Griffin, a junior, but Jones could bring balance to the QB room that much faster with his experience as a four-year varsity starter, maturity in his game and overall style -- one that contrasts that of Lagway on the surface (more on that later).
In the short term, this becomes the first tangible recruiting win for Napier following the security of holding onto his job going into next season, and it would be foolish to underestimate the correlation into Jones making the flip many have anticipated at different points in the cycle. Rivals began hearing serious rumors to the fact back in the early spring months, especially with Jones' father being very pro-Florida throughout the process of his son being on board with rival FSU.
Jones always said the right things about his status and certainly helped recruit for the Seminoles for the bulk of the cycle, but Florida zeroing in on him and sticking with it through the process continued to resonate with his camp as the season wore on. A lack of stability with FSU at the position, paling in comparison to Florida's room despite its youth, is also a topic often brought up by those tracking each program late in the season.
If nothing else, it's a flip from a major rival. Whether it be the game's most important position or a part-time player, it still satisfies late in the game.
What Jones brings to Gainesville
Jones doesn't have the elite physical build or raw tools Lagway has brought to college football, but he checks about every other box at the position. He is a rock steady, accurate, smart, mature and experienced decision-maker who mimics a point guard on the football field, able to spread the football around the field with relative ease to all three levels. He projects as the high floor prospect at the position built to win games when surrounded with competitive talent independent of scheme.
While his senior season was cut short due to a broken leg in Week 2, Jones was trending to one-up all his production numbers from one season to the next -- something he has done every year since getting the keys to the Mandarin offense back in 2021 as a freshman. In 35 games he accounted for 77 total touchdowns (75 passing) and nearly 8,000 total yards against stout Jacksonville-area competition. Jones was off to a red-hot start in 2024, notching a 5-0 touchdown to interception ratio while completing better than 90 percent of his passes before the injury.
There is a calm with Jones at the helm, something onlookers saw all year long while he dominated the 7-on-7 circuit before his senior season. He is on time, anticipatory and understanding of ball placement at a clip ahead of most senior prep passers in a class that is going to be known for its depth at the QB position. He carries the least amount of flash within that group, but the even-keel nature of his game resulted in as many (or more) wins than the bigger names in the class, including a run to the state championship game during his last full campaign.
In a system that has worked under Napier with many different quarterbacking styles, and with the physical risk a player like Lagway brings into each start, Jones looks like the perfect compliment to the future of the Gator QB room.
