Former FSU Commit Predicted to join Florida Gators

The Florida Gators are closing in on a pair of football commitments including a former FSU pledge.

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier / Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK

With zero commits in the 2026 recruiting class for the Florida Gators, head coach Billy Napier is trying to make the first one a sweet one.

Napier is working on getting former Florida State Seminole commit Jaelen Waters of Armwood, Fla. to team up with the Gators in the 2026 class after decommitting from the in-state rivals on Thursday. 

Waters is currently ranked as a four-star prospect and the 191st overall prospect, 15th ranked cornerback in the class, per 247Sports. Additionally, he is ranked as the 32nd best player in the state of Florida.

Waters had surprisingly announced a commitment to Florida State back in April over schools such as Florida, Texas, USC and Notre Dame.

However, that only lasted a month before backing off of it on Thursday. 

Now, 247Sports’ Zach Blostein and Blake Alderman are predicting him to join forces with the Gators, the team many thought he would end up with in the first place. 

Before committing to the Seminoles in April, he mentioned on numerous occasions through interviews that he grew up watching the Orange & Blue because of his dad. 

“Growing up watching the Gators, being a Gator fan because of my dad,” he said in an interview in February with Hightop Sports Recruiting.

Furthermore, he also mentioned the home-like feeling he gets when visiting the Swamp.

“I just love going to Florida, Florida’s like another home,” Waters explained in a different interview with YouTuber Corey Carmona.

In addition to Alderman’s prediction for Waters, he also added a prediction for the Gators to land an in-state quarterback from the Tampa area. 

Will Griffin, the signal caller for Jesuit High School, is labeled as a four-star prospect in the class of 2026. According to 247Sports, Griffin is rated as the 150th overall recruit in the nation, the 10th best quarterback in the class and the 26th best recruit in Florida.

This one makes a lot of sense for the Gators because the 2025 class seems less likely to take a highly rated quarterback after signing the nation's best quarterback, DJ Lagway, in the previous class. 

If he were to commit to the Gators, they will have beaten out teams like Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan and others for his verbal commitment. 

As mentioned previously, the Gators hold zero commitments in the 2026 class, but getting these two in could get the ball rolling and sway those around them. 

Landing this pair would vault the Gators up to the sixth ranked class in the 2026 rankings.

Recruiting is never filled with constants and clarity, so be on the lookout for commitments as soon as this weekend given the big list of recruits coming into town.