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Gators Among Final 12 for Four-Star Edge Rusher

KJ Ford is a consensus top 20 recruit at his position and one of the top 100 prospects regardless of position, according to Rivals and 247 Sports.

Cam Parker

Florida Gators edge George Gumbs Jr. (34) puts pressure on LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 16, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]
Florida Gators edge George Gumbs Jr. (34) puts pressure on LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 16, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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One of the nation's top edge rusher prospects in the 2026 recruiting class has named the Florida Gators as a finalist.

Duncanville (Tx.) prospect KJ Ford on Thursday released his final 12 schools consisting of Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas A&M and USC. A consensus top 20 edge rusher in the class, Ford's highest rating comes from Rivals, which lists him as the No. 9 overall prospect at his position.

Ford (6-4, 245 pounds) also ranks inside the top 100 overall recruits regardless of position in Rivals and 247 Sports' prospect rankings.

No team at the moment stands out despite in-state school Texas A&M seemingly having an edge a year ago. Nonetheless, Gators have consistently stayed in the running for Ford, especially after visiting Florida during last season's win over UCF and his relationship with UF Director of Scouting Joe Hamilton.

Ford first met Hamilton while he was working for Texas A&M before he returned to Florida.

“Good right now. Just getting up there, seeing the coaches and stuff like that, being able to talk to coach Mike P [Peterson],” Ford said on his relationship with Florida to Gator Country. “It’s a good connection. I talk to him pretty often before games. I got a good relationship with coach Joe Hamilton.”

However, Ford has yet to finalize a summer official visit with the Gators. He is scheduled to take trips to Alabama (May 30), USC (June 6), Auburn (June 10) and Oklahoma (June 20). It should be noted that he did take an unofficial visit to Florida on March 15.

Gators 2026 Recruiting

As it stands the Gators are finalists for 22 other recruits in the class of 2026, which includes fellow edge rushers Zavion Griffin-Hayes, Trent Henderson and Jake Kreul.  

Rounding out the extensive group of recruits to list Florida as a finalist are running backs Jae Lamar and Jonaz Walton; receivers Mason James, Cederian Morgan and Calvin Russell; offensive linemen Edward Baker, Zyon Guiles, Immanuel Iheanacho, Heze Kent, Felix Ojo, Canon Pickett and Sam Rosenborough; defensive linemen Vodney Cleveland, James Johnson, JaReylan McCoy and Darryus McKinley; and defensive backs Tyriq Green, Bralan Womack, Cortez Redding and Jamarrion Gordon.

Florida also recently received crystal balls to land four-star linebacker Malik Morris and four-star offensive lineman G'Nivre Carr, both of whom have yet to release their finalists.

The Gators currently have three commits in its 2026 recruiting class in four-star quarterback Will Griffin, four-star safety Devin Jackson and, most-recently, four-star linebacker Izayia Williams.

Gators Illustrated is tracking Florida's recruiting moves with the 2026 class in its recruiting tracker, which can be found here.

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Cam Parker
CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a contributing writer at AllGators.com of FanNation-Sports Illustrated and is a recent graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester.

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