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Gators Sign Five-Star Safety Hylton Stubbs

The headliner of Florida's defensive class, five-star safety Hylton Stubbs has officially signed with the Gators.

Kyle Lander

4-star safety Hylton Stubbs
4-star safety Hylton Stubbs / Cam Parker/Gators Illustrated
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Five-star safety Hylton Stubbs sealed the deal on Wednesday as he signed early with the Florida Gators during the Early Signing Period. Stubbs is the first defensive back signee of the class.

Stubbs is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety who ranks as the 23rd prospect according to Rivals and fourth overall player in the state of Florida. He played football for Mandarin High School (Jacksonville, Fla.)

Despite being committed to USC, the North Central Florida product was close to flipping to the Gators earlier in his recruitment, but opted for one of the other in-state programs in the Miami Hurricanes back in July. It was a somewhat rollercoaster of an announcement as he labeled Florida as the leader at one point, but then quickly shifted to Miami. 

However, it didn’t seem that his race was over even after this commitment to the Hurricanes. 

“I don’t know. It might be crazy until signing day,” Stubbs told Gators Illustrated after a visit to Gainesville over the summer. 

And he wasn’t wrong about that. Despite a rough start for the Gators, things started to brighten near the end of the season on the field. As a result, it caught Stubbs’ attention. It also helps that the Miami defense wasn’t looking as strong as it once did to begin the year. 

Then, after the Hurricanes brutal loss at the weekend, Stubbs decided on Monday enough was enough and took his talents to Gainesville. Additionally, he said that this loss to Syracuse played a role in him backing off his commitment. 

“Yeah that was the final straw,” Stubbs said during an interview on YouTube with Stadium and Gale. “They was looking like it was a player thing and coaching thing. I didn’t want to go into a bad situation. It’s a way better situation at Florida.”

Stubbs is currently the only safety in the Gators 2025 class, but that could change as Billy Napier has several other targets on the board at this position. 

Learn more on Stubbs, via Gators Illustrated's recruiting profile below.

"The face of Florida's defensive recruiting class, Stubbs' flip from Miami to Florida not only came in the midst of Billy Napier's best recruiting stretch as the Gators' head coach, but it will also go down as one of his biggest recruiting wins. Originally a USC commit, it seemed to be neck-and-neck between Florida and Miami over the summer, and Stubbs originally wanted to wait until after the two teams played to make a decision. However, he reversed course and pledged to the Hurricanes, making it seem like Florida never had a chance. Instead, a three-game winning streak to end the season, a public investment into Napier as the head coach and other recruiting wins led to Stubbs to flip his commitment to the Gators two days before early signing day. A do-it-all safety, Hubbs provides a nice run-stopping ability as a consistent tackler while doubling as a strong coverage safety. With an exodus at the safety position, he could be a day-one contributor for the Gators. He is the high school teammate of quarterback Tramell Jones."

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Kyle Lander
KYLE LANDER

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