Notable Changes for Gators' Signees in Recruiting Ranking Updates

247 Sports and On3 recently revealed its final recruiting ranking updates for the 2025 class. Gators Illustrated takes a look at four prominent signees for the Florida Gators who received a major ranking change.
Top 100 safety Lagonza Hayward
Top 100 safety Lagonza Hayward / Kyle Landers/Gators Illustrated
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GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- With the 2025 high school recruiting cycle officially coming to a close in a few weeks, recruiting services are adding their final touches to their rankings for the class. Multiple signees for the Florida Gators saw favorable boosts and unfortunate slips to their respective rankings over the past couple of days.

Gators Illustrated takes a look at four of Florida's 25 signees who received a significant change in 247 Sports' and On3's individual rankings.

CB Ben Hanks III

Hanks III is one of the most notable risers in the 2025 class. The Booker T. Washington (Miami, Fla.) cornerback has always been one of the top cornerbacks in his class, consistently landing inside the top 100 on multiple recruiting sites. 

Now, after some stellar play as a senior for his high school and setting a Miami-Dade County record for most interceptions in a single season, he lands a five-star prospect on On3. According to its rankings, Hank III is the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2025 class. Additionally, he is ranked as the No. 38 overall prospect by 247Sports, which rates him as a four-star.

WR Dallas Wilson

Entering the final stages of his senior year, Wilson was labeled as one of the top wideouts in the entire country. He was a five-star prospect across most sites. However, with the rankings now complete, he has taken a slight tumble in the rankings. 

On Oct. 16, Wilson was the No. 26 overall prospect, but with 247Sports’ newest update, he dropped 24 spots to the No. 50 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle. 

Nonetheless, Wilson is still one of the top receivers in the country, and the 1-2 punch with him and Vernell Brown III is still one of the best wide receiver duos in this class.

EDGE Jayden Woods

Woods was a very surprising commit to the Gators back near the end of the year. He took a secret official visit to the Swamp near the end of November and shortly pledged to Florida after initially being committed to Penn State.

As for his ranking, he slipped from No. 75 to the No. 90 overall prospect for 247Sports. Although 247Sports is still the only site to rank him inside its top 100. 

S Lagonza Hayward

Hayward, like Woods, was a very late addition, even later than Woods in fact. The big-hitting safety from the South flipped his verbal commitment from Tennessee to Florida and signed early with the Gators back in December of last year. 

And while he was a top-100 prospect then for On3, he has since climbed all the way up No. 35 in the country for the rankings of the 2025 class. Although he still holds a four-star rating, On3 gave five stars to its top 32 prospects, putting Hayward right on the border for that coveted fifth star.

Gators' 2025 Recruiting Class

Head coach Billy Napier signed 25 total high school prospects in the 2025 recruiting class, which gives the Gators a borderline top 10 class. 18 of the signees, including Hayward, Woods and Hanks III, have already enrolled with Wilson set to join Thursday evening after recently completing all of his high school academic requirements.


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