Florida football recruiting: Jordan Pride to A&M hurts, but doesn’t kill the Gators

Florida football recruiting, for as good as it’s been to this point in the 2024 class, isn’t immune to disappointments.

They got one yesterday when 4-star safety Jordan Pride, who was long favored to be a Gator after dropping FSU, decided to go play for Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M.

Does losing Pride sting? Sure. But missing out on him is far from a lethal wound to the Gators’ recruiting class. They’re still in hot pursuit of other elite safety targets, and have a few of their own committed.

Starting off with what UF already has, the Gators could not add another safety prospect and still be pretty satisfied with their haul. Headlining the room is Xavier Filsaime, a 5-star from McKinney, Texas. He’s the 32nd-best player in the country and the 2nd-best safety in the class.

DJ Lagway, who I’ve written about in almost every recruiting piece, was in his ear being that they’re both from Texas and was able to swing him to the good guys.

Also in there with Filsaime is Josiah Davis, a 3-star prospect out of Georgia. But he’s not your ordinary 3-star player.

Davis is very violent, and you can hear his footsteps from anywhere on the field. He’s more than just a safety too, with 800+ rushing yards and 12 TDs, as well as throwing for and receiving three more scores.

Josiah is also a game-changer on special teams, housing seven kick returns with an average of 51 yards per return. Davis is a perfect jigsaw piece for the Gators who will have a bigger present than expected.

But if those two weren’t enough for you, the Gators are one of the favorites in the recruitment of Zavier Mincey, a 4-star out of Dayton Beach.

Corey Bender of On3 submitted a prediction that Mincey would end up a Gator a few months ago, and nothing has really changed on that front.

Mincey is the 4th-best safety in the class on 247 Sports, rated higher than Jordan Pride.

If Napier can close on Mincey, he’ll put together one of the best safety classes in the country.

Keep up with Florida football recruiting at Hail Florida Hail.