Florida Football Recruiting: Malik Autry would add defensive line depth

Florida football has been working hard to restock its defensive line. While there were many flaws with the Todd Grantham led defenses of the past, one thing Gator fans could count of was someone getting to the quarterback.

Last season the Gators were 85th in the country in sack percentage, only racking up a sack on one out of every 20 passing attempts.

So it is with that desire to get to the quarterback that Billy Napier is taking a look at a 2025 prospect that is already committed to Auburn.

Florida Football: Never too many linemen

Malik Autry is a three-star defensive lineman out of Opelika, AL. Listed at 6’6″ and 280 pounds, the 2025 prospect is easily going to have the size required to compete in the SEC once he actually arrives on campus.

His three-star rating is probably fair for now. On film, he plays mostly as a defensive tackle. And while he is very productive and an anchor in the middle for Opelika High, he doesn’t quite showcase the explosiveness that other four-star defensive tackles flash on film.

His entire sophomore year highlight film can be viewed here.

This doesn’t mean he is someone Napier is going to ignore. Given his size, he is going to draw interest. Only 10 of the 32 defensive linemen prospects from the class of 2025 rated higher than him on the 247 Composite are listed larger than Autry.

Though he is committed to Auburn, the Gators offered him back in May, and he announced on Twitter that he was going to be on campus today taking an unofficial visit today. It’s not his first trip to Gainesville, and he has been sending out smoke signals that he is very interested in what Florida football has to offer.

With a productive junior campaign, it wouldn’t be hard to see Autry climb into four-star territory across the four recruiting services and will be interesting to see if the battle for his services ramps up even further.