Florida football recruiting: Gators jump up list for 4-star Koby Howard

Florida football recruiting hosted their annual “Grille in the ‘Ville” this weekend, hosting tons of elite prospects from both the 2024 and 2025 classes.

While the weekend served as a way to get some remaining 2024 uncommitted guys on campus, it was also useful toward swinging some 2025 guys in the Gators’ direction.

Kody Howard, a 4-star wide receiver out of Davie, Florida, was on campus this weekend and told Corey Bender that the visit really opened his eyes.

“The conversation really changed my interest level in UF.”

Florida football recruiting: All over the field

Western High School uses Howard in just about every way they possibly can. Koby is a great deep threat and runs solid routes to gain separation.

His athleticism allows him to contort himself to make awkward, difficult catches, and make players over defenders.

He’s also utilized a lot in the screen game, where the QB will take the snap, immediately fire it out to Koby at the line of scrimmage, and watch him go to work.

He’s explosive in space and can make defenders miss easier than most players.

With his open-field speed, they also utilize him in jet sweeps. When you have a big play threat like Koby, all you want to do is get the ball in his hands.

On3’s Industry Ranking has Koby ranked as the 298th-best player in the country, the 48th-best wideout in the 2025 class, and the 45th-best player coming out of Florida.

This past trip to Gainesville was his sixth total trip to The Swamp, which is the most of any school he’s gone to see.

Right now, the Gators lead for Koby per On3’s RPM with a 27.4% chance to land him, with FSU in second at 16.1% and Tennessee in third at 10.4%.

Howard is another one of those in-state guys that Billy Napier and the Gators’ staff will want to keep an eye on, and hopefully welcome into their class in a little over a year.