Florida football recruiting: Top-ten EDGE thrilled to get Gators’ offer

Florida football recruiting is looking to land a lot of in-state talent in the 2025 cycle in their pursuit of one of the best classes in the nation.

They just offered a top-50 player and top-10 EDGE in that class, who was very excited to hear the news from his coach.

Javion Hillson, out of Cocoa, Florida, is one of the latest 2025 prospects to secure an offer from the Gators.

And Billy Napier may have a good shot to land the elite defender.

Florida football recruiting: Long-awaited phone call

Donavon Keiser of 247 Sports reported that Hillson was elated when he found out that the Gators offered him.

“I answered my phone, it was my head coach saying that Florida had offered me. I jumped out of my bed and I was excited.”

It’s always good to hear that a recruit has that big of a reaction to receiving your offer. But it’s even better when it’s from a player as good as Javion.

On3’s Industry Ranking has Hillson ranked as the 50th-best player in the country, the 7th-best EDGE in the 2025 class, and the 7th-best player coming out of Florida.

In his sophomore season with Cocoa, he totaled 36 tackles, nine TFLs, nine and a half sacks, nine quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles, including a game-sealing fumble in overtime of the championship game.

Javion hasn’t made a visit to The Swamp yet but wants to make a trip sooner rather than later, which makes sense given his excitement when he received the offer.

UCF leads Hillson’s recruitment to this point with a 27.4% chance, followed by Ohio State at 24% and Pittsburgh at 20.6%. The Gators currently sit in fourth at a small 1.6%.

As Javion’s recruitment heats up and he starts to take more visits, the Gators will host him and climb up the ladder in his recruitment.

Only time will tell if it will be enough to secure his commitment.