Florida football recruiting: Gators jump on top for top-ten athlete Darrell Johnson

Florida football recruiting is on the hunt for elite playmakers on both sides of the ball as they try to assemble the best recruiting class in the country.

The Gators are surging for a top-ten athlete in the 2025 class and a guy that can carry an entire offense on his shoulders.

Darrell Johnson, out of Eastman, Georgia, has been wowing college coaches for a while now and is starting to get some attention from the top schools in the country.

But the Gators like where they stand, and as Johnson told On3, “Florida is just different.”

Florida football recruiting: All eyes on him

On Dodge County’s offense, all eyes are on Johnson. He takes snaps as the quarterback and is by far the most explosive guy on the field.

But even with all the attention on him, he’s unstoppable. A majority of the time he’ll take the snap and then take off on the ground. At 6’3”-205 you wouldn’t think he can move at an elite level.

Johnson can.

He makes cuts as quick and sharp as a great running back and has the breakaway speed to leave all 11 defenders in the dust. He isn’t scared to lower his shoulder and take a hit either.

Darrell does throw the ball enough that the defense respects it and has a fairly good-looking ball, but the Gators won’t be recruiting him to sling it around the field.

They’ll be recruiting him to bully defenses and run all over the SEC.

His home state Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were leading his recruitment for a while, but the Gators lept up to the top spot per On3’s RPM with a 39% chance to land him a few days ago.

Darrell has taken two visits to Gainesville, in March and July of this year, and hopefully will take an OV down the road.

Johnson is a top-100 player and the No. 8 athlete in the 2025 class. There will be plenty of big-name programs going after him.

Billy Napier and his staff have been hitting on their evaluations ever since they got to UF, and they like what they see out of Darrell.

Expect the Gators to go all out to try and close out his recruitment.