Florida football recruiting: 4-star Rowan Byrne has tons of respect for Gators

Florida football recruiting has been on the hunt for the biggest and best offensive linemen in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

They’ve traveled all over the country extending offers to some elite blockers, including a 4-star guy out of New Rochelle, New York.

Rowan Byrne, from Iona Preparatory School, is a top-20 offensive tackle in the 2025 class and is in communication with a trio of Florida coaches.

Byrne also has a lot of respect for the history and success of the Gators’ program.

Florida football recruiting: Constant conversations

Corey Bender on On3 has reported that Byrne is in contact with three Gators’ coaches, which includes Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton.

Rowan also had this to say about the Gators:

"“When I think of Florida, I think of an all-time great program that is constantly putting people in the league.”"

The Gators haven’t been as elite as they used to be in the past 4-5 years, so hearing recruits recall what the program was, and can become again, is a great sign.

Going back to the fact that he’s talking to three Gator coaches, Byrne is the type of player that you send a trio of staffers after.

At 6’6”-290, Byrne already has SEC size with two years to go in high school. His highlight reel is just him manhandling the guy across from him, ending plays in pancakes and throwdowns consistently.

Byrne is ranked as the 216th-best player in the country, the 17th-best OT, and the best player coming out of New York.

Rutgers is the current leader for Rowan per On3’s RPM with a 28.9% chance to land him, followed by Penn State at 15.4% and Notre Dame at 13.2%.

Byrne is one of those guys that Billy Napier will have to dedicate a little more effort to if they want to land him given their geographical differences.

But depending on how their OL board shapes up, Rowan can easily be one of their top targets.