Florida football recruiting: Gators in final 12 for top-5 2025 LB
By Will Thomas
![A mini foam finger sits on the field at the pilon in the endzone during the first half between the Florida Gators and Vanderbilt Commodores at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 7, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Ff3c30fa4d46d060297078018d22c5239e0982b00b536b8eafa766c5f3cdb64c6.jpg "A mini foam finger sits on the field at the pilon in the endzone during the first half between the Florida Gators and Vanderbilt Commodores at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 7, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida football recruiting has one of the best classes in the 2024 cycle and is looking to roll that momentum forward into the 2025 class as well.
They took a step forward in the recruitment of one of the top defenders in the country last night when they made the first cut for Riley Pettijohn.
Pettijohn, out of McKinney, Texas, is rated as the 28th-best player in the country, the third-best linebacker in 2025, and the seventh-best player coming out of Texas.
He’s also teammates with current 2024 Florida commit Xavier Filsaime.
Other schools in Pettijohn’s top-12 include Texas, Florida State, LSU, USC, and others.
Elite 2025 LB Riley Pettijohn is down to 1️⃣2️⃣ Schools!
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 19, 2023
The 6’2 210 LB from McKinney, TX is ranked as a Top 30 Player in the ‘25 Class (No. 3 LB)
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/EdtV50nx72 pic.twitter.com/bwLNa5dsqb
Florida football recruiting: Continue the trend
Billy Napier has brought a heavy emphasis on recruiting the state of Texas ever since he took over in Gainesville. We’ve seen that play out in 2024, with both DJ Lagway and Xavier Filsaime, the top two players in UF’s class, hailing from the Lone Star State.
He’s looking to continue that trend in the 2025 recruiting class as well. Texas produces too many elite players to overlook, and plus, that’s SEC country now.
Riley is one of those guys that Napier and his staff know they need to have and one that would be a great fit in Austin Armstrong’s defense.
Having a strong presence at LB is critical in the aggressive scheme that Armstrong likes to call. Pettijohn has proven that he can be that type of player throughout his high school career.
In his sophomore season, he totaled 42 tackles, 5 TFLs, and three sacks. Those numbers will see a big increase this fall as he gains more experience.
Xavier Filsaime committed early to the Gators and has vocalized how solid his commitment is to the program ever since his decision.
That gives us the feeling that he’s also in Riley’s ear trying to get him to join him at the next level.
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