![New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_202,w_2593,h_1458/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kfzvm9qd8f26358949.jpg "New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida picked up its first commit of the 2027 cycle over the weekend and is working on trying to land more as Jon Sumrall works to fill out his initial full recruiting class since becoming the head coach in Gainesville.
Among the prospects the Florida staff is keeping tabs on is a tight end who was first offered by the Billy Napier Era and is currently committed to Miami.
Florida is kicking the tires at Demarcus Deroche
Demarcus Deroche is listed as a four-star athlete out of Fort Lauderdale who plays both tight end and OLB in high school for Cardinal Gibbons. Listed at 6’6” and 205 pounds, Deroche had been previously offered by Florida but committed to Miami back in August.
On film, his length is immediately evident, and he is a goal-line fade nightmare for opposing DBs. Play off coverage, and we will just slant inside. Try to press him, and he will just reach over you and catch the ball for a touchdown. He lined up mostly out wide rather than a traditional tight end for Cardinal Gibbons, but he wasn’t afraid to get physical on blocking assignments and took joy in driving guys ten yards back.
His composite rating as a mid-tier four-star is probably fair, as his playmaking ability is about in line with what one would expect, and he probably would need to add at least 20 pounds between now and college to legit have a shot at tight end in college.
Part of what makes Deroche intriguing is that he also has the build to play OLB and/or EDGE, and he does have some flash on film, bursting into opposing backfields, though the vast majority of his junior season film is from tight end.
247 reported that Florida did meet with Deroche this week. He also just received an offer from Ohio State.
We’ll see how seriously Florida continues to try to push for Deroche and what their own vision for him would be. The Gators do have a couple of tight ends they are high on, also in the mix.