Amare Nugent commits for 2027 and kickstarts a new era under Jon Sumrall

After retaining the recruiting class for 2026 and showing Gator fans that he means business, Jon Sumrall’s 2027 class chapter has begun with his first official commitment for that class. According to Blake Alderman of On3’s Gators Online and Tyler Hardon of 247Sports, the University of Florida has landed a commitment from 2027 4-star cornerback Amare Nugent. 

Nugent, a 5’11”, 175lb junior from American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida made the commute up to Gainesville for Junior Day with the Gators on Saturday and on Saturday evening it was announced that he is committing to be a Gator upon graduating from American Heritage next year.

Described as one of the top players in the Southeast, 247Sports Composite lists Nugent as the No. 158 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting class, the No. 16 cornerback, and the No. 15 prospect out of Florida. He has a 4.9 shuttle, a 11.4 100 meter dash, squats 365, deadlifts 315lbs, and benches 165lbs.

When you look at his tapes, you can see Nugent’s ability to stop the offense and make tackles and when he gets his hands on the ball for an interception has the speed that once he’s in the open field, he’s untouchable as he breaks away from defenders.

Nugent, ranked as ESPN’s 294th prospect in the junior class for 2027 with a scouting grade of 79, was a part of American Heritage’s 2025 State Championship-winning team and earned an invitation to the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl that took place earlier this month.

From the start of Nugent’s recruitment, he was fielding offers from all schools, but it appeared likely that he was leaning toward wanting to stay close to family in the sunshine state. His offers were from Auburn, Boston College, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, Syracuse, Texas A&M, UCF, Wake Forest, West Viriginia, Oregon State, Liberty, UConn, South Florida, Western Kentucky, Florida A&M, and the obvious, the University of Florida.

Though he had offers from 30 different schools, as expected he’s staying home and moving just a few hours north to become a Florida Gator.

With Nugent’s commitment, the class of 2027 recruitment trail looks to be sunny for Sumrall and the staff of The Swamp.