Florida and Billy Napier appear on verge of landing former four-star FSU commit

Florida Football's pursuit of Izayia Williams has been a long and winding one. The Gators looked to be in prime position to land the linebacker out of Leesburg last August but he committed to FSU.

Then Williams watched FSU play in 2024, and he backed off that commitment in November.

There is still a long way to go to actually land Williams, but On3 national reporter Steve Wiltfong has Florida as the leaders to land the highly coveted linebacker.

Florida Football: Bring The Pain

We first profiled Williams back in August of 2024 and noted at the time the fact that Rivals had him as a three-star felt silly and his top 50 ranking with On3 was fair:

"Williams is a wrecking ball on the field. Williams is simply too fast and too strong for his opponents to be able to effectively gameplan against. Pulling guards can't get to him in time, tackles have no chance when he speed rushes, and good luck to any wide receiver who tries to block him on a screen."

At the time he had just decommitted from Syracuse and looked like a lock for the Gators before taking a detour to Tallahassee.

Coming off his junior season, it appears all the national services are catching up on Williams as 247 has him the lowest at 158th overall while On3 has bumped him to 12th.

On film, everything we said about his sophomore season continued to track in his junior year. He has the potential to be a day one game changer once he learns the nuances of the college game.

While Williams does have official visits lined up with FSU, Colorado, Alabama, and Georgia, Wiltfong has dropped a prediction that Williams is going to land with the Gators.

This is obviously subject to change depending on how the 2025 season plays out and how his summer visits go.

But make no mistake about it, Williams is someone Billy Napier and crew need to continue to go after hard to make sure he sticks in Gainesville.