Like the rest of the country, Florida Football is in a dead period when it comes to recruiting. After a series of weekends with countless prospects, the Gators now hope they picked up momentum with those prospects, and official visits and verbal commitments will start to build.
One of those prospects who came to a Junior Day has trimmed his list to a final five, and the Gators are still in the running.
Florida Football: Bear Hunt
Bear McWhorter is a 6'4" interior lineman out of Georgia. Listed at 300 pounds, McWhorter is listed as a three-star by On3 and 247 and as a four-star by Rivals and ESPN, with the latter ranking him 214th overall in the country.
On film, McWhorter has a mean streak to him and jumps out right away as a force in the run the game. It is not uncommon for him to drive guys back 5+, and when he doesn't, it's because he pancaked them. He has a noticeable explosion coming out of his stance, and he could easily justify a top 200 overall ranking.
He dropped his final five today, and Florida is on it, along with Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, and South Carolina.
NEWS: Class of 2026 IOL Bear McWhorter is down to 5️⃣ Schools & will commit on February 28th, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 10, 2025
The 6’4 305 IOL from Kingston, GA will choose between Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Clemson, & South Carolina
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/28maPLtJws pic.twitter.com/c6JPolgWQh
McWhorter mentioned to 247 that his dad played with Billy Napier while both were at Furman, so that should help the Gators a little.
What is interesting for McWhorter is that he claims he will make a verbal commitment on 2/28, though it is unclear if he will still take visits this summer after he commits.
McWhorter was previously committed to Arkansas, but he backed off that commitment last June. Florida originally offered McWhorter back in 2023.
Florida has three players verbally committed to their class of 2026 and are hoping to get a much earlier bump than what they go for their class of 2025.