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Florida is trending well for another major addition on the defensive line

The Gators are in position to land 4-star recruit Zahmar Tookes after his official visit this past weekend
Brighton defensive lineman Zahmar Tookes celebrates a big third down stop on Schroeder in the backfield during their Section V Class A1 football sectional championship finals Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 at SUNY Brockport.
Brighton defensive lineman Zahmar Tookes celebrates a big third down stop on Schroeder in the backfield during their Section V Class A1 football sectional championship finals Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 at SUNY Brockport. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Could we be looking at an addition to the Florida Gators recruiting class soon?

The buzz surrounding four-star defensive lineman Zahmar Tookes is getting louder by the minute, and it feels like the northeastern recruit (Rochester, New York) could pull the trigger for the Gators any second. He is coming off of his official visit to Gainesville, but this pledge has been in the works for weeks. 

Tookes also has official visits scheduled to Penn State, Nebraska and possibly Georgia, but it's unlikely he'll take any of them and, according to reports, the visit next week to Penn State is off. Tyler Harden from 247Sports recently put a crystal ball in for Florida to receive Tookes commitment. The On3/Rivals predictor for Tookes has completely flipped, with the Gators now at a 93% percent chance of getting the pledge from Tookes.

Florida is trending favorably for 4-star DL Zahmar Tookes

If Florida can secure Tookes' commitment, it should be marked down as a huge win for the defensive staff, particularly defensive line coach Gerald Chatman and defensive coordinator Brad White. Getting a player for the Northeast is always a tough task, especially a blue-chip recruit that was a coveted target of the Nittany Lions. But Sumrall and his staff have shown that they will go anywhere the players are. Florida's highest-ranked commitment in the class, five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, is from Pennsylvania and tight end commits Tommy Douglas and Jackson Ballinger are from New Jersey and Ohio respectively. 

The Gators have a few defensive line commitments in the class. In-state recruits Stive-Bentley Keumajou Yondui and De'Voun Kendrick are both big bodies that will likely end up as nose guards or defensive tackles that are focused more on stopping the run. Three-star recruit Cain Van Norden has great size and upside and could be a sleeper in the class. But this group needs a few pieces to put it all together. Tookes is another intriguing piece that has the size (6-foot-4, 255 pounds) to play on the inside and provide a pass rush or line up at defensive end. It's the kind of scheme versatility that plays a big role for the most successful defensive line units in college football. 

Jon Sumrall is still targeting top-ranked DL Jalen Brewster

Tookes' commitment would give a massive boost to the defensive line class, but Jalen Brewster would shock the system and give the Gators a class with both the top-ranked interior offensive lineman and the top-ranked defensive lineman. There's still a lot of ground for the Gators to make it in Brewster's recruitment, but he has spoken highly of Florida since his spring visit. Brewster is committed to Texas Tech and just took an official visit to LSU. He has also taken official visits to Indiana and SMU.

Sumrall's next goal is to get Brewster back on campus and that could happen this weekend or one of the final two weekends before the summer dead period begins on June 22. Brewster is being coy about his visits and only announced the LSU trip a couple of days before he took it.  The Gators have to make a big move here and get him to Gainesville again. 

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