Florida rockets from nowhere into the top 3 for a blue-chip linebacker prize

Jon Sumrall continues to make waves in the recruiting trails and now has Florida toward the top of the list and gaining momentum for four-star linebacker, Ja’Bios Smith out of Swainsboro, Georgia and the class of 2027.

Smith was one of the players originally recruited during Billy Napier’s tenure, but after he was let go, along with coaches on his staff, Florida fell out of the top of Smith’s list.

“At first, they weren’t on my top list, but I have to say, now they are,” Smith told Tyler Harden of 247Sports earlier this month. And now Sumrall and the Gators have walked their way back into the conversation and as of Monday sit “top three” on Smith’s list.

The junior from Georgia is ranked by On3 rivals as the No. 134 prospect in the nation, the No. 8 linebacker and the No. 17 recruit out of Georgia.

Andrew Ivins, director of Scouting for 247Sports describes Smith as one of the “biggest and baddest athletes on the field.” The 6’3, 215lb “Bigfoot” as he’s known is a 2-way offensive and defensive player. In 2025 he was credited with 72 tackles (eight tackles for loss), one sack, and one fumble recovery in nine games.

Offensively, he had 76 carries for 457 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025.

Smith is also ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 156 recruit on ESPN’s Jr 300. With a four-star scouting grade of 81, he is ranked as the No. 3 linebacker, No. 73 recruit in the region, and the No. 19 recruit by ESPN.com out of Georgia.

Along with ranking Florida in his top-three, he noted Georgia and South Carolina as Florida’s competitors for the top spt.

Smith has a trip to Gainesville for an official visit at the University of Florida scheduled for May 28. Florida will have an idea of how things went for Smith at South Carolina ahead of that, but will have to make sure to impress before the junior visits Georgia as his last official visit.

But Sumrall is staying heavy on the recruiting trail and making a statement by earning his way back into the top of a four-star recruit’s list of colleges after Florida’s early fall on the list.