![Florida head coach Jon Sumrall speaks after spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2656,h_1494/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kt2esjb6nt7x7m24jg.jpg "Florida head coach Jon Sumrall speaks after spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
As Florida has continued to have its class of 2027 grow and grow, one of the trends that has taken place is that Florida has landed a ton of offensive weapons, but could still use a couple of higher-end prospects. Of the seven prospects who have committed to Florida, ranked in the top 150 of the 247 Composite rankings, six are from the offensive side.
The one Florida has picked up from the defensive side in the top 150 is a super intriguing prospect from Georgia who shares some qualities once seen in current Gator Jadan Baugh.
Florida lands commitment of Ja’Bois Smith
On Friday, the Gators landed LB Ja’Bois Smith out of Georgia. Listed at 6’3” and 195 pounds, Smith is a consensus four-star across the board, with ESPN ranking him the highest at No. 95 overall.
Smith is interesting because he hasn’t done a ton of the camps that would boost his ranking even more, but what he puts on film makes him look like a linebacker who could create some real mismatch problems for opponents down the road. What stands out with Smith is that even when he doesn’t have a full head of steam to greet a running back in the hole, his power seems effortless to bring guys down, and there is no struggle from him to put guys on the ground.
But he also doubles as a running back, and while he doesn’t exactly have breakaway speed, teams just seem incapable of dragging him down or having any answer for him. There are legit times he will plow through four players who all seem helpless in trying to tackle him.
It’s those traits that Baugh once had as a four-star from Georgia just a couple of years ago. As some may recall, Baugh doubled as a linebacker and a running back in high school.
Smith’s commitment to Florida was also notable because he came from the backyard of Athens, and he has an official visit lined up with Georgia later in June. He made the 17th commit for Florida’s class of 2027, which is now back in the top five of the 247 rankings.
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