![New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_198,w_2628,h_1478/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kg09zz2mbn5e8w9qxc.jpg "New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67 [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
There have been some great rivalries in Florida’s history. The annual meetings on the gridiron with FSU? Classic. The battles on the basketball court with Kentucky? Timeless. The fiery nature of the annual baseball series against Miami? Must-see TV.
But there has been another rivalry brewing over the past few years that is about to reignite after one of Florida’s top prospects didn’t get the recognition fans thought he deserved after a final rankings update.
Davian Groce gets a minimal bump from Rivals
Rivals/On3 just put out their final rankings for the class of 2026, and there were some big-time movers in the rankings. Several players who were previously ranked outside the top 100 moved into the top 50 and beyond after having a monster senior season.
But for whatever reason, that recognition didn’t extend to Florida wide receiver Davian Groce.
Rivals, which merged with On3, hadn’t been as high on Groce as the other two main services (247 and ESPN) to begin with. Whereas 247 has him at 52nd overall and ESPN has him at 44th in the country, Rivals had Groce at 115th nationally when he signed with the Gators in December.
No worries, though, surely a senior year of 1,602 yards receiving and 20 total touchdowns would get noticed and corrected once the updated rankings dropped?
Negative, Groce comes in at 101st overall in the final class of 2026 rankings for Rivals.
It’s semantics at the end of the day, and we remain steadfast here at Hail Florida Hail that the Gators got a great wide receiver for 2026, but perceived bias from these rankings continues to be an ongoing gag for Florida fans.
Ohio State saw a wide receiver jump from 131st overall to 17th after just getting over 1,000 yards this season. Likewise, LSU had a wide receiver jump from 151st to 28th overall after a senior year not nearly as productive as Groce's.
The beauty of it all is that Groce will have his chance to prove it on the field, whether or not the bias Rivals/On3 has is real or whether they see something that Gator fans are missing.