Florida Football Recruiting: Gators offer physical Tampa area defensive back

New Florida football defensive backs coach Will Harris has been hitting the ground running in recruiting since arriving to Gainesville. With the class of 2024 all but wrapped up, the Gators have been turning their attention to the class of 2025 and 2026.

And Harris was just outside of Tampa this week to pay a visit to a very physical defensive back and give out an offer.

Florida Football: Size Matters

Jaelen Waters is a class of 2026 defensive back out of Armwood High School just outside of Tampa. Listed at 6'2" and 175 pounds, Waters should easily possess the size needed to be an SEC cornerback once he is ready for college football.

On film, Waters isn't afraid to get in the face of receivers and play press coverage. His is able to jam receivers with regularity and even when he doesn't greet a receiver at the line of scrimmage, he is unbothered by any double moves one may try and throw at him.

Even on plays where Waters does get beat, he has a great motor to recover and still make something out of the play and limit the damage. He also has moments of solid play recognition where he will either hold the outside edge or peel off his receiver to drive downhill to tackle a scrambling QB.

Waters has been offered by Ole Miss, Penn State, and Iowa State, among others. It's a list that should continue to grow as the Spring circuit gets ready to kick into gear.