Should Florida fans be concerned about the recruiting class of 2026?

Now that spring camp has come and gone for Florida, the next central talking point on the calendar for the Gators are the official visits that will take place at the end of May and throughout June. Florida has a solid list of prospects lined up who will come through Gainesville, and there is reason for optimism.

But Florida is also in a familiar spot they found themselves in this time last season, and it raises the question: should Gator fans be concerned about the state of the class of 2026?

Florida has just one commit in the class of 2026

With the decommitment of Izayia Williams last week, Billy Napier and crew have just one commitment for their class of 2026, QB Will Griffin out of Tampa.

For Williams specifically, his flip to Ole Miss marks the 5th school he has committed to, and he hasn't even started his senior year of high school.

But for Florida, it raises questions as to why recruiting once again is going to have to rely on a last-second mad dash to emerge with a decent class. Within the SEC, everyone else besides Kentucky has at least three commits, and 12 schools have at least five.

The slow start made sense last year when Florida was coming off a 5-7 season, and every recruit told insiders that they wanted to see how things would play out on the field before committing to the Gators. But after finishing on a four-game winning streak and popping up in the top ten of some "Way Too Early" rankings, there was hope the Gators would have better momentum than just one commitment heading into May.

Does it mean this class is doomed?

No.

Two years ago, the Gators were in a similar boat with a class that was lagging behind before a string of commitments in June catapulted Florida into having a top-five class. Those commitments dropped off as on-the-field performance lagged, and Florida was left outside the top ten.

Last year, Florida emerged from official visits with virtually no one committed. It entered October with a class that looked dead in the water but wound up finishing 7th in the 247 Composite rankings.

But it also isn't unfair to state that if Florida emerges from official visits this time around and once again is lagging behind entering the season, Napier isn't going to land an "elite" class in Gainesville.

He might land a "good" class, and "good" classes can get you to the playoffs.

But if Florida is going to win the SEC and actually be a threat to win the national title down the road, they will need to land more "elite" classes than "good."