Florida football will have heightened expectations for the 2025 season by keeping Billy Napier. The Gators head coach has now pulled a massive recruiting win. And edged out rivals Alabama and Florida State in winning over the nation’s best linebacker for 2026.
Florida secured its newest verbal commitment with Izayia Williams, with recruiting insider Hayes Fawcett of On3 confirming the move Thursday evening. Williams is the outlet’s 12th-best overall prospect, but is the No. 1 linebacker.
Williams also becomes a significant in-state recruiting win for Napier and his coaching staff, plus the Florida program in general. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder hails from Tavares, Florida — located one hour and 32 minutes south of Gainesville.
The stout LB from Leesburg High additionally had College Football Playoff qualifier Penn State on his final short list. But Florida, with an assist from inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, wins over Williams in the end.
Florida landing ‘supercharged’ LB over Alabama, Florida State
The Williams commitment again becomes a momentum shifting move for the Gators. Napier got placed on the hot seat for producing underwhelming results on the gridiron.
He posted consecutive seven-loss seasons before taking Florida to an 8-5 mark in 2024. Florida stuck with him officially in November.
But now he and the Gator coaches are getting a “supercharged” defender, as Andrew Ivins of 247Sports described him in his prospect evaluation.
“Supercharged linebacker with the athletic juice to make headlines at the NFL Scouting Combine one day, but one that is still discovering all of his capabilities. Owns elite speed and explosion scores for someone that’s already pushing 215 pounds and has one of the more unique track and field profiles in the class,” Ivins wrote.
Williams is now the Gators’ highest-rated verbal pledge for the 2026 class. He becomes their second four-star addition. Quarterback Will Griffin of Jesuit High in Tampa was the longest running four-star commit for Florida. Griffin pledged to the Gators back in June 2024.
Florida is trying to continue its aggressive recruiting chomps under Napier. The Gators managed to sway five-star Oregon commit Dallas Wilson to come to Gainesville instead. The 2025 signing is now expected to form a dynamic tandem with Heisman Trophy hopeful at quarterback D.J. Lagway.
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