{"id":25839,"date":"2026-06-22T20:38:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/florida-football-recruiting-update-uf-adds-kicker-to-2027-class-the-news-press\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:38:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:38:52","slug":"florida-football-recruiting-update-uf-adds-kicker-to-2027-class-the-news-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/florida-football-recruiting-update-uf-adds-kicker-to-2027-class-the-news-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida football recruiting update, UF adds kicker to 2027 class – The News-Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida football<\/a> is still adding to its impressive 2027 recruiting class under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.
The Florida Gators<\/a> landed their 24th pledge of the 2027 class as kicker Aaron McWilliams of Sharpsburg, Georgia, committed to UF on June 22.
Per 247Sports, Florida<\/a>‘s 2027 class is currently ranked eighth nationally, with one five-star commit and nine four-star commits.
\u201cWe can get anybody to come visit the University of Florida<\/a> in America if we do a good job,” Sumrall said following UF’s spring game. “This is not a really hard place to recruit to.
“We\u2019re the fifth-ranked public school in the United States of America academically right now. You come outside today, and it\u2019s beautiful. You come to the stadium, and you know the history and pageantry of what it feels like to play in this place. And you know the stadium renovations that are coming. You know the fan base is hungry for a winner.”
Sumrall’s approach to recruiting is that it needs to be a fit on both sides. He’s not going to chase four and five stars just for the sake of chasing four and five stars. Rather, players coming from high school will need to understand what’s expected of them when they commit to UF.
“The energy\u2019s real,” Sumrall said. “And there\u2019s authentic relationships. I think we coach every day \u2014 we\u2019re not going to change. I tell recruits all the time. If you like us now, you\u2019re gonna love us later. If you don\u2019t like me now, go somewhere else, because I\u2019m not changing. What you\u00a0see\u2019s what\u00a0you get. If you want to come improve your craft every day, it\u2019s gonna be a blast. If you\u2019re tough and love football, it\u2019s gonna be a blast. If you\u2019re soft and you like football, don\u2019t come here.\u201d
Here’s a look at UF’s commitments so far for the 2027 class under Sumrall.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: East Coweta HS\/Sharpsburg, Georgia
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-0, 184 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: N\/A
The Skinny:<\/strong> McWilliams chose Florida over an offer from Texas State. He’s connected on 17 of 19 field goal attempts in his high school career, with a long of 50 yards, while also connecting on 69 of 70 PAT attempts. At the Kohl’s national scholarship kicking camp in July of 2025, McWilliams posted impressive scores of 30 on field goals and 111.87 on kickoffs.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Providence Day School\/Charlotte, N.C.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-2, 212 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Geathers chose Florida over offers from Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and Boston College. As a junior in 2025, Geathers recorded 87 tackles, 8 pass breakups in 2 interceptions. Geathers is rated as the 64th-best safety in the 2027 class and the 24th-best player from North Carolina.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Williamson HS\/Mobile, Alabama
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-1, 205 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> McGaskin chose Florida over offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, LSU and Arkansas. Per 247Sports, McGaskin is the 43rd-rated linebacker in the 2027 class and 21st-rated player from Alabama. As a junior at Williamson HS, McGaskin recorded 160 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries (including one returned for a TD), two forced fumbles and an interception.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Simpson County Academy\/Mendenhall, Miss.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-3, 210 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: N\/A
The Skinny:<\/strong> Lane chose Florida over an offer from Mississippi State.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Clinch County HS\/Homerville, Georgia
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-0, 185 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Johnson is the 36th-rated safety and 439th-rated player overall in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He chose Florida over offers from Florida State, Cincinnati, North Carolina State and Alabama. At Clinch County HS, Johnson starred in all three phases in 2025, with 29 tackles and five interceptions on defense and 38 catches for 828 yards and 11 TDs on offense. He also returned two punts and one kickoff for TDs on special teams. A track standout, Johnson ran top times of 11.33 seconds in the 100 meters and 51.13 seconds in the 400 meters.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: St. John’s School\/Baltimore, Md.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-5, 266 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Wheeler is the 13th-rated defensive lineman and 128th-rated player overall in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He chose Florida over offers from Clemson, Auburn, Tennessee and Boston College.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Brighton HS\/Rochester, N.Y.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-4, 235 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Tookes is the 52nd-rated defensive lineman and rated 250th overall in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He chose Florida over offers from Georgia, Nebraska, Boston College and Kentucky. In 2025, Tookes posted 10 tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble for Brighton HS.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Swainsboro HS\/Swainsboro, Ga.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-3, 195 pounds
Rating<\/strong>: Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Smith tallied 72 tackles, 8 tackles for loss. 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery in 9 games for Swainsboro HS in 2025. Per 247Sports, Smith is rated at the 13th-best linebacker and 177th-best player in the 2027 class. He chose Florida over offers from Texas A&M, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Port Charlotte HS\/Port Charlotte
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 5-10, 180
Rating<\/strong>: Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Pearl is coming off a breakout junior season at Port Charlotte HS that included 69 catches for 1,052 yards and 13 TDs, 40 carries for 253 yards and 11 TDs rushing and two kickoff returns for TDs. He chose Florida over offers from Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn and Colorado. Per 247, Pearl is the 15th-best receiver in the 2027 class and 114th best player nationally.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Bishop McNamara HS\/District Heights, Md.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-7, 265
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Van Norden chose Florida over offers from Virginia Tech, Georgia, Ole Miss and Maryland. He’s the 90th rated defensive lineman in the 2027 class, per247Sports, and the 21st rated player from Maryland.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Prince Avenue Christian School\/Bogart, Ga.
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 5-10, 197
Rating<\/strong>: Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> \u00a0Beard finished his junior season with 155 carries for 1,260 yards (8.1 yards per carry) and 12 TD while also catching 29 passes for 435 yards and 5 TDs. He’s the 8th-rated running back and 165th rated player nationally, per 247 Sports. Beard chose Florida over offers from Georgia, Clemson, Tennessee and Alabama.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Coral Gables HS\/Coral Gables
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-3, 295
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Born in England, Keumajou moved to the U.S. in 2025 and in his first high school season at Coral Gables played on both lines of scrimmage, Keumajou also kicked and punted at Coral Gables and played soccer and basketball. He’s rated as the 37th-best defensive line recruit in the 2027 class and 29th-best player in Florida and chose UF over offers from Miami, Auburn, Georgia and Syracuse.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: North Cross School\/Roanoke, Virginia
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-6, 256
Rating<\/strong>: Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Hutcheson is the 15th overall rated offensive tackle in the Class of 2027, per 247Sports, and the 110th ranked player nationally. He chose Florida over Clemson, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt.
School\/Hometown<\/strong>: Jenks HS\/Jenks, Oklahoma
Height\/Weight<\/strong>: 6-0, 175
Rating<\/strong>: Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Dillard is the 112th overall rated safety in the Class of 2027, per 247Sports, and the 446th ranked player nationally. He chose Florida over Georgia and Oregon.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Anna HS\/Anna, Texas
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-5, 290
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Miller is the eighth-rated interior offensive lineman in the Class of 2027, per 247Sports, and the 143rd ranked player nationally. He chose Florida over Texas, SMU, Arizona State and Clemson.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Carrollwood Day School\/Tampa
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-4, 275
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Kendrick is coming off a junior season that included 28 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Per 247Sports, Kendrick is the 58th-rated defensive lineman in the 2027 class and the 41st-rated player in Florida. He chose Florida over offers from Louisville, Arkansas, Auburn and Boston College.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Dillard HS\/Fort Lauderdale
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-0, 165
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Jennings is coming off a junior season at Dillard High that included 34 catches for 823 yards and 11 TDs. He’s the 55th rated receiver in the 2027 class and the 35th-best player in the state of Florida per 247Sports. He chose Florida over offers from Maryland, Auburn, Florida State and Boston College.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Coatesville Area HS\/Coatesville, Pa.
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-5, 300
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Five-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Hiller is the top-rated left tackle recruit and fourth-rated player overall in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He’s the first five-star offensive line recruit Florida has landed since Martez Ivey in 2015. Hiller chose Florida over offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Cincinnati and Clemson.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0American Heritage HS\/Plantation, Fla.
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a05-11, 178
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Nugent is rated as the 15th-best cornerback and 117th best player overall in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He chose UF over offers from LSU, Notre Dame, Boston College and Auburn. As a sophomore, Nugent was part of a 4×100 relay squad that captured a Florida 3A track and field championship.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Cottondale HS\/Cottondale, Fla.
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-2, 183
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Collins is the fourth-rated athlete and 111th overall-rated player in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He chose Florida over offers from Georgia, Alabama, Florida State and Auburn. As a sophomore at Cottondale HS in 2024, Collins was a dual-threat offensive star, totaling 1,063 yards of offense (661 yards rushing and 402 yards receiving) and 15 TDs (9 TD rushing and 6 TD receiving).
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Cardinal Mooney HS\/Sarasota, Fla.
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-6, 215
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0Four-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Ranked as the 13th-best quarterback and 220th best player nationally, per 247Sports. Chose Florida over offers from Auburn, Arkansas, California and Colorado. Davidson posted a 14-1 record as a first-year starter in 2025, leading Cardinal Mooney to a Florida 2A championship. He finished his junior season completing 137 of 212 passes for 2,360 yards with 23 TDs and 6 interceptions and displayed dual-threat ability, carrying the ball 18 times for 81 yards with 3 TDs.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Centerburg HS\/Centerburg, Ohio
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-4, 225
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Ballinger is rated as the 21st-best tight end and 417th best player nationally in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. He chose Florida over offers from Arizona State, Cincinnati, Auburn and Arkansas.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0The Hun School\/Princeton, N.J.
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-4, 235
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong> Douglas is the 17th-rated tight end recruit in the 2027 class and the 413th rated player nationally, per 247Sports and 247Sports composite. He chose Florida over offers from Pittsburgh, Tennessee, South Carolina and UCLA. Douglas finished his junior season at the Hun School in 2025 with 33 catches for 640 yards\u00a0and 7 TDs.
School\/Hometown:<\/strong>\u00a0Northside HS\/Warner Robbins, Ga.
Height\/Weight:<\/strong>\u00a06-3,190
Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0three-star
The Skinny:<\/strong>\u00a0Rated as the 26th best cornerback and 195th best overall recruit in the 2027 class, per 247Sports. Flipped commitment from South Carolina and also had offers from Alabama, Auburn and BYU. Recorded 32 tackles, 4 interceptions, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble and double-digit pass breakups in his junior season at Northside in 2025.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Florida<\/em><\/a>\u00a0beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Florida football is still adding to its impressive 2027 recruiting class under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.The Florida Gators landed their 24th pledge of the 2027 class as kicker Aaron McWilliams of Sharpsburg, Georgia, committed to UF on June 22.Per 247Sports, Florida‘s 2027 class is currently ranked eighth nationally, with one five-star commit and nine four-star […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}