The 2026 recruiting trail gifted Billy Napier and the Florida Gators with some costly losses. Their 2026 safety commitment, Devin Jackson, jumped out of Napier’s program back in April. Before that, in February, Armwood (Florida) four-star cornerback Jaelen Waters announced his decommitment from the Florida Gators. Napier still has to gear up on the 2026 recruiting track as they sit at No. 15 with only 17 recruits locked in. 

However, on July 11, they got a big boost. There has been a lot of buzz about Napier’s 5-star Edge Rusher target Kevin “KJ” Ford. The hot recruit had announced to close his commitment on Friday. But hardly did Napier expect to hear Gators’ name getting called out, even though they seemed to be the leader for the blue-chip prospect. Now that Ford is here, Napier can walk with a pumped-up chest.

After all, Ford is coming off as a threat to the SEC rivals. Right after the commitment, he reshared Hayes Fawcett’s X post that confirmed his commitment to Napier’s squad. The 5-star served some fresh fear for the SEC programs with a blunt message. He wrote, “Going to run the sec.” And what better news for Napier to go on full party mood? The head coach must have already gone into panic mode after seeing his edge board crumble. The Gators lost the commitment of their 5-star Trenton Henderson, who switched to LSU. Not just this, 4-star Jake Kreul struck Napier’s Florida from his top teams. But till the very last day, Ford kept Napier and Co. hanging. 

In an interview with 247Sports, he said about Florida, “They’re in an okay spot. (I’m) just trying to see everything.” Turns out that deep down, he knew that he would only trust Napier and the Gators. Before Ford, the Gators had only one rusher committed in 2026. That’s none other than the five-star JaReylan McCoy. Winning Ford’s heart was indeed a big win for Napier, as they had to beat heavyweight names like the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The craze for the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder from Duncanville has been wild. Why wouldn’t it be?

After all, Ford is one of those fast, athletic edge defenders that everyone in college football loves to have. Napier got blessed with a package, as Ford is known for his impressive ability to fire off the pigskin and attack offensive linemen. Well, the edge rusher position is something Napier had a hard time with. Florida went into 2024 with what seemed to be a surefire dynamic duo in veterans Tyreak Sapp and Justus Boone. But poor Florida. Boone struggled and was ultimately taken out of the rotation for much of the back half of the season. So, Napier had to make some midseason changes to its edge rusher rotation.

With the addition of Ford, the head coach can now let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Napier deserves a special mention for his far-sightedness.

Billy Napier is reloading for the long run  

While their 2026 class still needs some serious push, the Florida head coach has already opened the gates for the 2027 class. On June 21, Napier landed their first 2027 commitment. Hayes Fawcett confirmed, “BREAKING: Four-Star ATH Tramond Collins (2027) has Committed to Florida, he tells me for @on3recruits.” Tramond Collins had picked up interest from some heavyweight SEC programs, including Tennessee, Auburn, and Kentucky. But only Napier got lucky to bring home the 6’2″, 185-pound star from Cottondale, FL.

And what makes Collins a great addition to the Gators’ 2027 class? His stats are enough to give us a clear idea about the young chap’s calibre. Playing in 10 games last season, Collins totaled 402 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 13 receptions, according to MaxPreps. As a sophomore, he was slotted in as a running back for his offense. During this stint, Napier’s first 2027 class recruit caught the attention by rushing the pigskin 31 times for 661 yards and nine touchdowns. He topped it up with a 100-yard rushing touchdown.

The desperation of Billy Napier to prove himself through these little moves is evident. After all, he got to get rid of Paul Finebaum’s “abject disaster” tag for him. But the analyst can’t be blamed either. With Napier at the helm, Gators fans witnessed the greatest heartbreak in the longest time. They missed a bowl game in 2023—the program’s first miss since 2017. What better way to erase the dark past and bounce back? To make your weapons sharper. And Napier is already busy sharpening his squad.