BREAKING: Florida Suffers Major Recruiting Blow as Four Star Recruit de-commitment
As of Friday, the Florida Gators had three commitments in their 2026 recruiting class, but that changed on Saturday with a de-commitment. On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported that cornerback Jaelen Waters reopened his recruitment via X. Waters, who originally committed to Florida in June 2024, is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound prospect from Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida.
A four-star recruit, Waters is ranked as the No. 11 cornerback nationally and the No. 2 at his position in Florida, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He currently holds 54 offers, including from top SEC programs such as Auburn, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Alabama.
With Waters’ departure, Florida is left with two commits in the 2026 class—four-star quarterback Will Griffin and three-star safety Devin Jackson. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Miami a 52.1% chance of landing Waters, followed by Florida at 32.7% and Florida State at 14.7%. His decision comes after an unofficial visit to Miami on Feb. 1, while his last visit to Florida was in July, soon after his initial commitment.
BREAKING: Four-Star CB Jaelen Waters has Decommitted from Florida, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’2 180 CB from Seffner, FL had been Committed to the Gators since June
Holds a total of 54 Offershttps://t.co/yqO6eDeb20 pic.twitter.com/uFsbK77wIN
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 15, 2025
The Gators are coming off their best season under head coach Billy Napier, finishing with an 8-5 record and a 33-8 win over Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl. Before 2024, Napier’s teams won six games in 2022 and five in 2023. Now, Florida will have to search for another cornerback for its 2026 class. The Gators open their 2025 season on Aug. 30 against Long Island.