Florida Gators get Pass-Rush Boost on Signing Day

The Florida Gators recruiting class will bolster an area of deficiency that plagued the defense for much of the 2024 season.

Florida Gators edge Tyreak Sapp led the team with seven sacks. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2024 Florida Gators displayed toughness, moxie and overall fortitude, despite a brutal schedule and various injuries. With a bowl invite assured, the school looked to locking up a recruiting class that made the same type of turnaround as their season. 

With 23 signatures on Signing Day, the Gators went from a summer of the 60’s in recruiting rankings to hovering in or around the top-10. The Gators focused on shoring up areas of concern. 

Stepping to the top of the list: pass rush. Now, looking at their 39 sacks, good for third in the SEC, you would not normally think that generating pressure stood as a major concern for the Gators.

However, if you look deeper,18 of those sacks occurred versus teams with losing records, and 14 of them came in the final-three games. Only Tyreak Sapp had more than five sacks on the team. He led the Gators with seven.

It looked as if the Gators started to figure things out at the end of the season, but they’ll need consistency throughout the whole campaign to reach the lofty goals of the Florida program. 

Path Forward

In order to generate pass rush, Florida occasionally needed to send the house. In theory, that works against bad teams, but top-tier quarterbacks can diagnose the rush and take appropriate steps to survive. 

Additionally, sending multiple rushers leaves holes in a defense. Someone inevitably becomes the hot route. Taking nothing away from the Gators' ability to get home frequently, the team truly does need an infusion of twitchy athleticism.

For what they possessed on the roster, UF did well. However, for a team that wants to ascend, good enough does not work. 

Jalen Wiggins

Wiggins was considered the No. 8 defensive end prospect in the country by ESPN. At 6 foot 5 inches and 270 pounds, he has the frame to compete early.

However, Wiggins' final form will look drastically different from his 2024 shape. First, look for him to add weight, and fill out more, as his stay in Gainesville progresses. Currently, Wiggins resembles a blank canvas, with an upside that solid defensive coaches will mold and shape into a better rusher.

In teaching Wiggins basic rush moves, Florida coaches will build a foundation, so later, they will stack counters and technique on top of it.

Jayden Woods

Woods was ranked the No. 7 edge rusher nationally by 247 Sports. He is an explosive 6 foot 3 inch and 240 pounds.

The former discus/shot put champion from the state of Kansas, Woods offers a far different rush palette than Wiggins. First, with the track background, the footwork and hand strength and dexterity jump off film. 

Next, with a strong core, the incoming rusher will add a power aspect to his game as time passes by. He fits the need for an edge to fly out of the two-point stance, barreling towards the quarterback. Originally committed to Penn State, Woods committed to Florida after watching the team catch fire and salvage what looked like a rough season. 

Overview

Florida survived 2024 without a dominant pass rush. To their credit, they managed to win big games with overwhelming relentlessness. Now, combine that mindset with two rushers like Jayden Woods and Jalen Wiggins.

With size, strength and speed on their side, these two will compete for snaps. Then, the defensive coaches will find a way to use these two talents simultaneously.  Either way, the University of Florida will enjoy this haul at edge rusher and now will enter games with a different approach.