Gators 2025 Schedule Loaded with NFL Talent

The Florida Gators will face 13 players on PFF's top 50 prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Texas' Arch Manning is PFF's No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft class. The Florida Gators host Texas on Oct. 4. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

13 players on the Florida Gators football 2025 schedule are ranked inside PFF’s top 50 prospects for the 2026 NFL Draft. This isn’t too much of a surprise, though. They play in the SEC and face some of the best the country has to offer on the gridiron. 

With that being said, let’s take an early look at who the Gators will be prepping for next season. 

Trio of Quarterbacks

While he is not ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 class, Texas’s Arch Manning is PFF’s No. 1 quarterback heading into the new season. Manning will be the guaranteed starter for the first time in his career after playing backup to former Longhorn Quinn Ewers. 

Despite mostly being the backup in his first two seasons, Manning played well in two starts last season. He was a combined 41-for-60 and threw for 583 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Additionally, in his second start against Mississippi State, he ran six times for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Florida will host Manning on Oct. 4.

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier was also named inside the top 50. After riding the bench for three straight years, he finally got his chance last season and never looked back. He threw for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns as a redshirt junior. He did have a turnover problem, though, with 12 interceptions in 2024. Nussmeier ranks as PFF’s No. 18 overall prospect. 

The Gators will face Nussmeier in Death Valley to open SEC play on Sept. 13.

The third of the trio is Miami’s Carson Beck. This won’t be the first time the Gators square off with Beck with the former Georgia starter being 2-0 in his starts against Florida. He is PFF’s No. 32 overall prospect. 

Beck will get his third start against Florida, and his first as a Hurricane, on Sept. 20.

In the Trenches

They say the battle is won in the trenches, and it’s going to be a tough one down low for the Gators in 2025. They’ll take the field with the No. 9 overall prospect and No. 2 offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa out of Miami. The Gators also have Texas A&M’s Ar’Maj Reed-Adams, who ranks as the No. 28 overall prospect in the class.

On the defensive side of the ball, Florida has to go against Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. – No. 12 overall prospect – and Tennessee’s Joshua Josephs – No. 38 overall prospect. Bain Jr. was one of the best edge rushers in his freshman year, two seasons ago, but a calf injury hampered his production in 2024. He’ll now enter this new season with a ton of hype and a desire to show he is the same player he was when he entered. 

Defensive Back Galore

Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy is the top-ranked cornerback on PFF’s top 50 (No. 8 overall). He transferred to Tennessee last summer from Oregon State and had an instant impact on defense. He received an 89.6 grade from PFF in coverage, which was second among Power Four returning corners. He also tallied four interceptions last season. 

In total, McCoy logged 44 total tackles, four interceptions, 13 pass deflections and 0.5 tackles-for-loss. With these numbers, he earned 2024 All-American Second Team honors from the AP and Sports Illustrated, 2024 All-SEC First Team honors from the AP and 2024 All-SEC Second Team honors from the coaches. 

Joining McCoy in the top 50 prospects are Texas duo Malik Muhammad (No. 25) and Michael Taaffe (No. 36). 

The Heart of the Defense

Two linebackers rank inside the top 50 in Texas' Anthony Hill Jr. and Texas A&M’s Taurean York. Hill begins the year at No. 13 while York lands at No. 23. 

Both have been at the top of their positions since joining the conference, making their presence known on the field from the get-go. 

Hill has totaled 180 tackles over his two seasons with the Longhorns, recording 113 last season as a sophomore. He’s recorded one interception, four pass deflections and five forced fumbles (one recovered) as well. York has logged 156 tackles over the past two campaigns, totaling 82 of them last year. 

Lone Receiver 

Texas A&M’s Kevin Concepcion is the only receiver that the Gators will play against who starts inside PFF’s top 50. 

It will be his first year in the SEC, so there could be a delay in his talent being shown on the field. He began his career with North Carolina State in the ACC. 

He is a yards-after-the-catch machine. According to PFF, since 2023, Concepcion has had 792 after the catch, which is good for the second most among returning Power Four wideouts. He also had 16 scores, which is the best in that same time frame.