2028 Five-Star Headlines Florida's Recruiting Visitors for FAU Game

The Florida Gators kick off their football season with FAU on Saturday at 7:45 pm inside a sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Excitement and anticipation are at an all-time high heading into the season opener, which has attracted several top recruits from the 2027, 2028 and 2029 classes. Here are the expected visitors for the weekend, according to On3's Blake Alderman.

Gator Commits Make Up the 2027 Class

Florida has already put most of the final touches on its 2027 class. It holds 25 total commitments from recruits across the country, and half are planning to be in Gainesville this weekend.

Coatesville (Pa.) five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller is the highest-rated commit making the trip. Hiller ranks as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2027 class, according to 247Sports, and has been pledged to the Gators since April 8. A big reason he teamed up with the Gators is because of new Florida offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.

Florida’s signal caller in the 2027 class, Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney four-star quarterback Davin Davidson will also be in attendance. He committed to the Gators one day after Hiller after the Gators made him a priority since head coach Jon Sumrall was hired. He is a consensus top-200 prospect in the class.

Another highly touted Gators commit who is visiting is Warner Robins (Ga.) Dodge County four-star defensive back Aamaury Fountain. Fountain flipped to the Gators from South Carolina following Florida’s spring game on April 11. He is the No. 38 overall prospect, according to Rivals.

Coatesville (Pa.) five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller
Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney four-star quarterback Davin Davidson
Anna (Texas) four-star interior offensive lineman Peyton Miller
Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian four-star running back Andrew Beard
Centerburg (Ohio) High three-star tight end Jackson Ballinger
Warner Robins (Ga.) Dodge County four-star defensive back Aamaury Fountain
Swainsboro (Ga.) High four-star linebacker Ja'Bios Smith
Mobile (Ala.) Williamson four-star linebacker Ellis McGaskin
Orlando (Fla.) First Academy three-star defensive back Kamauri Whitfield
Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day three-star defensive lineman De'Voun Kendrick
Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day three-star linebacker Tre Geathers
Sharpsburg (Ga.) East Coweta three-star kicker Aaron McWilliams
Mendenhall (Miss.) Simpson County Academy three-star long snapper Jaydee Lane

Several Highly Rated Underclassmen Coming to Town

Arguably the most notable 2028 prospect visiting the Gators this weekend is 2028 Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles five-star edge Asher Ghioto. He is a consensus top-10 prospect across the major recruiting sites and has been a priority for the new staff.

The Gators' lone 2028 commit, Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna Prep four-star wide receiver Armani Strong, is expected to make the trip.

Four Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day High School 2028 recruits are visiting this weekend. Four-star wide receiver Derrell Hines Jr., four-star defensive lineman Zylen Little, four-star edge Antonio Thomas and three-star running back Kameron Battle are all expected for the game.

Two 2029 recruits are also making the trek to Gainesville for Florida's first game in the Swamp in 2026. Those are Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day four-star cornerback James Allen and Cape Coral (Fla.) four-star edge Kymani Nicholas. Allen is Rivals' No. 1 overall prospect in the class and Nicholas is the No. 21 overall prospect.

2028 Visitors

Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles five-star edge Asher Ghioto
Louisville (Miss.) four-star running back Zaiden Jernigan
Saint Louis (Mo.) DeSmet four-star tight end Ridge Janes
Austintown (Ohio) Fitch four-star offensive tackle Anthony Blalock Jr. (Alabama commit)
Lyons (Ga.) Toombs County four-star safety Nick Carroll
Tampa (Fla.) Bolles four-star safety Jaxon Flowers
Lakeland (Fla.) four-star cornerback Dominick Harris-Payne.
Gainesville (Fla.) Buchholz three-star quarterback Andrew Whittemore
Greenwood (Ark.) three-star offensive tackle Jaxen Cepeda
Mobile (Ala.) Williamson three-star linebacker Reginald Ward
Ruskin (Fla.) Lennard three-star athlete Chayse Brown (Florida State commit)
NR Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake offensive tackle Nikolay Petrushev
NR Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.) Nease offensive lineman John O’Dwyer
NR Vero Beach (Fla.) defensive lineman Josiah Taylor
NR Vero Beach (Fla.) safety Jamarion Hillsman

2029 Visitors

Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day four-star cornerback James Allen
Cape Coral (Fla.) four-star edge Kymani Nicholas

2030 Visitors

NR Madison (Miss.) Central offensive tackle Chase Hatchett
NR Cape Coral (Fla.) athlete Noel Devine Jr.

Enjoy our content? Make Florida Gators on SI a Preferred Source to see more stories from us on Google: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=si.com

Add us as a preferred source on Google