Gators GM Seemingly Returns Shot at Will Harris After Recruiting Win

The Florida Gators beat out Miami for a pledge from four-star corner J'Vari Flowers.

Oct 16, 2021; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Florida Gators helmet on a water jug during the game against LSU Tigers during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Less than a month after former Florida Gators coach and new Miami staffer Will Harris seemingly sent a shot at the program after a recruiting win, UF general manager Jacob LaFrance seemingly responded after a victory of their own.

Florida on Monday secured the commitment of the best uncommitted prospect in the 2025 class in J’Vari Flowers, a four-star defensive back who reclassified from the 2026 class earlier in the year. The 12th ranked corner in his class and top 100 prospect picked the Gators over Notre Dame, Auburn and Harris’ new program Miami.

BREAKING: Four-Star CB J’Vari Flowers (2025) has Committed to Florida, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’0 175 CB from Miami, FL chose the Gators over Auburn, Notre Dame, & Miami

“The best in Florida stay in Florida.”https://t.co/OlU9ab7PJG pic.twitter.com/np5h6SKgWY

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 1, 2025

Though taking his final visit with the Hurricanes and having been in contact with Harris in his time at both programs, Flowers ended up still committing to Florida and signing his papers to enroll at the school.

After the big recruiting win over a rival, Florida’s general manager seemed to get his revenge for Harris’ previous tweet.

😎♟️@GatorsFB 🐊📈🏴| #KeepGoing

— Jacob LaFrance (@JacobLaFrance) April 1, 2025

His choice of emojis, the same two that Harris tweeted after securing the commitment of former Gators pledge and 2026 recruit Jaelen Waters, looks to be a clear shot at the former UF assistant after signing one of his school's bigger targets.

The Hurricanes were heavily involved in Flowers recruitment and the Northwestern product is from Miami, making the loss a hard one to swallow for the Canes. He would have been their highest composite ranked cornerback signee out of high school since Tracy Howard in 2012 and first composite top 100 signee at cornerback since Al Blades Jr. in 2018.

While the somewhat petty battle between Harris and Florida for defensive backs sits tied 1-1, for those keeping score. The back-and-forth is likely to continue as the two Florida based programs constantly find themselves competing for the same prospects.

As of now, Miami holds on to the commitment of Waters, given a .9376 composite four-star ranking, while the Gators win comes with the signing of Flowers, holding a .9568 four-star mark.

With the two programs seeming to hold plenty of animosity towards each other already, their Sept. 20 matchup cannot come soon enough.