Four-Star Safety Makes Recruiting Announcement With Oregon, Ohio State, Florida

The Oregon Ducks, Ohio State Buckeyes, Florida Gators and more made the top 10 for four-star defensive back recruit Zayden Gamble.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning listens to a reporter’s question during the head coaches’ press conference ahead of the Peach Bowl at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 8, 2026. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Four-star defensive back recruit Zayden Gamble is a Florida prospect who has experience playing both safety and cornerback. He is currently viewed as a safety, and he plays high school ball for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Gamble has secured a spot as one of the top safeties in the country, and because of that, he has been named a priority by many programs.

Gamble has recently named multiple schools as his top programs. All of the schools he has named would be willing to take his commitment, as no one at this point would deny a commitment from a top player in the state of Florida, and let alone a top safety prospect, one of the thinnest positions when it comes to high school recruiting prospects.

Jan 9, 2026; Atlanta, GA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning reacts during the first half of the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Zayden Gamble's Top 10 Schools

Here is Gamble's newly-released top 10, per Rivals' Hayes Fawcett.

• Florida Gators
• Miami Hurricanes
• Georgia Bulldogs
• LSU Tigers
• Texas A&M Aggies
• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Auburn Tigers
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
• Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Oregon Ducks

Gamble has the opportunity to play at the highest level with any of these programs and would be an early contributor no matter where he commits.

The Ducks are the most recent team to join his recruitment, as he was offered by Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning back on Jan. 22. This is one of the main reasons the Ducks wouldn't be the initial choice, as they will have to play catch-up. With the Ducks still cracking the top-10, it is safe to say that there is room for them to make some ground up.

Jan 9, 2026; Atlanta, GA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning reacts during the first half of the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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The current leader seems to be the Miami Hurricanes, as he has been predicted to land with the Hurricanes, according to Stephen Wagner from Rivals. This is going to be a tough battle for the Ducks, as the Hurricanes are much closer to their home, which can be viewed as a recruiting advantage.

An inflatable of the University of Oregon Duck mascot floats on the White River in front of the NCAA Headquarters on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in downtown Indianapolis. The float weighs in at 1,600 pounds and takes 1.5 hours to inflate. | Brett Phelps/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gamble is entering his final season with the high school program, which comes after arguably his best season yet. Gamble finished the season with 65 tackles (50 of the 65 were solo tackles), five pass deflections, and three interceptions according to MaxPreps. He has been a three-year contributor thus far, bringing his career stats to seven interceptions and 92 total tackles.

The four-star safety recruit has not revealed any commitment timeline, and he appears to have plenty of options based off of his recent top 10.

Lanning and his coaching staff currently have a total of four commits in their recruiting class. Two of the commits are on the defensive side of the ball, four-star defensive lineman Cameron Pritchett and three-star linebacer Sam Ngata while the offensive commits consist of three-star offensive linemen Avery Michael and Drew Fielder.

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