Florida Gators in contention for top offensive line recruit thanks to Phil Trautwein, but they have an uphill battle to land him
Recruiting with the Florida Gators is rocking and rolling, and Phil Trautwein is working hard to land another difference maker in the trenches.
The offensive line in the Florida Gators 2027 recruiting class is well represented. Head coach Jon Sumrall made a great hire with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. The former left tackle for the Gators under Urban Meyer has been a great recruiter through the first five months.
After securing the commitment of five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, Trautwein landed the first five-star at the position group since Martez Ivey in 2015. He also landed another top-10 player on the interior in Peyton Miller out of Anna, Texas. Already having a top-10 overall class, the Gators received some good news about a top recruit they are pursuing.
Florida Gators make top four of top 2027 offensive tackle
Appoquinimink four-star offensive tackle Layton von Brandt has been someone Trautwein has pursued heavily, even during his time with the Penn State Nittany Lions. He did decommit from Penn State during his recruitment, and they, along with the Gators, Auburn Tigers, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, landed in his top four.
von Brandt is the fifth-ranked offensive tackle, the top recruit in Delaware, and 75th overall per Rivals. He’s got a profile that Trautwein and Hiller have both made moves with to get to Gainesville. von Brandt has visited Trautwein a whopping 13 times, including in Gainesville on January 9th and March 24th.
Landing him would be a huge coup for the Gators, but it looks to be an uphill battle. The Rivals’ Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Gators with less than a 1% chance, ranking fourth. Notre Dame is the runaway favorite right now, and it could come quickly now that von Brandt has announced his top four.
The one thing that helps the Gators is that no official visits seem to have been scheduled yet. Being able to land von Brandt with both Hiller and Miller would be an incredible first full recruiting class for Trautwein.
