Florida Gators’ pursuit of recruit with rare profile sets them apart from competition for one crucial reason

Jon Sumrall’s staff isn’t afraid to go against consensus.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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New Gator head football coach Jon Sumrall fires up the crowd during the first half an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Auburn won 76-67
Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun

When it comes to recruiting for the Florida Gators, head coach Jon Sumrall has been working hard to get in a great position heading into spring practice.

So far, the Gators have just one recruit committed in four-star cornerback Amare Nugent, but have been trending for other top recruits. Five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller has locked in an official visit and they are gaining momentum with a couple of in wide receiver Julius Jones Jr. and cornerback Jaden Carey. Head coach Jon Sumrall has them trending in the right direction with multiple recruits, and there is one they are taking a completely different approach on.

Florida Gators taking different approach with recruit who has elite size

Players who play on both sides of the ball can often cause disagreements among competing schools. Those recruits sometimes hold out to wait for a school that wants them at the position they prefer to play. Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck famously offered quarterback Trey Lance a scholarship to play safety, but he wanted to play quarterback. Lance went to NDSU and ended up being selected third overall by choosing that route.

One recruit the Gators are pursuing where this could be a factor is Kennedee Jackson out of Georgia. He is a whopping 6-8 and 298 pounds and plays on both sides of the ball. He currently holds offers from 11 schools, but the Gators have a potential advantage: they are the only school to have offered him on defense.

There aren’t a lot of players who are that tall that play defensive line. Calais Campbell has had a near two decade career playing on the defensive line, using his excellent size and length as a 3-4 defensive end, and will likely be a Hall of Famer within the next 10-15 years.

Right now, Jackson prefers to play offensive line because that’s what he’s better at, but the Gators are leaning into the fact that he plays on both sides of the football, per Gators Online’s Corey Bender.

“I like both of the coaches,” Jackson told Gators Online. “The d-line coach, he’s a cool man. They both came to my school and gave me an offer, so that was cool. They said if I go there, I could just choose which position I want to play. I don’t talk to one more than the other; I talk to them equally.”

One thing that could be convincing for Jackson is the success of Jacksonville State transfer Emmanuel Oyebadejo. He’s coming to Gainesville via the transfer portal and how well he plays could be a convincing element for Jackson, who is set to officially visit on May 28th.

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