(Photo via Kaiden Hall, Twitter)
After being dormant for much of the 2026 recruiting cycle so far—with the exception of QB commit Will Griffin—Billy Napier and the Florida Gators are picking up some steam.
Consensus four-star safety Kaiden Hall (Milton, FL/Milton HS) has committed to Florida. In doing so, he becomes the second commit in as many days and the third since May 18. He joins Griffin, offensive lineman G’Nivre Carr, and defensive lineman Jamir Perez in the class.
Kaiden Hall also seriously considered Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, Clemson, FSU, LSU and Texas A&M, having placed them in his “top ten” schools back in November. He is said to have chosen Florida over Oklahoma, Alabama, and FSU.
The commitment comes on the heels of his visit to Florida this past weekend. He pulled the trigger in the immediate aftermath of that visit—and right before he took visits to his other three finalists. As of the moment of his commitment, he was set to visit FSU, then Alabama, and then Oklahoma over the next three weekends.
But that’s not the case anymore. Within an hour of announcing his commitment to Florida, Hall yanked the plug out on those visits. So, with the obvious caveat that this is recruiting and anything can change, it appears as though at least for now, Hall is locked in as a Gator.
The funny thing is, both 247Sports and Hall himself credit his interest in Florida to Will Harris. Harris, of course, no longer coaches at Florida, and yet his new employer down in Coral Gables was never said to seriously be considering them. Upon Harris’s departure, he quickly built a relationship with safeties coach Vinnie Sunseri, and that was enough to get him across the finish line (or as close to the finish line as you can be in June, anyway).
You can watch his high school highlights here.
As you can see from the tape, Hall boasts a nose for the ball and great closing speed. There’s no wasted step with him; he’ll see the ball going somewhere and he’ll get there in just a few strides before making either a play on the ball or a jarring hit. And he has the frame (6’3, 195) to hang with a lot of receivers, too. So there’s certainly a lot to work with, and a lot of promise here.
Analysts and scouts warn of two problems, though: one, that he can’t stay healthy, and two, as a safety, he’s far better in zone coverage than he is in man. Obviously, the highlight tape isn’t going to showcase either of those things, but they’re just things to keep an eye out for.
With two commitments in as many days for Napier and the Gators, it’s worth paying attention to what happens next. Let’s hope this momentum can be built on.
