(Photo via Jalen Wiggins)
Billy Napier and the Florida Gators are off and running with their 2025 recruiting class.
One day after breaking the ice and nabbing a commitment from three-star wide receiver Josiah Abdullah, Napier made it two commits in as many days with the commitment of defensive lineman Jalen Wiggins. Hailing from FSU’s backyard in Tallahassee, Wiggins (James Rickards High School) chose Florida over Georgia and Central Florida. He also had offers from FSU, Miami, Mississippi State, LSU, and Tennessee.
He becomes the third overall commit in the 2025 class. In addition to Wiggins and Abdullah, Florida also has Tampa running back Waltez Clark in the fold.
Earlier this month, In All Kinds Of Weather touted Jalen Wiggins as one of the Gators’ top prospects on our list of ten prospects to watch for in the 2025 recruiting cycle. You can watch his high school highlight tape here.
A dual-sport athlete who stands 6’4 and 245 lbs. and also plays baseball, Wiggins has proven to be an issue for opposing offensive lines. He accumulated 14 sacks and almost two TFLs a game (19 on the season) as a junior for James Rickards, and you can see that baseball ability in his game tape. He brings heavy hands, nimble arms, and quick feet that allow him to beat opposing linemen right off the snap.
Additionally, Jalen Wiggins boasts a strong motor that gives him great range and an ability to chase down the play far away from where he lined up. More than once on his Hudl tape, Wiggins is shown getting off the snap on one side of the line of scrimmage, and then making the play on the other side.
Overall, Jalen Wiggins is rated as a consensus top-ten defensive lineman in the country. In the sites’ most recent ranking update, 247Sports’ Composite ranking system has him as the #7 defensive lineman in the country, and the On3 Industry ranking has him as the #8 defensive lineman in the class.
So make no mistake, this is a tremendous pickup for Billy Napier and the Gators. Wiggins is the type of player that Florida needs to land in order to be competitive with the top dogs of college football again. He’s explosive, impresses at every camp he attends, and seems genuinely interested in being a Gator.
As long as Napier can survive the 2024 season, he’s got some long-term help coming in the trenches.
