Florida Gators lose Baker and Thomas, two top-rated 2015 linebacker commits

For the second time this week, a highly-rated 2015 linebacker commitment has decided to part ways with the Florida Gators.

On Thursday, two days after four-star Jerome Baker (Cleveland, OH) decommitted from the program, four-star Adonis Thomas (Lawrenceville, GA) followed suit.

Baker and Thomas are the highest-ranked players in the Gators’ 2015 recruiting class according to Rivals and ESPN, respectively.

Baker is ranked as the No. 36 overall player in the country by Rivals (No. 68 by ESPN), while Thomas is rated as the No. 68 overall player by ESPN (unranked by Rivals).

Unlike Baker, who announced Tuesday that he had flipped his commitment from Florida to Ohio State, Thomas has not made a pledge to another program. He tweeted that he is still considering UF along with Alabama and LSU.

The Gators no longer have any linebackers remaining in their 2015 class and now only have two consensus four-star recruits in the fold – offensive lineman George Brown (Cincinnati, OH) and quarterback Sheriron Jones (Moreno Valley, CA).

Florida’s class of 2015 is now ranked No. 68 in the country by Rivals, as it only has nine members with just over three months until National Signing Day. Twelve of the other 13 schools in the Southeastern Conference (all except Vanderbilt) have classes rated higher than the Gators, including six holding spots in the top 10 and eight in the top 15.

Tabbed as favorites for three of the top 12 players in the nation – five-stars defensive end Byron Cowart (Seffner, FL), OL Martez Ivey (Apopka, FL) and DE CeCe Jefferson (Glen St. Mary, FL) – Florida is likely losing ground with those standouts as well now that head coach Will Muschamp has one foot out the door after amassing a 3-3 record through six games.

The Gators are on pace for their lowest-ranked class since 2002 (No. 20, Ron Zook’s first season), the latest on file by Rivals. Florida’s class rankings from 2002-14: 20, 2, 10, 15, 2, 1, 3, 11, 2, 12, 3, 4, 8.