Florida football recruiting: DL swap as three-star recommits, four-star Gainesville native leaves class

Football

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Image Credit: UAA

Saturday giveth and taketh away from the Florida Gators’ Class of 2024 as the program added a three-star defensive line commitment early in the day only to lose a four-star prospect at the same position a few hours later. There are under three weeks remaining until National Signing Day.

Three-star Michai Boireau (Hampton, GA), who originally committed to the Gators on June 19 only to rescind his pledge two months later, is back in Florida’s class after flirting with Georgia. He stands as the only true interior lineman set to join the program next season.

“Gator Nation, I’m back. My bad for leaving. … I want ya’ll to know I’m back for good!!!” Boireau tweeted (edited for clarity).

Four-star Kendall Jackson (Gainesville, FL), who originally committed to the Gators on July 12, decommitted Saturday without a specific reason despite attending every Florida home game this season. He became the fourth prospect and third defensive lineman to leave the class.

The Gators fired co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Sean Spencer on Nov. 27 but have yet to announce a replacement.

Boireau (No. 726) represents a downgrade from Jackson (No. 405) looking solely at their rankings, but it is not an apples-to-apples comparison as Boireau plays inside and Jackson holds up the end.

Florida briefly rose to No. 4 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings with Boireau’s commitment only to fall back to No. 6, where it started the day, after Jackson exited the class.

The Gators were as high as No. 3 in the rankings — a position they held nearly the entire 2023 season — and head coach Billy Napier is now tasked with not only retaining his top players but filling out the class, acquiring talent through the transfer portal and replacing at least two assistant coaches this offseason.