Elite DL Chooses SEC Rival Over Florida originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Florida Gators were hoping to have their third straight day with a commitment on the 4th of July, but, as of early Friday evening, they have not gotten one.
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After commitments from four-star defensive prospects on both Wednesday and Thursday, head coach Billy Napier and Florida missed out on landing another highly touted defensive lineman. Nolan Wilson, a four-star lineman from Picayune, Mississippi, chose one of UF’s SEC rivals on Friday.
Wilson, the No. 4 defensive lineman in the 2026 class and the third-ranked prospect from the state of Mississippi, per the On3 Industry Ranking, announced his commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday through Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett.
2026 four-star defensive lineman Nolan WilsonAndrew Ivins, 247Sports
With the commitment of Wilson, head coach Kalen DeBoer and Alabama have now had five high-value recruits pledge in the past six days, with no indication of stopping any time soon. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide are hoping to get a commitment from five-star safety Jireh Edwards, someone they have had their eyes on the entire cycle.
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As for Florida, after another loss on the recruiting trail for the 2026 class, Napier and the Gators will have to turn their attention to other top prospects who will be announcing their commitments in the near future.
On the defensive front, UF has two commitments in the class thus far in four-stars JaReylan McCoy, who pledged to Florida in mid-June, and Kendall Guervil, who announced his commitment to co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts’ front seven on Wednesday.
The next defensive lineman the Gators will be looking to earn a commitment from is Dyke, Virginia’s Valdin Sone. The Blue Ridge School four-star is ranked No. 4 at his position in the Top247 rankings for the 2026 class. Sone has not yet announced his commitment date.
After losing another top target on Friday, Napier will be looking for a big win in the recruiting game very soon.
Related: Florida Lands in Top 3 of Big-Time Recruit
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
