Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterDec 2, 2024, 06:46 PM ET
CloseEli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Four-star prospect Hylton Stubbs, the No. 91 recruit in the 2025 ESPN 300 and eighth-ranked safety, has flipped his commitment from Miami to Florida, he told ESPN on Monday evening.
Stubbs’ commitment to the Gators comes one day after he took an unofficial visit to Florida on Sunday.
Stubbs, from Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, is the fourth top-100 prospect in Billy Napier’s 2025 class and the program’s 12th pledge in the past month, continuing the Gators’ searing run on the recruiting trail in the lead-up to the start of the early signing period on Wednesday.
“I feel like something big is about to happen at Florida,” Stubbs told ESPN. “They’ve been recruiting me my whole life. Something big is coming and I don’t want to miss out.”
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Stubbs, a former USC pledge who flipped to Miami in July, was the third-ranked member of Mario Cristobal’s 2025 Hurricanes class prior to shifting his pledge.
His departure leaves Miami with just two top-100 commits entering the early signing period: No. 1 offensive guard S.J. Alofaituli (No. 12 in the ESPN 300) and cornerback Jaboree Antoine (No. 66).
A once-lagging Florida recruiting class has skyrocketed since the Gators announced on Nov. 7 that Napier would remain in charge of the program. Stubbs’ pledge marks the program’s latest recruiting victory in the late stages of the 2025 cycle amid a strong finish to the regular season, which included ranked wins over LSU and Ole Miss.
“I’ve always loved Coach Napier,” Stubbs said. “When they started winning big games and showing the potential that they could have, it was something big. It’s turned a lot of people’s heads.”
Stubbs becomes the sixth ESPN 300 prospect to commit to Florida since Napier’s future was settled. He joins a list of recent flips that includes top inside linebacker Ty Jackson (USC flip), offensive tackle Tavaris Dice (Auburn), running back Byron Louis (Florida State) and defensive end Jayden Woods (Penn State).
Four-star defensive tackle Joseph Mbatchou, who decommitted from Florida in October before committing to Texas on Nov. 23, flipped his pledge back to the Gators on Sunday night. Former Georgia defensive tackle pledge Stephon Shivers and former Florida State quarterback commit Tramell Jones Jr., Stubbs’ high school teammate, represent another pair of four-star prospects to land in Florida’s 2025 class in recent weeks.
Bolstered by a strong finish to the 2024 season, Florida has recovered from its slow start in the 2025 cycle. The Gators could continue to add this week with five-star Florida State offensive tackle pledge Solomon Thomas (No. 13 in the ESPN 300) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (No. 25) — another high school teammate of Stubbs — among the program’s top flip targets as the early signing period opens.