4-star DL Kendall Jackson commits to Florida Gators

Billy Napier didn’t need to look far to land Florida’s latest 2024 recruit. Gainesville (Fla.) F. W. Buchholz four-star defensive lineman Kendall Jackson is staying close to home as he announced his pledge to the Gators Wednesday afternoon.

He chose the Gators over Kentucky and Miami.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive lineman is the No. 395 overall prospect and No. 33 defensive lineman in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 58 player in Florida.

Florida hosted Jackson for his first official visit of the summer on June 2. He stated after that visit that Florida was in the lead of his recruitment. A big part of that lead was because of his relationship with Gators EDGE coach Mike Peterson.

“Coach Mike P — that’s a great guy,” Jackson told Gators Online. “Great dude. Great coach. He keeps it real. Me being a local and him being a former local kid, that’s our connection right there. He can help me as far as if I were to come here.

…With me being a local. How to do the ins and outs of being a Gator and being a student-athlete. Coach is friendly. But he’s going to keep it real with you. That’s what I like and respect about coach. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. Some people don’t like that, but I love it. I prefer a coach to keep it real with me over everything.”

Jackson currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $33K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

For more Florida recruiting intel, check out Gators Online.

Florida continues to add to its top-3 class

The 2024 recruiting cycle has been win after win for Billy Napier and the Gators. With Jackson’s pledge, he becomes their second commitment in July and 19th overall.

After finishing with the No. 13 class in the 2023 cycle, the Gators’ 2024 group is well ahead of where the 2023 class finished. They currently have the No. 3 class in the country and No. 2 in the SEC.

The class is headlined by a pair of five-star prospects in McKinney (Texas) safety Xavier Filsaime and Willis (Texas) quarterback DJ Lagway. They are also two of the five top-100 recruits currently pledged to the Gators.

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