A couple of weeks ago, insiders projected that Trenton Henderson, a five-star EDGE (based on 247’s rating) from Pensacola, was going to land with the Florida Gators. Well, those same insiders are now projecting Henderson is going to land with LSU, and NIL money seems to be at the center of what could sway Henderson.

Nothing is official until it is official, but fans on social media have expressed their frustrations, as there appears to be a disconnect between what Florida thinks it is in the NIL market and what it actually is.

Florida Gators need to show the money to land elite talent

Whenever the topic of NIL comes up with the Gators, the common retort is that Florida does have money to spend, and fans need to recognize how that money has attracted talent to campus.

Players like DJ Lagway, Dallas Wilson, Caleb Banks, Tyreak Sapp, and LJ McCray don’t come cheap in the modern era, and when you choose to pay those guys, it means that you sometimes have to cut bait with a guy like Jack Pyburn when he too wants a raise.

It also means that, depending on how Florida allocates its money for the class of 2026, it may have felt it would have had to overextend its budget to land Henderson.

But the problem is that time and time again when the dust finally settles, Florida has its share of elite talent but it keeps coming up short compared to the big boys of the SEC.

Last year, Florida made a huge surge at the end and finished 7th in recruiting in the 247 rankings. They also finished with fewer blue-chip prospects (composite five or four stars) than Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, and Penn State.

That pattern seems to be repeating itself this year, and while the Gators have shot up the rankings, they are still way behind in elite talent compared to the teams who ultimately stand in their way if the goal is to win another national title.

This brings us back to why there’s such a disconnect between how much Florida thinks it’s spending on NIL and how much it’s actually spending compared to the big boys.

When Florida opted to retain Billy Napier rather than fire him and pay his buyout, the Gators made sure to let the media know how aggressively they would be pursuing the transfer portal market due to the money they saved.

That never happened, and while some of that money was used to retain players it would have otherwise had to pay for elsewhere, Florida either doesn’t have the funds to land multiple five-star players or would rather spend the money on renovating the skyboxes in The Swamp.

And if you don’t have the money, then you don’t have the money. But every time the topic of NIL comes up, Billy Napier and Scott Stricklin try to claim that Florida is as competitive as anyone in the NIL space.

If Trenton Henderson goes to LSU, then no, you’re not.

Because if you want him, go get him.

Until then, talk is cheap.

Henderson’s commitment to LSU comes after a sudden switch in leaders. After his visit in Gainesville, Florida received multiple predictions from On3 and 247 Sports to land Henderson, who named Florida as his leader, according to 247 Sports’ Tyler Harden.

Since then, LSU emerged quickly as the favorite with On3’s Steve Wiltfong leading the way with a prediction in favor of the Tigers.

With Henderson now seemingly heading to LSU, edge rusher prospects to keep an eye on for Florida moving forward are Duncanville (Tx.) four-star KJ Ford and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star Jake Kreul, who named Florida as his dream school after his visit over the summer.

“They think I can come in here and make an impact. Not just as a player, but as a person in the locker room, as a person on campus. Just kind of be a good face around the program,” he said. “They like my intangibles, like my character, how I talk to people, how I lead people. So, I think they see me being able to do those things once I earn my stripes as a player, once I put myself on the field, I have the ability to be a leader off the field, as well.”

Florida is now up to 15 commits in its 2026 class after four-star defensive tackle Kendall Guervil committed on Monday. The Gators are also in a strong spot to keep adding to the class with targets such as four-star defensive back CJ Hester, four-star linebacker DQ Forkpa and four-star tight end Heze Kent all set to announce their decisions this month.

Hester will announce his decision on Thursday, while Forkpa and Kent will both commit on July 12.

Florida Gators on SI is tracking all of the Gators’ major recruiting news, from commits to prospects of note to the official visit schedule, on our 2026 Recruiting Tracker.

More From Florida Gators on SI

Florida Predicted to Land Elite 2026 EDGE originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Florida Gators had a pivotal year in 2024, following an 8-5 record, which marked head coach Billy Napier’s first winning season.

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The Gators got more good news on the 4th of July, with a prediction from Rivals’ Sam Spiegs. Spiegs predicted Florida to land four-star edge rusher Kevin Ford from the 2026 class.

Ford is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, and is a native of Duncanville, Texas.

Florida is without a commitment from an edge rusher from the 2026 class. The Gators’ class currently ranks No. 15 overall for the 2026 cycle on On3 Sports.

He also holds offers from the Texas A&M Aggies, SMU Mustangs, Alabama Crimson Tide, and others.

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and quarterback DJ Lagway (2).Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Ford is the No. 18 edge rusher and Texas prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings.

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Florida the best odds of securing Ford’s commitment, at 54.9%. The Gators are followed by Texas A&M (36.1%), SMU (1.7%) and Alabama (1.4%)

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The Gators were one of four teams to have official visits with Ford recently. He also visited the Ohio State Buckeyes (June 20), Texas A&M (June 13) and Alabama (May 30).

While Florida is hoping Speigs’ prediction comes true about Ford, two other recruits who were trending towards the Gators recently committed to the program.

Defensive lineman Kendall Guervil and cornerback CJ Hester were both predicted to land in Gainesville and did just that.

Florida begins its fourth year with Napier in 2025, against Long Island on August 30. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

Related: Florida NIL Booster Calls Out Rival SEC School for Overpaying 5-Star Recruit

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.

The recruiting process is one of the more interesting ones in all of sports. One thing is for certain: it’s never over until it’s over.

Less than 24 hours before he is set to announce his commitment, five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo receivied an expert prediction from Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong and Sam Spiegelman to commit to Texas Tech.

Felix Ojo projected to commit to Texas Tech

This is a fascinating prediction for a multitude of reasons. Texas Tech has been as aggressive as anyone when it comes to recruiting and a willingness to spend in the world of NIL. They were very active in the transfer portal and landed one of the top classes.

The Red Raiders’ top booster is oil tycoon Cody Campbell, who came in and changed the entire game with their NIL program. It’s led to some recruits committing to Texas Tech when they may have never considered the program before.

His presence also raises more questions about this last second flip to the Red Raiders. Is he responsible for the move? Earlier on Thursday, Ojo tweeted about his recruitment decision and said the top four were Texas, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio State.

Ojo is the number three offensive tackle in the entire country and number six prospect overall. He is also the top prospect in the Lone Star State per the On3 Sports’ Industry Ranking. Having the Red Raiders land Ojo would be a massive decision, as they were one of four schools outside of Ojo’s top four that received an official visit.

The Fourth of July just got some more fireworks.

The LSU Football program has been one of the dominant forces for the better part of the 2026 recruiting cycle. At times, LSU has held the Nation’s top ranked recruiting class while being a fixture of the top 5 for most of this cycle. As of late as other programs started to surge, the LSU Tigers started to slip but, it was only a matter of time before Brian Kelly and his staff reeled in their next top target and they did just that on Wednesday Night.

LSU beats out Florida for elite edge rusher Trenton Henderson

On Wednesday Night, the LSU Tigers got one of their biggest wins of the recruiting cycle, landing elite edge rusher Trenton Henderson in a massive win over the Florida Gators.

According to On3’s Industry Recruiting Rankings, Henderson is the 59th ranked recruit in the Country, the 11th ranked edge rusher, and the 10th ranked player out of Florida. Before Trenton Henderson announced his commitment, LSU’s class ranked 7th in the Country with an average commit score of 91.732. After landing Trenton Henderson, LSU’s class rises to 3rd in the Country with a new average score of 92.74.

After Trenton Henderson named his final three of LSU, Florida, and Texas, it appeared as if the Gators were in the best position to land Henderson. Over the final days of this recruitment, all of the buzz flipped with a late push by LSU flipping the projections leading to the Tigers winning out in this recruitment.

FONG BOMB: On3’s @SWiltfong_ has logged an expert prediction, alongside LSU insider @Sheadixon, for the Tigers to land 4-star EDGE Trenton Henderson🐯

Henderson ranks No. 59 NATL. (No. 11 EDGE) in the 2026 class.

Intel: https://t.co/m01Lj8sCk8 pic.twitter.com/3GMm56UTgU — Rivals (@Rivals) June 30, 2025

Landing Trenton Henderson is yet another massive pick up for Brian Kelly and his staff as they’re in position to sign the best recruiting class in the Country. Henderson becomes the Tigers 6th Top-100 commitment while the Tigers have a great chance of only improving upon that number.

While the wide receivers on board in this class grab the most attention, LSU is starting to assemble a special group on the defensive line. Henderson gives this class an elite edge rusher joining the top Interior Defensive Lineman Richard Anderson. The Tigers fanbase will now turn all of their attention to July 10th as 5-star defensive lineman Lamar Brown will pick between the In-State Tigers, Texas A&M, and Miami.

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