It’s been an action-packed two weeks in college football with Penn State firing James Franklin on Oct. 12 and Florida following suit with Billy Napier on Sunday. The ripple effect that both firings will create in this year’s coaching carousel will be significant, but don’t forget about the impact it has on recruiting, too.
With less than six weeks until the early signing period, recruits who have been committed to these programs — as well as others that have fired their coach — are now forced to rethink their decisions.
Here’s what we know about where Penn State and Florida recruits stand, as well as what’s going on in recruiting elsewhere.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
Note:
• Since the news broke about Napier, Florida has not formally had any prospects decommit. But that’s not too surprising in this era of revenue sharing and NIL. As one Power 4 personnel staffer pointed out, while prospects aren’t technically allowed to sign revenue-sharing contracts until they sign with their respective schools, that doesn’t mean collectives haven’t already shelled out benefits on the front end that financially tie recruits to programs. Untangling that web can be tricky. It’s also possible — even likely — that many recruits want to stay committed to the Gators (and other schools that have fired head coaches) to secure their spots while they continue looking at what else is out there and what kind of market they might be able to command.
• For all of the uncertainty around his job security, Napier had been recruiting well in this cycle. The Gators have the nation’s No. 14 class, with 19 commits. There’s still plenty of time for things to change, but so far, four-star defensive lineman JaReylan McCoy and four-star linebacker Malik Morris have publicly hinted at their plans to stay put with the Gators. McCoy, a Mississippi native, committed in June and is ranked No. 182 overall and the No. 24 defensive lineman. Morris, who committed in July, is from Lakeland, Fla., and is the nation’s No. 251 prospect and No. 13 linebacker.
— JaReylan McCoy🛸 (@JaReylanMcCoy) October 19, 2025
🐊🔒 ! pic.twitter.com/7hL138PERE
— Malik Morris (@MalikMoriss43_) October 20, 2025
• The most important recruit for the Gators to retain is four-star quarterback Will Griffin, who committed in June 2024 and has described Florida as his “dream school.” The Tampa native is one of the most prolific prep quarterbacks in state history, having eclipsed the 10,000-yard passing mark earlier this season. He is No. 2 all-time in the Sunshine State with 127 career passing touchdowns, behind only former Clemson reserve Tucker Israel. The good news for the Gators? Griffin seems to be staying put, as well. Just two days before Napier was fired, Griffin shared on X an article about his plan to stick with the Gators, regardless of what might be ahead for the program. If that holds, Florida will at least continue to have a face to build the class around.
• Things aren’t exactly going well at North Carolina, but one Florida commit is intrigued by Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels. Four-star offensive tackle Tyler Chukuyem, who plays at South Paulding High in Douglasville, Ga., is heading to Chapel Hill this weekend for an official visit when the Tar Heels host No. 16 Virginia. Chukuyem remains committed to Florida at the moment and chose the Gators in June over a top four that also included Florida State, Ole Miss and Cincinnati. With four commits from Georgia, the Tar Heels have made the Peach State a priority, landing four-star quarterback Travis Burgess, three-star receiver Kei’Maurii Miles, three-star offensive lineman Eli Rickell and three-star edge Lawrence Brown. If UNC could land Chukuyem, he’d be the Tar Heels’ sixth top-250 prospect and highest-rated offensive lineman.
• Four-star safety Kaiden Hall, a Milton, Fla., native, told The Athletic this week that he’s still committed to Florida but is “going to keep options open, as well.” Hall picked up offers earlier this year from Indiana, Miami and Missouri before he committed to the Gators in June. He picked Florida over a top 10 that also included Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson, Florida State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M. As of this week, he hasn’t set up any visits yet, but said he has heard from Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Auburn.
• Four-star cornerback CJ Hester out of Cocoa (Fla.) High is also keeping his options open. “I’m just going to hear people out and see what’s best for me,” he said in a message. Hester has been committed since July, picking the Gators after taking summer official visits to Georgia, Syracuse, Florida, Iowa and Auburn.
• Switching gears, Penn State has had six Class of 2026 prospects decommit since Franklin’s firing — four-stars Davion Brown (wide receiver), Troy Huhn (quarterback) and Elijah Littlejohn (linebacker) and three-stars Jack Fuchs (offensive tackle), Jaziel Hart (cornerback) and Lavar Keys (wide receiver). Huhn, ranked No. 259 overall and the No. 19 QB nationally, is now the nation’s highest-rated uncommitted quarterback. He most recently received an offer from Andrew Luck and Stanford.
• Several other Nittany Lions commits have reopened their recruitments without officially decomitting:
four-star running back Messiah Mickens
four-star safety Matt Sieg
four-star wide receiver Jahsiear Rogers
four-star offensive tackle Marlen Bright
four-star athlete David Davis
three-star linebacker Mathieu Lamah
three-star defensive lineman Isaac Chukwurah
three-star offensive tackle Tavian Branch
three-star cornerback Amauri Polydor
three-star offensive lineman Benjamin Eziuka
three-star cornerback Julian Peterson
three-star safety Darrell Carey
• The Nittany Lions’ top commit, four-star offensive tackle Kevin Brown, out of Harrisburg, Pa., may be looking around, too. According to a report from On3, he’s interested in visiting Ohio State and West Virginia. Brown, the No. 2 prospect in Pennsylvania, has been committed to Penn State since July 2024.
• Chukwurah said in a message last week that he found out about Franklin’s firing via social media, but the staff reached out shortly thereafter to confirm the news.
“I was upset because of what he did for me, and I was scared for my future with PSU,” Chukwurah said. “Then (the) stress of what to do next set in. Now, since there’s a lot of uncertainties, I have decided to reopen my recruitment and get back in contact with different schools.”
Chukwurah has been in contact with Miami, Syracuse, NC State, West Virginia, Boston College, Rutgers, Maryland and North Carolina, among others. He most recently visited Syracuse for an official visit and landed an offer from the Orange. Purdue, Miami, West Virginia, Boston College, Southern Miss and NC State have all since last week.
• Mickens has recently picked up offers from Cal and confirmed via social media that he is honing in on Ohio State, Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia, Miami, Rutgers and Syracuse.
• Sieg, one of the most exciting playmakers in the 2026 Class, has most recently been offered by Purdue and West Virginia. In his announcement about re-opening his recruitment, he said he was “still open to being a Lion but with the uncertainty of the current situation” wanted to ensure he was making the best decision possible.
• Wiggins, who just visited Penn State again in September, picked up recent offers from Vanderbilt, West Virginia and North Carolina. The Mountaineers and Tar Heels also offered Davis, and Bright has a recent offer from Purdue. Branch also has offers from West Virginia and Purdue, as well as Ole Miss and Nebraska. Peterson announced last week he will head to UNC for an official visit this week for the Tar Heels’ matchup against Virginia, as Bill Belichick and company look to take advantage of the domino effect around them.
• Rogers, a Delaware native, has arguably been one of Penn State’s hottest commodities since opening his recruitment, with offers pouring in from Oklahoma, North Carolina, Kansas State, Indiana, Nebraska, Wake Forest, Alabama and Toledo. He already has plans to take official visits to Alabama, Oklahoma, Indiana and Nebraska, he confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
• Keys, a Maryland native, said Tuesday he plans to visit Indiana this week and Maryland next week. The in-state Terrapins have just one receiver in their class at the moment in three-star Virginia native Jayden Kitchens, and keeping Keys home would give coach Mike Locksley his fifth commitment from a top-20 player in the state.
• Oh, and five-star Kemon Spell, the top running back in the Class of 2027 and the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania, decommitted from Penn State the same day Franklin was fired. Spell wasted no time in opening his recruitment up and was at Notre Dame over the weekend to see the Fighting Irish beat USC. Nebraska, Oregon and Ole Miss have also offered him since Franklin’s firing, on the heels of Georgia offering on Oct. 8.
• In non-Penn State and Florida news, four-star linebacker Braylon Hodge, a recent Michigan State decommit, is planning to decide in the first or second week of November, he told The Athletic last week. Hodge is taking an official visit to Texas on Nov. 2-3 and is choosing between the Longhorns, Michigan and Oregon.
• Last but not least, Hugh Freeze may be on the hot seat at Auburn, but he scored a major recruiting win last week when he landed four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle for the second time. Toodle first committed to Auburn in July 2024, then flipped to Georgia in June before flipping back to Auburn last week. Toodle, a big in-state get for Freeze, is ranked No. 252 overall and the No. 13 player in Alabama.
In related news, the Tigers last week picked up Toodle’s brother, Shadrick, a safety from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. That might have played a factor in Shadarius’ swing back to the Tigers, according to Carvel Jones, the brothers’ coach at Cottage Hill Christian Academy in Mobile.
“He didn’t say this, but just knowing the type of person he is and his family, I think what kind of pushed them over the edge was when (Auburn) took a serious look at his older brother,” Jones said. “They loved playing together when I had them both.
“They’re getting a heck of a football player. He’s been a pillar in my program, and he’ll be missed. But they’re getting a really, really great young man and football player.”