FLORIDA — College football programs throughout Florida announced written commitments for 2026 on Wednesday, the first of the three-day early signing period for high school players.

On his first early signing day since returning to UCF, coach Scott Frost announced 13 commitments, including two quarterbacks, two running backs and six in-state prospects.

“Today went off without a hitch. I really like the group that we got. It was a no-drama day. Everything was in and done early,” Frost said. “Recruiting high school kids is a really important way to build the foundation of your team and get guys in the program who can help now or be developed into guys that you hope you can keep for a long time.  But it’s not the only way to build and improve a team anymore.”

Frost said investing in high school players, from a money standpoint, means they need to have a good chance of playing.

“I want to make sure we have a team that has the best chance possible to compete next year,” Frost said.

Last year, UCF had to bring in 60-70 new players after the graduation of many seniors and the departure of then-coach Gus Malzahn.

Frost said that he hopes to bring back a lot of players who they want to build around.

“That’s going to mean that we can fill in holes rather than build an entire team,” he said. “That’s definitely a better position to be approaching this from.”

Frost said he and his staff looked at high school players who have the traits that will help them develop soon into players who will improve the team.

“There’s a lot of size and length,” Frost said. “I think we can get bigger. We certainly need to get a little tougher as a football team. But I really like the size and length of a lot of these guys. I like the elite speed of a lot of guys. And overall, I just like the upside of the class.”

He said he and his staff are in a better position to know the players already on the roster and the holes that need to be filled.

Frost said the program should be in an even better recruiting position next season. He said it takes more than a year to recruit a player and he got back to UCF so late last year that it put the team behind in recruiting for this year’s class.

He said he expects to leave a couple positions open for the late signing period to maybe add some quality players who fell through cracks.

Running back Kaj Baker out of Miami and Somerset Academy
Quarterback Dante Carr out of Minersville (Pa.) High
Offensive lineman Kasiyah Charlton out of Brunswick (Ga.) High
Tight end Brooks Hall out of Platte County (Mo.) High
Linebacker Preston Hall out of Missouri City, Texas and Ridge Point High
Edge rusher Alhassan Iddrissu out of Oakdale, Conn., and St. Thomas More High
Defensive back Elijah Keys out of Jacksonville Duncan U. Fletcher High
Running back Arthur Lewis IV out of Palatka Bartram Trail High
Quarterback Rocco Marriott out of Platte County (Mo.) High
Defensive tackle Noah Mercer out of Key West High
Linebacker Matthew Occhipinti out of Saddle Brook, N.J., and Don Bosco Prep
Defensive back Amarion Queen out of Martin County High
Offensive lineman Amahn Williams out of Randolph, Mass., and Tabor Academy

While Frost has been busy recruiting, he said he has been looking for an offensive line coach, too. Coach Shawn Clark died early in the season. Frost said he doesn’t expect to make any other changes to his staff.

USF Bulls

The biggest news out of USF on Wednesday was the hiring of former Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline as their new head coach. He replaces Alex Golesh, who was hired as Auburn’s coach after the regular season.

That did not slow recruiting at USF, which announced 17 players made official commitments on early signing day. Fourteen of those players are from Florida high schools. The Bulls loaded up in the defensive backfield, with four cornerbacks and two safeties. They also signed four defensive linemen.

Linebacker Lorenzo Barnes from Marianna
Running back Jayson Franklin out of Fayetteville, N.C.      
Defensive lineman Iverson Garcia-Ponce out of Knoxville, Tenn.
Defensive end Demetrius Geathers Jr. out of Deerfield Beach
Kicker Gaston Gramatica from Tampa
Offensive lineman Jordan Harrison out of Clinton, Md.
Wide receiver Gabe Legrand out of Lake Wales
Defensive lineman Sager Quinn out of Cahutta, Ga.
Defensive end Peter Ramil out of Binghamton, N.Y.
Wide receiver Dmari Roberts out of St. Petersburg
Cornerback Derrick Nichols III out of Miami
Linebacker Dennis King III out of Daytona Beach
Safety CJ Cresser out of Brooksville
Cornerback Ja’Kyri Watson out of Kissimmee
Cornerback Masiyah Limehouse out of Plant City
Cornerback Keyshaun Birks out of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Florida Gators

The University of Florida, which earlier this week announced it had hired Jon Sumrall to replace Billy Napier as coach, announced the signings of 16 high school players, including six offensive linemen and two edge rushers. All but seven signees are from Florida.

Cornerback CJ Bronaugh out of Orlando Windermere
Offensive lineman Corey Brown out of Gainesville and Jones
Offensive lineman Chancellor Campbell out of St. Petersburgh Lakewood
Offensive lineman G’Nivre out of Ocala and IMG Academy
Offensive lineman Tyler Chukuyem out of Douglasville, Ga., and South Paulding High
Wide receiver Marquez “Quez” Daniel out of Tuskegee, Ala., and Booker T. Washington High
Edge rusher KJ Ford out of Dallas, Texas Duncanville High
Offensive lineman Desmond Green out of Alvin, S.C., and Timberland High
Quarterback Will Griffin out of Treasure Island and Tampa Jesuit
Wide receiver Davian Groce out of Frisco, Texas Lone Star High
Defensive lineman Kendall “KG” Guervil out of Fort Myers High
Tight end Heze Kent out of Brunswick (Ga.) High
Offensive lineman Javarii Luckas out of Belle Glade Glades Central
Edge rusher Jareylan “Reylan” McCoy out of Tupelo, Miss., High
Inside linebacker Malik Morris out of Lakeland High           
Wide receiver Justin Williams out of Gainesville Buchholz  

Florida State Seminoles

Florida State signed the largest class of the state programs that Spectrum Sports regularly follows — 30 players, including some from NFL Academy and junior colleges. The class, which has 14 from Florida schools, includes nine defensive linemen, seven offensive linemen and five wide receivers.

Defensive lineman Jalen Anderson out of Slidell, La., High School and Pearl River Community College in Mississippi
Defensive back Tre Bell III out of Westview, Fla., and Barbara Goleman Senior High
Wide receiver Brandon Bennett out of Miramar American Heritage School
Defensive lineman Wihtley Cadeau out of Atlanta and Booker T. Washington High
Defensive lineman Chris Carbin out of Powder Springs, Ga., and Hillgrove High
Wide receiver Devin Carter out of Evans, Ga., and Douglas County High
Defensive back Jordan Crutchfield out of Fort Pierce and Vero Beach High
Defensive lineman Judah Daniels out of Lehigh Acres and Fort Myers High School
Tight end Corbyn Fordham out of Ponte Vedra Beach and The Bolles School
Offensive lineman Luke Francis Jr., out of the NFL Academy in London, United Kingdom
Linebacker Daylen Green out of Bainbridge, Ga., and Gadsden County High
Offensive lineman Jakobe Green out of Quincy, Fla., and Gadsden County High
Offensive lineman Nikau Hepi out of Auckland, New Zealand and the NFL Academy
Offensive lineman Mike Ionata out of Tarpon Springs and Calvary Christian High
Defensive back Chuck Kennon out of Bradenton and Booker High
Linebacker Noah Lavallee out of Marietta, Ga., and Walton High School
Defensive lineman Damaad Lewis out of Charlotte N.C., Myers Park High School
Linebacker Karon Maycock out of Miami Central High School
Offensive lineman Steven Moore out of Memphis, Tenn., Barlett High School and Garden City (Kan.) Community College
Quarterback Jaden O’Neal out of Mustang, Okla., High School
Offensive lineman Steven Pickard Jr. out of Charleston, S.C. and IMG Academy
Defensive lineman Jaemin Pinckney out of Dorchester, S.C., Woodland High
Defensive lineman Earnest Rankins out of Scottsdale, Ga., and Southwest DeKalb High
Running back Amari Thomas out of Marianna and Blountstown High
Tight end Xavier Tiller out of Atlanta and Langston Hughes High
Wide receiver E.J. White out of Vero Beach High
Defensive lineman Franklin Whitley out Greenville (S.C.) Senior High
Wide receiver Darryon Williams out of Tampa Plant High
Linebacker Izayia Williams out of Tavares High School
Wide receiver Jonah Winston out of Hoover (Ala.) High School