One of the most impactful recruiting wins this offseason wasn’t a high school or transfer portal commitment. It was holding on to one of their own.

Gators edge Jayden Woods entered the transfer portal after a productive freshman campaign in which he tied the team-high with 3.5 sacks while recording one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Woods also passed the analytics test, posting an impressive 20.3% win rate on true pass sets, which led the Gators by a wide margin.

Woods earned 2025 Freshman All-SEC honors and ranked as the No. 11 player in the transfer portal.

“It’s a new staff, you know, there’s a lot of things that come with that,” Woods said on his decision to enter the portal. “It was just uncertainty that was the biggest thing that drove me to make that decision.”

Given his three years of eligibility, elite athleticism and overall talent, replacing Woods would have been extremely difficult and costly. Florida’s new staff under head coach Jon Sumrall didn’t give up and eventually convinced Woods to return to Gainesville.

“It was just making sure I’m making the right decision for me and my family,” Woods said. “Going through the process, laying everything out and truly making an educated decision.”

One key factor in Woods’ decision to return was an in-home visit in his hometown of Shawnee, Kansas, which took place on Jan. 6, a day before he re-signed with the Gators.

“The biggest thing for me was how they interacted with me and my family,” Woods said. “We barely talked about football when they were there, and that was the biggest thing for me. They really got to know my family, coach Sumrall said my grandpa’s still sending him pictures of meals that he’s cooked, so I know the relationship is good. So just knowing that it was genuine and it was relationship-driven, that was the biggest piece for me.”

One of the first Gators to re-sign with Florida under Sumrall was legacy linebacker Myles Graham. His job? Recruit players to stay.

With Woods’ phone blowing up by the minute, Graham made sure to give him space while still offering support during the process.

“Everybody was giving me my space, you know. I feel like I tried to be as genuine as possible. It wasn’t a money decision; it wasn’t anything like that. It was truly about making sure it was the best decision for me and my family,” Woods said.

“Myles saw that and respected it. I could tell he was holding back a little bit, but he was good through that whole process. He’s somebody I could ask questions like, ‘What do you think about this person? This person?’ Stuff like that. So he was a good piece for me when I was back home.”

While several programs pursued Woods, the University of Texas seemed like the school to beat, as he actually visited Austin during the process. The Longhorns’ defensive coordinator is former Gators head coach Will Muschamp.

“One thing about them is they never badmouthed Florida,” Woods said on Texas. “That was a good thing that I noticed, they only had good things to say, it’s a good program, so Will Muschamp as a person, he was a great person to meet, sit down with and go over football with, so great to meet him.”

Representing Woods throughout the process was former Gators linebacker Derek Wingo.

“He helped me a ton,” Woods said on Wingo. “He stayed very unbiased, which I appreciate a ton. He was very like; he presented me the information and then just take it for what it is. he never tried to push or sway anything. Which, I loved that.”

Florida is underway with spring camp, and Woods and the rest of the team are getting their first taste of Sumrall’s coaching style, which differs significantly from the previous staff.

“It’s awesome. The energy is definitely different for sure,” Woods said. “I’m moreso used to calm coaches, like my high school coach is a little bit calmer, previous coach was a little calmer, that’s what I’ve been used to. So seeing Sumrall with the energy, that was awesome.”

The 6’3″, 244-pound edge rusher will enter 2026 with perhaps the highest ceiling of anyone on Florida’s defense. His natural athletic ability and work ethic could pave the way for a breakout sophomore campaign.