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Florida Gators flip 4-star DL Joseph Mbatchou from Texas

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr12/02/24On3Keith
Joseph Mbatchou
Joseph Mbatchou (Twitter)

Joseph Mbatchou is a Gators commit once again.

Mbatchou, a 4-star defensive lineman from Grayson (Ga.), has flipped from Texas to Florida. He previously committed to the Gators last summer, but backed off that pledge this fall. Mbatchou had been committed to the Longhorns since Nov. 23.

He is the No. 22 defensive line recruit in the country and No. 258 overall player nationally for the On3 Industry Rankings. You can find the complete Florida Gators commitment list here.

Mbatchou officially visited the Gators the weekend of Nov. 16, when they played host to LSU and upset the No. 22 Tigers. He was back on campus Sunday, Gators Online has learned.

“It went really good. The defense, they were killing LSU,” Mbatchou said of his official visit. “I got to talk to the coaches and got to see what I saw the first time when I committed. I kind of saw the same thing, so it was a really good visit. It looked even during the first, second and third, and then once the fourth quarter rolled around, LSU couldn’t handle them anymore. They couldn’t stop them.”

When Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin gave Gators coach Billy Napier a public vote of confidence in early November, that was significant to Mbatchou.

“Yeah, one of the factors I was looking at when I de-committed was stability and Napier is going to be there,” Mbatchou said. “Now, stability is not a question because he’s going to be there next year. Now, it just depends on other stuff. … I talked to him before the news came out. I don’t know if he knew. I guess it was God’s plan because it happened and he texted me that he wanted to be a Gator.”

After Mbatchou committed to Texas, the Gators never relented. And finally, it has paid dividends.

Mbatchou, listed at 6-foot-4.5, 280 pounds, is one of the more intriguing recruits in the country for the 2025 class. He did not begin playing football until earlier this year. The Gators became his first Power 5 offer. He then committed to them the first time July 31.

Now, he is again back in the boat.

National Signing Day is Wednesday.

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