Gators flip 4-star QB Jaden Rashada from Miami

In a surprise turn of events, four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada flipped his commitment from the University of Miami to the University of Florida.

Rashada committed to the Hurricanes back in June, and it was the start of a string of wins for UM that made Florida fans anxious. The Gators have since put together a top-10 class, and flipping Rashada moves them up to No. 8 on both 247Sports and On3’s team rankings for the class of 2023.

Team booster Hugh Hathcock teased a big announcement on Wednesday, and Rashada’s Thursday night/Friday morning announcement did not disappoint. Although it hasn’t been explicitly stated that Rashada got a nice NIL package, the puzzle pieces are there to put together. Hathcock is the biggest donor the football program has and Rashada posted a video of him in Hathcock’s Lamborghini to make the announcement.

Rashada’s commitment makes him the highest-rated recruit in the class of 2023 and there’s room for early playing time. If Anthony Richardson departs for the NFL, which many believe he will, Rashada could compete for the starting job as a true freshman with Ohio State transfer Jack Miller III.

Miller was the clear No. 2 to Richardson coming into the season, but his thumb injury has propelled Jalen Kitna into the backup role this year. There’s also freshman Max Brown to consider and incoming quarterback Marcus Stokes in that race. Rashada has the right tools to make it happen, but it wouldn’t be too crazy to see him spend a year in a backup role.

The 247Sports composite ranks Rashada No. 57 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 7 among quarterbacks in the class. The On3 composite agrees with that opinion, placing him at No. 61 nationally and in the same spot among players at his position.

Rashada is now the highest-ranked recruit on Florida’s lit of verbal commitments, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see more of Miami’s commits jump ship. The Hurricanes still have commitments from the top cornerback in the class Cormani McClain and the top offensive tackle in the class, Francis Mauigoa. If Florida was pushing on Rashada, they are probably pushing on those two still as well.

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire