The 2025 season is just 10 days away for the Florida Gators, with Week Zero contests set to kick off this weekend, including a ranked matchup in Dublin, Ireland between Iowa State and Kansas State.
Ahead of the arrival of the highly anticipated college football season, ESPN has continued to pump out offseason content at a consistent rate, and the outlet's latest projection is a ranking of the top 100 college football players in 2025.
The Gators have three players on the list, and the trio all made the top half of the rankings.
At No. 47 is redshirt senior Caleb Banks, considered to be one of UF's top defensive players in 2025 after opting to return for his third season at Florida despite considerable buzz as an early-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft if Banks, a former Louisville transfer, had decided to declare for April's NFL Draft. In ESPN's list of top 100 players prior to the 2024 season, Banks was unranked.
The towering, 6-6, 330-pound interior defensive lineman has been a constant for the Gators since arriving from Louisville in 2023, tallying 21 starts at Florida over the past two seasons. Banks set career highs in tackles (21) and sacks (4.5) a year ago. In 2025, he returns to anchor a veteran defensive line within a promising Gators defense, carrying legit first-round NFL draft size and potential.
Returning to the rankings from a season ago is Florida redshirt senior center Jake Slaughter, who checks in at No. 37 after being ranked No. 92 prior to the 2024 season.
Slaughter, who finished the 2024 season as Florida's top-graded run-blocker and pass-protector among linemen who logged at least 75 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, receiving 80.2 (out of 100) and 84.2 grades in those respective categories, has received considerable preseason acclaim, with three placements on preseason award watch lists along with making the Preseason All-American team for five outlets, including the Associated Press after he was named a First-Team All-American by the AP after the 2024 season. Notably, UF's left tackle, Austin Barber, was not included in the top 100 rankings by ESPN despite the belief he could be the top Gator selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, with ESPN projecting Barber to be selected No. 12 in next year's Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
One of the most experienced members along a seasoned Florida offensive line (21 career starts), Slaughter sits at the heart of a pivotal unit for the Gators in 2025. The 6-5, 303-pound blocker earned first-team AP All-America honors a year ago in his first season as a full-time starter. In 2025, Slaughter is back as one of four returning starters on a Florida offensive line tasked with protecting second-year quarterback DJ Lagway and paving the way for reigning Freshman All-SEC running back Jadan Baugh.
Florida's highest-ranked player on the list is sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway, who checks in at No. 25 in the rankings. The Willis, Texas native has recently elevated his practice workload, taking first-team repetitions in 11-on-11 portions of practice for the first time as UF's season-opener on Aug. 30 against Long Island University nears.
"He's feeling much better, and he's moving around well," Napier said following practice Monday.
The only question with Lagway is how healthy he will be. He was limited by an injury to his throwing shoulder in the spring then by a calf strain this preseason. When he is 100 percent, Lagway's ceiling is as high as any quarterback in the country. He posted a 6-1 record in seven starts last season as a true freshman, and he has terrific awareness as both a passer and a runner.