Florida recently fired HC Bill Napier, and now it's time for the Longhorns to make a big push for two of their still highly-regarded prospects, DT Kendall Guervil and DE K.J. Ford.
Guervil is a 4-star DT from Fort Myers HS in Fort Myers, FL. He's currently ranked as the No.11 DT recruit in the 2026 class, and somebody who Texas was in on until the very last minute of his commitment ceremony. The Longhorns were far and away his No.2 choice so Steve Sarkisian and Co, are hoping that the Napier news will go a long way in flipping Guervil's allegiance to Texas.
The 6'4", 315-pound interior defensive lineman is already built like a tank and has the talent and overall skillset to play as a true freshman. He's also incredibly long with 35" arms, and he's done a better job this year of learning how to use that length to his advantage. He'd be a solid developmental 1-technique in Texas' defense.
Elite DT Kendall Guervil shares pictures from his OV to Texas 🤘
— OnTexasFootball (@ontexasfootball) June 22, 2025
📸 via 1._kenn pic.twitter.com/98aq32HFDs
Ford is a 4-star DE from in-state Duncanville HS in Duncanville, TX. He's currently ranked as the No.12 DE recruit in the 2026 class, and the Longhorns were extremely disappointed when he chose to commit to Florida in July. He wasn't as close to committing to Texas as Guervil was but if Ford does end up decommitting from the Gators, the Longhorns could be a top 3-4 school for him. Aside from Texas, Ford was choosing between Ohio State, Alabama, and Texas A&M.
K.J. Ford has great size (6'3.5", 245 lbs.) and is very athletic, kind of in the mold of Colin Simmons in the 2024 class. Though he plays like a traditional, 4-3 DE for Duncanville HS, he has enough athleticism and "twitch" to occasionally play SAM in certain situations.
If Texas can find a way to flip these two players from Florida within the next two months, it'll go a long way for the future of this Longhorns program both from a recruiting and talent standpoint.