Florida football recruiting: Four-star OL Tavaris Dice commits to Gators in flip from Auburn

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Image Credit: UAA

The Florida Gators’ momentum on the recruiting trail continued even as they suited up to play their final game of the 2024 regular season. A late Black Friday gift came Saturday afternoon as four-star offensive lineman Tavaris Dice (Fairburn, GA) committed to joining the team’s Class of 2025. This as head coach Billy Napier continues poaching prospects from some of the top programs nationally.

Dice (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) had been pledged to Auburn since March. He officially visited Florida in June and ultimately decided to flip his commitment as Rivalry Week began.

Ranked as the No. 191 overall player in the 247Sports Composite, Dice is listed No. 159 nationally by 247Sports’ internal rankings system. He was a high-priority target for a UF team desperately seeking to add talent up front offensively.

The Gators have landed two blue-chip prospects in as many day and flipped nine players — all from Power Four programs — in the last couple of weeks.

Four-star EDGE Jayden Woods (Shawnee, KS) left the Penn State class for UF on Friday. Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. (Jacksonville, FL), four-star running back Byron Louis (Fort Lauderdale, FL) and three-star offensive lineman Daniel Pierre Louis (Loxahatchee, FL) all joined Florida after backing off Florida State commitments. Four-star linebacker Ty Jackson (Loxahatchee, FL) linked up with the Gators after previously deciding to go to USC. Other recent flips include three-star defensive lineman Stephon Shivers (Brentwood, TN) from Georgia, three-star wide receiver Muizz Tounkara (League City, TX) from Arizona and three-star OL Jahari Medlock (Riverside, GA) from Cincinnati.

Florida held as the No. 15 overall class in the 247Sports Composite team rankings with Woods now on board, but it has officially pulled within striking distance of a top 10 class should it continue flipping players over the next week. The Gators have boosted their standing 28 slots across the last two weeks after sitting at No. 43 prior to the LSU game. UF had fallen to as low as 51st in early November.

It will take landing some big fish to push Florida up to delivering the level of class (top 10) that has been expected from Napier. As it stands now, though, the Gators’ Class of 2025 will likely be the lowest-ranked yet during his tenure, which likely means UF will put a greater concentration on the transfer portal this offseason.