Florida football pursuing elite 2025 QB with huge official visit

Florida football is swinging for the fences once again in their pursuit of premier quarterback talent on the recruiting trail. After landing the nation's consensus No. 1 signal-caller DJ Lagway in the 2024 class, Billy Napier's staff is setting its sights on another elite prospect: 2025's top-rated dual-threat quarterback Keelon Russell.

Russell, a current SMU commit, announced plans to take an official visit to Gainesville from June 7-9.

The coveted recruit has seen his stock soar since initially pledging to the Mustangs back in September. Before his Florida official visit, Russell will be taking a trip to Alabama, setting up a monumental recruiting battle between the two SEC powers.

Despite having just signed Lagway as the potential quarterback of the future, bringing in another elite option like Russell in 2025 is a priority for Florida. With starting quarterback Graham Mertz set to exhaust his eligibility after next season, Napier recognizes the importance of stacking talent at the quarterback position.

While the Gators were able to add junior Clay Millen from Colorado State via the transfer portal, he's unlikely to deter premier prep talents like Russell from joining an already-loaded quarterback room in Gainesville. As 247Sports' Andrew Ivins breaks down, Russell possesses all the tools to thrive as a modern dual-threat passer:

"Accurate to the first two levels and gets the ball out fast. Slides around the pocket with his limber movement patterns and has both the speed and agility to turn scrambles into back-breaking gains...Proven to be a rather efficient distributor on the move with the touch to drop passes into tight windows."

For Russell, the Florida official visit represents a chance to get an up-close look at a program restocking its quarterback pipeline with blue-chip talents. The Gators may have struck gold with Lagway, but adding Russell's immense potential to the pipeline in 2025 could elevate the offense to even greater heights moving forward.