Just shy of a year to the day that Ellis McGaskin committed to Notre Dame, the 4-star linebacker announced he’s now pledged to the Florida Gators. While the fact that he’s already flipped once in this cycle might give some Fighting Irish fans hope that he could be turned back towards South Bend, a return to Marcus Freeman’s squad seems extremely unlikely, as the program seemingly fell out of favor over the last few months.
On Saturday evening, McGaskin made the pledge that has been coming for quite some time. While the Irish looked to be mostly out of the race for the linebacker, LSU and Florida were battling for position over the last few months.
That Notre Dame knew the 6-foot-1, 205-pound defender was likely headed to one SEC school or another definitely takes the sting out of things. Still, McGaskin was once one of the first commitments for the Irish in the 2027 class. Had he stuck to his word and planned to head to South Bend, it would mean Marcus Freeman and Co. were on an even more impressive heater.
What adds a bit of sting is that McGaskin told On3 he never really intended to commit to Florida during his official visit this weekend.
Let’s go kid #goldenchild pic.twitter.com/wjKT0NVpzE
— coach Stanley (@coachdstanley) June 6, 2026
Ellis McGaskin’s Florida pledge shows why Notre Dame football had moved on
The Mobile (Ala.) Williamson standout took his official visit to Gainesville this weekend, and by the time he left, the Gators had completely changed the outlook of his recruitment.
“I really wasn’t thinking about committing before the visit,” McGaskin said. “I was going to wait until I had all my official visits and then make my decision, but the official visit changed my mind. The visit was great, and it just gave me a new feeling.”
Even when McGaskin was committed to Notre Dame, Florida wasn’t letting things lie. The linebacker said the Gators were in constant contact with him, which gave them the edge as his recruiting wound down.
“They’ve been in contact with me literally just about every day. It could be from Coach Gasparato, Coach Sumrall, someone in the front office, or an analyst. It’s constant communication every single day. They recruited me way harder than anyone else. If they’re taking time out of their day to communicate with me every day, that’s showing something. I know Florida wants me.”
Ellis McGaskin is the No. 28 linebacker in the class as well as the No. 16 player in the state of Florida for the 2027 cycle. He would have been a great addition to Notre Dame’s class, but it’s clear that the Fighting Irish have since moved on, and the defender is now Florida’s problem as they try to hold onto him all the way up to December’s National Signing Day.
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