Gators Lose Commitment from Legacy Safety.

Four-star safety Demetres Samuel Jr. has seemingly gone full-circle with his flip from the Gators to an ACC program.

After a near-two month commitment to the Florida Gators, four-star safety Demetres Samuel Jr. (Palm Bay, Fla.) flipped his pledge back to Syracuse, he announced late Sunday night.

Samuel Jr. was the Gators’ first defensive back commit of the class after he reclassified from the 2026 class to the 2025 class. He was previously committed to Syracuse from March 30 until July 31, when he flipped to Florida.

He is also the younger cousin of former Florida safety Marcus Maye.

“Orange fans I’m locked in! Let’s do it!” he said, via a post from On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

Samuel Jr. confirmed his decision in a post to his personal “X” account.

Samuel Jr.’s flip back to Syracuse leaves Florida with only one defensive back commit in the class in four-star legacy corner Ben Hanks Jr. His decision also comes in the midst of a crucial portion of the season for the Gators. Sitting at 2-2 and a tough eight games to finish the season, head coach Billy Napier’s seat has never been hotter.

Should the Gators continue to struggle and eventually make a change in leadership for the football program, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if more follow Samuel Jr. in looking towards other programs for their services.

Florida hosts UCF on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. before facing seven-straight SEC opponents, five of which are ranked and three of which are considered top-five programs in the most-recent AP Poll.

As it stands, the Gators have the nation’s No. 19 overall class in this recruiting cycle, according to On3.