Story byMichael Long, Gators WireMon, March 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM UTC·2 min readJon Sumrall is passionately trying to sell his locker room and Gator Nation on a dream: a vision to restore the program to its glory days. An intuition he'll have to peddle not only to the players on his roster, but most importantly to would-be recruits who will be the cement to this new foundation. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTo be a brick in that base, Florida is hoping to lure four-star edge rusher Mekai Brown to Gainesville. Brown is a 6-foot-7-inch, 305-pound athlete out of Greenwich (Connecticut) Country Day. The Gators took a step towards competitive positioning early in the recruitment of Brown by slating him for an unofficial visit March 3 — one of the double-digit programs on the tour for Brown, Florida will try to rise above the crowd. Conference foe Missouri follows as the next SEC school on Brown's list, with Ole Miss, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Kentucky rounding out the candidates. Brown told Gators Online that Florida was "... a place I could really thrive in." The Connecticut native and top-10 defensive end in the recruiting cycle would be a valuable piece to the defense-first approach of Sumrall's staff, who are working to secure several high-profile names on defense to go along with Brown should he decide to commit. Scheduled visitsFlorida Gators: March 3North Carolina Tar Heels: March 9Missouri Tigers: March 17Ole Miss Rebels: March 19Texas A&M Aggies: March 27Penn State Nittany Lions: April 3South Carolina Gamecocks: April 8Kentucky Wildcats: April 17Notre Dame Fighting Irish: April 24UCLA Bruins: April 29AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMekai Brown recruiting summaryMekai Brown is ranked No.