ESPN believes Florida has a young cornerback on its roster who just might surprise a lot of Gators and SEC fans this fall.
That sleeper of a DB is redshirt freshman Ben Hanks III, and the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Florida native who stayed in state will be trying to back up ESPN’s expectations for him to break out in 2026.
ESPN revealed its list of potential “sleeper” breakout candidates for this fall on Thursday morning, with the season fast approaching, and in Florida’s case, as it starts a new era under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, the sleeper pick by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg was Hanks.
In 3 games last season, Hanks posted 8 tackles, 1 interception and 2 pass breakups, which showed that he can be involved and put up numbers in not a lot of action. This season, there will be a whole new world for Hanks as he begins his career in earnest, and Rittenberg believes he’ll be making way more of an impact than many believe.
Hanks was highly recruited, as ESPN pointed out, so it might not seem like a true sleeper pick in this case. But the fact that he played only 3 games last season makes him eligible for this sleeper category because not a lot of opponents got to see Hanks perform in a game situation. That certainly won’t be the case this fall.
ESPN wrote on Hanks:
He impressed the new staff during spring practice and brings size and good recognition of routes to coordinator Brad White’s defense.
While being a potential sleeper at UF, Hanks is also a legacy, as the son of Ben Hanks Jr., who was an All-SEC linebacker at Florida.
With Hanks possibly leading the way, Florida will be determined to change the culture in Gainesville back to what it used to be, where the Gators were winning games and a lot of them. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about how many games Florida is likely to win in the first season of a new coaching regime:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
