Despite the departure of Shemar James to the NFL Draft, the Florida Gators return a young nucleus of talented inside linebackers including Jaden Robinson, Myles Graham, Aaron Chiles, and Grayson Howard. Florida also welcomed freshman Ty Jackson this spring.
Florida’s linebackers stood out during the Gators’ first scrimmage of spring camp on Tuesday evening. Junior Grayson Howard did not participate as he continues to work his way back from injury.
“The linebacker group is impressive. I think just in general, that group was very physical today and made some impressive plays,” head coach Billy Napier said after the scrimmage. “Aaron Chiles had some great physical plays. Myles Graham. Ty Jackson continues to flash. So that’s a good group as a whole, and certainly J Rob. And look, we get Pup back, you know, he’s going to eventually be back. We consider that one of the better groups in the country, in my opinion, at that position.”
Junior Jaden Robinson is the veteran in the room, logging the most snaps among returning linebackers in 2024 with 438. The 6’0, 232-pound linebacker posted the 2nd highest tackling grade on the Gators’ defense last year, missing just 8.3% of his tackle attempts, an impressive figure given the difficulty of his position.
“I think that J-Rob is intelligent. I think his football intelligence shows up. This is a guy who played safety, then played kind of an apex nickel position, then moved in to play stack-backer in year one here. I just think he keeps getting better,” Napier said on Robinson. “But he’s a great communicator, he’s got really good understanding of the system and I think he makes all the other players around him better.”
Rising sophomores Myles Graham and Aaron Chiles will be firmly in the mix next year as well. Both ranked as top 10 linebackers in the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. The duo gained valuable experience in their rookie campaign’s, combining for 313 snaps. Teammate Jaden Robinson believes Graham and Chiles have taken major strides this offseason.
“I can see those guys growing up to be All-American,” Robinson said on Graham and Chiles. “Those guys just took a big leap going into this year right here.”
Chiles is known for his effort in the weight room and tremendous athletic ability, which will be hard to keep off the field moving forward.
“I’d say Aaron took a major leap,” Robinson added. “He’s very focused and locked in right now, and he’s dialed in.”
With the addition of inside linebackers / co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts last season, the Gators saw an improvement in play from the linebacker unit, particularly later in the season. Ahead of the 2025 season, Roberts oversees the entire defense as the primary defensive coordinator and play caller.
“I feel like he’s helping the defense in a major way,” LB Jaden Robinson said on Roberts. “Now he don’t have no position group, he’s just going through every position and making sure guys, like, giving guys tips and just helping everybody out.”
“The team adapted very well to that,” Robinson added. “They’re loving, like, they get their tips from coach because coach is, like, an older coach. He’s giving everybody those good tips, and that’s very helpful.”
Florida hired Washington’s Robert Bala to coach the linebackers, who has experience in Roberts’ defensive system.
“He’s very energetic. Great guy, sitting in the room and getting us going. And he’s learning, we learn from him and he’s learning from us,” Robinson said on Bala.
Florida’s linebacker room is the most talented it’s been under Billy Napier. Four of the five scholarship linebackers on campus ranked as top 12 linebackers in their respective classes while three of the five ranked as top 10 linebackers. With two juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen, the room has a nice balance of age and experience. When it’s all said and done, Florida’s linebacker unit could end up being the strength of Gators in 2025.