Florida football gets commitment from coveted IMG Academy TE in 2026 recruiting class
Florida football earned its first commitment from a tight end in the 2026 cycle when three-star prospect Kekua Aumua gave his word to the Gators on Monday.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 255-pound rising junior originally from Hawaii has been playing high school ball with the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Aumaua had 19 total offers from various schools under his belt — including the North Carolina Tar Heels, Washington Huskies and Cal Golden Bears — before his verbal commitment to the Orange and Blue.
The coveted recruit traveled to Chapel Hill for an official visit at the end of May before swinging through Gainesville on June 6 for his second OV of the summer. While his commitment is now official, he still has trips to Berkeley (June 12) and Seattle (June 20) scheduled.
Aumua talks about official visit with Florida
Aumua's official visit with Florida gave him an opportunity to bring his entire family along, despite having made several trips upstate prior to acclimate to the university.
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"I'm glad I got to get my family up here," he told Swamp247. "It's my dad and my grandma's first time (on campus) and then my sister and my mom have been here a couple times. So (I'm) just glad to get them up here, get them close to the coaches."
And on the topic of family, Callaway brought his own family to meet Aumua's, helping to tie together the family atmosphere the program strives to cultivate on campus.
"He brought his family, all his family members out," Aumua noted. "Got them close with my parents and started that relationship with them."
Napier, Callaway spearhead recruiting efforts
The efforts to recruit the coveted tight end were spearheaded by both head coach Billy Napier and tight ends coach Russ Callaway, who have been in hot pursuit of the in-state target for some time.
'The thing that stood out to me is the connection Billy Napier built with us and the connection coach Callaway kept building with us," Aumua told Gators Online. "He started early and didn't slow down. A lot of these colleges show love and then starting slowing down, but coach Callaway was full speed ahead.'
As for what the program as a whole has to offer him, there is no shortage of benefits that encouraged him to become a Florida Gator.
'Their strength and conditioning program; their nutrition program is next level; the way they take of their athletes is next level."
Potential Polynesian Pipeline?
It is worth noting that there could be more than meets the eye in recruiting the native Hawaiian. According to him, the staff is eyeing an opportunity to establish a flow of talent from the Pacific Ocean.
"When it comes to where I'll be staying, they told me, 'You're going to have room for your family,' but we're far from here and start that Poly(nesian) pipeline over here," Aumua revealed.
Kekua Aumua's Recruiting Summary
Aumua is ranked No. 670 overall and No. 35 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 680 and 37, respectively.
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