Coaches continue to travel nationwide, visiting top 2026 prospects, and on Thursday, Florida head coach Billy Napier made a stop at Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney High School.
Four-star defensive lineman Elijah Golden and four-star interior offensive lineman Da’Ron Parks were among those visited by Napier. Golden and Parks are key players in the trenches for a Cardinal Mooney team that posted a 12-1 record, advancing to the FHSAA 2A semifinals.
Elijah Golden is ranked as the nation’s No. 212 overall prospect in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking—a weighted system that incorporates evaluations from all four major recruiting media outlets. Golden is also the No. 21 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 35 recruit from Florida.
Da’Ron Parks is ranked No. 268 nationally in the 2026 class, No. 21 among interior offensive linemen, and No. 41 overall from the state of Florida.
The 6-foot-3.5, 246-pound Elijah Golden revealed to On3 earlier this month that he holds strong interest in multiple schools.
“Florida’s definitely up there on my list of schools,” Golden told On3 ahead of the Navy All-American Bowl. “My list is different. I’m not going to have a list of schools ranked from 1 to 10 because they’re all high on my list. The schools that I’ve been talking to for the past few years ever since I started high school, they’re all high on my list. There are a lot of great schools on it like Michigan, Michigan State, Washington, Florida, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Clemson.”
As for Da’Ron Parks, he has made multiple visits to Ohio State and has also expressed interest in Tennessee, Miami, and Penn State.
On Thursday, both Da’Ron Parks and Elijah Golden received offers from Oregon, along with 2026 cornerback Laron Dues.
