January always proves to be an interesting month on the recruiting trail. Big junior day weekends sandwich signing periods, leading to some late and early decisions in the senior and junior cycles.
That was once again the case last month. As the 2026 cycle gets set to wrap up next week, there’s been some late movement thanks to the release of the final Rivals300. There’s also been some big decisions made in the 2027 cycle.
Advertisement
Below is a look at January’s biggest commitments:
School: Irmo (S.C.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 34 NATL. (No. 5 EDGE)
On the decision: “Coach (Sterling) Lucas is a coach I trust and believe in,” Bryant told Rivals’ Chad Simmons. “South Carolina wasn’t one of my first offers, but he was recruiting me before that. He started recruiting me early, and he’s like family. He’s easy to talk to, we have a nice relationship, and he’s always been a coach I knew I would love to play for.”
School: Booker (Fla.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 159 NATL. (No. 23 WR)
Advertisement
On the decision: “I signed with UCF in December,” Hornes told Rivals. “They recruited me early. Since the beginning of my recruitment, they have recruited me hard. The staff has always wanted me. They stayed on me, they were patient, and they were always just waiting for me to commit to them. The way they made me feel was important.”
School: IMG Academy (Fla.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 80 NATL. (No. 9 CB)
On the decision: “There were a lot of reasons why I chose USC,” Washington told Rivals’ Greg Biggins. “It’s the local school for me and I have a great relationship with the entire coaching staff. I’ve been to USC a number of times and it always feels like home. We have a nice little run on Mater Dei players going to USC right now. We’re trying to build this pipeline and I’m very excited to be a part of that and a part of making USC special.” — Washington has since transferred from Mater Dei (Calif.) to IMG
Advertisement
2027 4-star CB Allen Evans — Louisville
School: Trinity (Ky.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 90 NATL. (No. 10 CB)
On the decision: “I think Louisville is the place for me,” Evans told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong. “It’s the best fit for me in terms of my development and where I feel the most comfortable and where I can grow.”
2027 4-star EDGE Taven Epps — Oklahoma
School: Tustin (Calif.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 103 NATL. (No. 14 EDGE)
On the decision: “Coach Stacey (Ford) I’m really close to him because he was at UCLA and now he’s at Oklahoma so he told everybody at Oklahoma, ‘I’m really close with this kid,’ and they all want me to go over there,” Epps told Rivals’ Adam Gorney. “Even the offensive coaches are recruiting me.”
Advertisement
2027 4-star TE Korz Loken — Wisconsin
School: Iola-Scandinavia (Wisc.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 147 NATL. (No. 8 TE)
On the decision: “I just love the program,” Loken told Rivals’ Greg Smith. “You can tell that everybody there wants to win. The coaches, they really want to be the best they can. They want to win games and the players work hard every day. I’ve gone down there to practice a couple of times and they really got that iron sharpens iron mentality. You can tell everybody there wants to turn this program around and start winning games.”
2026 4-star EDGE Elijah Reeder — Penn State
School: Central Regional (N.J.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 238 NATL. (No. 28 EDGE)
Advertisement
Scout’s Take: “Elijah Reeder was a great find by Matt Campbell and his staff at Iowa State late in the process. I don’t believe he had any FBS offers and they were able to keep him under the radar and sneak him into their class on signing day. When you go back and watch his film, he’s very talented as a pass rusher. He looks to have good size, is explosive, and has that arch acceleration with quality bend. He has the coordination and change of direction to create mismatches as a pass rusher. Just watching his senior film, I do think he’s a guy who has NFL upside.” — Rivals’ Charles Power
2027 4-star CB Amare Nugent — Florida
School: American Heritage (Fla.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 207 NATL. (No. 22 CB)
On the decision: “The coaching staff and the relationship with them,” Nugent told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong when asked why he chose UF. “The culture excites me about Florida.”
Advertisement
2026 4-star CB Andre Clarke — Kentucky
School: Hermitage (Va.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 298 NATL. (No. 35 CB)
On the decision: “I believe in the new coaching staff and the rebuild,” Clarke told KSR’s Jacob Polacheck. “I believe in Coach (Will) Stein. I feel like he’s going to change the program for us. I believe in the guys, and they’re going to get the best out of me when I go.”
School: Central East (Calif.)
Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 306 NATL. (No. 21 RB)
On the decision: “I’ve always liked them and once they reached out and offered me, I was honestly speechless. My emotions are still a bit everywhere right now. It was a crazy sequence of events but I’m very excited how it all worked out for me,” Smith told Rivals’ Greg Biggins.
