Last weekend was one of the biggest for junior days across the country and a ton of news and rumors is coming out. Here’s the latest in the second Recruiting Rumor Mill this week.
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After landing an offer over the weekend from Oklahoma, coach Brent Venables was at Ackerson’s school on Monday as the Sooners are now the leader in his recruitment.
Oklahoma will be tough to beat for the Oklahoma City (Okla.) Putnam City safety with Kansas State being the main contender right now in his recruitment.
Oregon made a big move up for the five-star athlete from Spring Valley (Calif.) Mount Miguel after a weekend visit, especially as he met with coach Dan Lanning and also defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who talked about helping develop Patrick Surtain, Christian Gonzalez and others.
Lanning discussed Oregon’s ascent into being a national power as the Ducks are a main contender along with Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Oklahoma and Michigan.
After visiting Florida State recently, the Seminoles are “really big” in his recruitment. Texas A&M and Georgia are main players as well with Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State making the top list as well.
But after a weekend visit to Ole Miss, there is a new contender for the four-star cornerback from Carrollton, Ga., as the Rebels really impressed him and he’s planning a return trip to Oxford soon.
It could be very difficult to beat LSU in the end for the five-star safety from Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic but Oregon made a “strong impression” over the weekend.
Bradford’s decision will come down to the “best opportunity” for his success and the ultimate goal of getting to the NFL. That’s why the Ducks will remain a player with Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Texas, Texas Tech and others.
The high four-star running back from Jackson, Ala., recently reclassified to 2026, which moves up his recruitment significantly and he’s coming off an important visit to Auburn.
The message from coach Hugh Freeze and position coach Derrick Nix is that they’re building something special on The Plains and that Auburn is RBU. The problem for the Tigers is that the chatter centers around Crowell favoring Alabama at this point.
Oregon is working to flip Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star receiver Chris Henry Jr. from Ohio State and the Ducks have now joined the top list for Mater Dei’s Dixon-Wyatt, who had a great junior season.
The Ducks made Dixon-Wyatt “feel like a need in their program” while Texas and Ohio State continue to be the mainstays in his recruitment.
South Carolina is emerging as the clear front-runner in Dunham’s recruitment and another weekend visit to Columbia only reinforced that the Gamecocks could be too far ahead to catch.
Tennessee and many others are involved with the four-star defensive end from Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park but after long talks with coach Shane Beamer and assistants Sterling Lucas and Clayton White, the Gamecocks are definitely in good shape.
Seeing the competitive nature at Texas over the weekend is selling the Longhorns on the No. 1 running back in the 2026 class. The message from position coach Tashard Choice was that he could develop Edwards and evolve his game.
In the end, this could be a tough battle between Texas and Texas A&M for the Carthage, Texas, standout. Michigan, Baylor, SMU, Stanford, Tennessee and Clemson were some others mentioned.
The four-star Alabama cornerback commit visited Auburn this past weekend as the Tigers look to flip him. The message was how much they wanted him on The Plains and how much of a priority he is to the program.
Getting to Auburn’s basketball thriller over Tennessee was also big, but the word is that the Gadsden (Ala.) Gadsden City standout remains very locked in with the Crimson Tide.
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Arkansas, Missouri and some others are playing a big role in Goodwin’s recruitment, but the chatter now is that Notre Dame is “definitely in a top spot” for the high three-star from Little Rock (Ark.) Pulaski Academy after he was in South Bend over the weekend.
The message of selflessness from coach Marcus Freeman and then carried over by position coach Joe Rudolph was huge.
Oregon and Oklahoma are two programs that have really made a big impact in Ili’s recruitment and over the weekend he was in Eugene and blown away by everything there. The four-star linebacker from Orange (Calif.) Lutheran was especially impressed with how much time, money and investment the Ducks put into their players. The coaching staff was “harping on” how much of a perfect fit Ili was in Eugene.
USC, UCLA and others are also involved, but Oregon left a great impression.
The four-star Michigan defensive back commit has given no indication he’s rethinking his pledge to the Wolverines but Florida is making a big impression. The Gators are making it clear to the Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin standout that he’s a major priority. Jennings loved how genuine the Florida coaches were during a visit over the weekend. They made it clear to him he’s at the top of their board and they want Florida kids to stay home, especially local ones.
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Alabama and Auburn will put up a fight to keep the three-star defensive end from Muscle Shoals in-state. Tennessee made a big impression and LSU recently offered.
But now Oklahoma is very much in the picture for Johnson. He loved how the coaches made him feel like family in Norman, he loved watching them coach and he hit it off with position coach Miguel Chavis.
Things went so well that Johnson is planning to return for the spring game and an official visit.
During his visit over the weekend to Georgia Tech, Jones was pulled aside for a one-on-one conversation with coach Brent Key and that was the big standout from the visit that the Yellow Jackets are making it clear he’s a major priority and that they’re ready for his commitment.
Georgia Tech is definitely up there but Georgia has been pushing as well and nearly his entire family are UGA fans.
Kentucky, Michigan and Vanderbilt also are making an impression.
Oregon, Oklahoma and Alabama are the other programs to watch for Mayo but the 2027 athlete from Lewisville, Texas, loved his junior day visit to Texas over the weekend as the energy among the defensive coaches stood out. He really liked how position coach Terry Joseph explained how everything works on that side of the ball.
Mayo is Oklahoma signee Michael Fasusi’s teammate though so that will be something to watch.
Notre Dame is not only part of Merrill’s top five but the Irish might now be considered the team to beat. After another visit to South Bend, the Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley four-star offensive lineman just has such great relationships with that coaching staff that the Irish could win out.
Oklahoma continues to be a top program in Miles’ recruitment and the family environment over the weekend in Norman really stood out, along with a clear message from the coaching staff about their focus for next season.
The Sooners look very strong with Arkansas, SMU, Texas Tech, Stanford, Kansas and Northwestern also standing out.
Two programs are standing out most to the Bixby, Okla., linebacker as Kansas and Texas Tech could be battling it out until the end. The Jayhawks might have a leg up as Nolan loved his visit to Lawrence but especially hit it off with position coach Chris Simpson. That could play a major factor in his decision-making process.
After rushing for nearly 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore, Parker has seen his recruitment take off with Florida State probably leading the pack right now. A visit over the weekend to Tallahassee also went really well as the relationships he’s building at FSU and the love he feels from the coaches are definitely standing out.
The Seminoles look best for the 2027 running back from Montezuma (Ga.) Macon County but Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn are up there as well.
Nebraska, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin and others are involved but Michigan is definitely the program to beat. The four-star offensive tackle from Portage (Mich.) Northern watched a lot of film with the Michigan coaching staff over the weekend – both Michigan games and his own games for pointers – and he’s just hitting it off with the Wolverines.
Miami is definitely a program to watch and the Hurricanes might have an edge but Florida is definitely going to put up a big challenge, especially with a major family connection there. The Pouncey Bros. – Michael and Maurkice – who starred on those Urban Meyer-led Florida national title teams are his cousins and that was a clear message from the Gators’ coaches over the weekend.
Notre Dame and Georgia are two others to watch.
Spending time with position coach De’Rail Sims at Tennessee over the weekend has pushed the Vols to the top of Robinson’s list and all the coaches in Knoxville kept telling Robinson to keep coming back and that he’s a great fit for the program.
Tennessee is “leading the way” right now with Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Louisville and Alabama in contention.
Clemson and Notre Dame have emerged as the top two with Penn State in the mix. The Irish might have taken a step forward over the weekend. The speedy four-star receiver from Potomac (Md.) Bullis School was told his athleticism would be a welcome addition to the Irish offense and he loves the coaching staff in South Bend.
After backing off his Florida State pledge in recent days, the programs that are now standing out are Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA, Washington, South Carolina and Ohio State.
The five-star quarterback will plan a visit to Ohio State if offensive coordinator Chip Kelly stays and doesn’t bolt to the NFL.
His Newbury Park, Calif., teammate Shane Rosenthal just committed to the Bruins so that will be something to watch as well.
The four-star receiver from Mission Viejo, Calif., remains happily committed to Georgia but a source said some new developments in his recruitment has him “thinking.” Alabama offered in recent days as the Crimson Tide have done a great job recruiting top West Coast prospects.
Also, Spafford will visit USC this weekend as the Trojans work to flip him.
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The four-star receiver from Tampa (Fla.) Plant has been committed to Florida State since April but Florida and others are working on flipping him and the Gators have a big chance to make serious in-roads later this week.
Williams will be on a “shadow day” in Gainesville on Friday as he’ll be staying with a player and following him around all day to see what life would be like if he were to flip to the Gators.
