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Another big junior day weekend is now behind us and offers are being handed out like hotcakes across the country. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney shares what he’s hearing in today’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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After visiting Knoxville, Tennessee “definitely stands out” as the 2027 four-star cornerback from Cincinnati (Ohio) Anderson had one of his best visits yet. The entire coaching staff but especially coach Josh Heupel and position coach Willie Martinez showed Alston and his family a great time and it didn’t go unnoticed.
The Vols have definitely moved as high as any other team in his recruitment but it’s still early. Alston was at Purdue over the weekend.
The four-star defensive tackle from Cherry Valley (Ark.) Cross Country has a top list but the word is that Beale is basically down to Ole Miss and Missouri – and the Tigers could be ahead in his recruitment – but a lot of top teams have been by the school recently which could change his thinking.
The chatter in recent days is that North Carolina’s new coaching staff has reached out to see if they could jump in his recruitment and Beale was very receptive to the Tar Heels.
The high three-star receiver from Spring (Texas) Legacy loved his recent visit to Texas and what especially stood out was Brown’s time with position coach Chris Jackson in the receiver room as Jackson broke down the vision for the program and players at his position.
Texas is “definitely one of my top schools” according to Brown but the list remains long with Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Florida, Michigan and Houston (where teammate Keisean Henderson is currently committed) so that could be something to watch.
A recent visit to Auburn was “top-notch” as the three-star quarterback from Loganville (Ga.) Grayson spent a lot of time with the coaches and he met the quarterbacks, too.
The Tigers are definitely one of the favorites along with Mississippi State and Virginia Tech and now it will be interesting to see if Auburn’s suddenly stacked QB room of Jackson Arnold, Deuce Knight and others scare him off or if – more likely – Auburn wins out.
Oregon seems to have the edge for the five-star offensive tackle as he loves coach Dan Lanning (and it helps that the Oregon coach is originally from Missouri) plus the development and so much more in Eugene. Michigan, Georgia and Missouri are three others to watch and coaches from Georgia this week told the Nixa, Mo., standout that they “have everything they need for him to be successful.”
It’s a compelling pitch but there could be another school to watch as Ohio State coach Ryan Day made his first stop to see Cantwell and that meant a whole lot to the star offensive tackle. If that momentum keeps up then the Buckeyes could be move even higher.
After backing off a long pledge to South Carolina, there has been some talk that Tennessee is now the team to beat in his recruitment but the list is growing longer for the four-star linebacker from Newnan, Ga., Missouri, Florida State, Georgia, Florida, Miami, Texas A&M and “more” could be in the mix although the Vols should definitely be watched as well.
Kansas is one of the early offers for Corsair and a recent visit to Lawrence could have pushed the Jayhawks even higher as the 2027 interior offensive lineman spent a bunch of time with co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski and position coach Daryl Agpalsa.
The Hays, Kan., standout felt like a major priority to Kansas but Oklahoma, Kansas State and Iowa State are also pushing and then Tennessee, Arkansas, Iowa and Notre Dame are reaching out as well.
Eziuka is keeping his mind open because more programs are reaching out all the time but a recent visit to Penn State made a huge impression for many reasons.
The Novi (Mich.) Detroit Catholic Central loved that there are former Penn State players on the staff including ones that played for coach James Franklin “so they live what they preach.”
The Nittany Lions, Kentucky and Cincinnati are standing out most to Eziuka most but others are coming in all the time.
LSU remains one of the top programs for Finney as he loves the defensive back tradition there with Oregon, Texas A&M, Georgia, USC and Texas standing out most to the star 2027 cornerback from Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon.
But UCLA could be a sleeper in Finney’s recruitment especially after a recent junior day where Finney spent a ton of time with coach DeShaun Foster, position coach Demetrice Martin and many others on staff. The message from the Bruins was that Finney would be a “special player” and a “program-changer” and that was a compelling case to him.
A recent visit to Oklahoma has kept the Sooners high on Ford’s list since he sees a “brotherhood” there and the message from the coaches in Norman was that he could come in and play early.
Oklahoma is definitely a standout for the four-star edge from Duncanville, Texas but Alabama, LSU, Missouri and Texas A&M are battling hard as well.
No program is showing as much love to Gebhardt as Penn State and that was shown again during a recent visit as the Nittany Lions stand out along with Clemson, Ohio State and Wisconsin for the three-star safety from Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy.
“Everything” stood out during his most recent visit to Happy Valley and it’s clear he’s a top priority for this Penn State coaching staff.
UCLA has moved “very high up” on Harmon’s list after he visited for the Bruins’ elite junior day on Thursday night in Westwood and he loves the way position coach Ikaika Malloe coaches his players.
The Inglewood, Calif., standout definitely feels like a major priority for the Bruins although there will be significant competition for him as USC, Cal, Arizona State, Texas, SMU and Texas A&M are also up there.
Getting a new offer from Texas is definitely big but what really stood out to the 2027 offensive tackle from Tyler (Texas) Legacy was how the Longhorns’ coaching staff “really showed” that they liked him and were actually interested in him.
In the end, this could be a battle between Texas and Texas A&M down the stretch but Tennessee, Oklahoma, TCU and Arkansas are also high.
During a recent visit to Oregon, the four-star running back from San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic met with basically all the coaches from coach Dan Lanning to OC Will Stein to position coach Ra’Shaad Samples and DB coach Chris Hampton – as the Ducks are definitely an early front-runner in his recruitment.
Penn State and Miami are two others to watch but the Ducks definitely have the edge as USC and Texas are also battling to make his top list.
Auburn is going to be there until the end and Jones has talked highly of LSU and Georgia throughout his recruitment and now Texas A&M and Oregon are definitely high on the list but according to a source, Alabama is the team to beat right now.
The Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s standout could narrow it down to the two in-state programs as decision time gets closer but the Crimson Tide is the team to watch.
The four-star offensive tackle from Prosper, Texas has nearly 50 offers and has taken a bunch of visits so things could change up but right now official visits are locked for Texas, LSU, SMU and Michigan.
Those are the standouts and a recent visit to Texas definitely helped the Longhorns especially because of the message from position coach Kyle Flood.
USC remains the front-runner for the five-star quarterback (although Oregon QB commit Jonas Williams did visit USC over the weekend) with Ole Miss, Oregon, BYU and others involved but the word is there are two new teams to watch.
Ohio State offered the Folsom, Calif., star QB in recent days and a trip could happen and Lyons is warming up a whole lot more to Michigan as well. Because he’s taking a religious mission after high school, the timing with Bryce Underwood in Ann Arbor would work out just fine.
Oregon already has commitments from two Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei teammates in Kodi Greene and Tomuhini Topui and the Ducks are looking strong in Mailangi’s recruitment as well.
Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee are also up there along with UCLA especially after he went over to Westwood for the Elite Junior Day and he builds relationships with that staff.
It’s still very early for the 2027 receiver from Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss but a new offer from Texas could shoot the Longhorns right to the top of his list.
The Texas facilities and culture especially stood out during a recent visit where the Longhorns offered and the coaching staff made it clear that they would now be recruiting him hard. Ole Miss, SMU and Texas A&M are the other programs to watch closest.
His brother, Elijah, picked Washington in the 2017 class and then parlayed that into being a third-round NFL Draft pick but the Huskies are not recruiting Molden “too much” right now and his older brother going there won’t make too much of a difference in his own recruitment.
Oregon continues to be one of the frontrunners especially after a recent visit but interest from Texas, Ohio State and others has him thinking.
Michigan and Ole Miss have been the top two teams for the elite four-star offensive from Mansfield (Texas) Lake Ridge but Texas has now emerged as the top contender in his recruitment. Ojo’s visit to Austin recently solidified that as the coaching staff’s message to him was that he’s their “No. 1 priority” and that definitely meant a whole lot.
The word now is that the Longhorns are in a great spot for him.
Maybe no tight end nationally has seen his recruitment take off in recent months as Sorensen, who has Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss and Nebraska among his favorites but UCLA will definitely be one to watch as well.
The Anaheim (Calif.) Servite standout has taken two recent visits over to Westwood and he believes the coaching staff genuinely cares for him plus he likes the system new offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri will be running.
The Bruins are a dark horse here but there’s lots of competition.
One of the top 2027 defensive backs nationally, the word is that the Gardena (Calif.) Serra standout could be leaning toward staying close to home with USC right near the top and UCLA pushing harder especially after a great visit there last week.
If Williams decides to venture out, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State, Miami and Washington will be the teams in contention.
