Recruiting Rumor Mill: Recruits back on the road as critical stretch begins
Prospects are back on the road, as camp and 7-on-7 season is in full gear, and Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has the Recruiting Rumor Mill back in full force.
The word is Alabama general manager Courtney Morgan is reaching out trying to gauge Bell’s interest in flipping him to the Crimson Tide and could be targeting the Texas quarterback in this class.
Bell has maintained he’s locked in with the Longhorns but that might not stop Alabama from going after the Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage four-star quarterback, even after the Crimson Tide signed No. 1 Keelon Russell last recruiting cycle.
After winning the linebacker MVP award at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles two weekends ago, Darensburg could be close to a new ACC offer.
Syracuse is getting heavily involved with the Chalmette, La., standout and an offer could be close. Florida State has started to express interest in the three-star linebacker as well.
Georgia, Florida State and a whole host of others are pushing hard for the 2027 high four-star cornerback from Miami (Fla.) Norland, but after another visit to Miami, the Hurricanes are considered the front-runner in his recruitment.
Bonding with defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge and being told “they want me to stay home and be a Hurricane,” has pushed Miami right to the top.
Texas A&M has been considered the front-runner for Ellis early in his recruitment and that looks to still be the case for the 2027 four-star receiver from Crowley, Texas, but many others are making a run at him.
Ranked as the fourth-best slot, Ellis was at Oklahoma over the weekend. Ohio State, TCU, Texas, Oregon, USC and Miami are standing out as well.
A battle between staying home and playing at USC (possibly with five-star teammate Richard Wesley) and going to LSU could be brewing for Finney, who recently reclassified to 2026.
The word early for the Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon standout was that the Tigers had the big edge but USC has shown him a lot of attention especially with its new recruiting staff. Ohio State, Texas and Michigan are also being looked at for officials.
When Florida State stopped by Milton, Fla., recently Hall was definitely “high on them” as the Seminoles have always been a front-runner but others are definitely challenging for that top spot.
Florida, Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and LSU are the others to watch and the Gators could be sneaky in this recruitment if FSU doesn’t work out.
The high three-star cornerback from San Diego (Calif.) University City has been committed to Arkansas since August 2023 so the Razorbacks are still in strong shape but a recent visit and offer from UCLA will be something to watch.
There is some chatter that the Bruins now look very strong for the Southern California standout and Lockett is expected to visit Oklahoma in early April.
A surprise visit to Sacramento State on Friday will not influence Lyons’ recruitment “at all” according to a source as the five-star quarterback from Folsom, Calif., will keep his focus on four programs: USC, Oregon, BYU and Michigan.
The Wolverines have actually surged in Lyons’ recruitment as the QB timeline works there after Lyons takes a one-year Mormon mission. During his brother’s recruitment (Walker Lyons plays at USC), the five-star liked Ann Arbor a lot.
Another visit to Miami went great as “it feels natural to be down there” and “it just feels like home” as the Hurricanes are out in front for the four-star running back from Boca Raton (Fla.) West Boca Raton.
The message from coach Mario Cristobal was that he wants Mallory to commit so he can be the face of the 2026 and build up the recruiting class. The word is Mallory is getting closer to decision time.
The four-star defensive end from Tupelo, Miss., committed to LSU at the Under Armour Game and then backed off that pledge only a month later. Ole Miss seemed to surge for the in-state standout but the word I’m getting is that LSU remains McCoy’s top team and he was back in Baton Rouge over the weekend while being in the area for a camp.
The team that’s surging is Florida as the Gators have “been on it” and showing McCoy tons of attention.
The four-star quarterback had been committed to West Virginia for nearly six months but when former coach Neal Brown got fired, McWhorter backed off his pledge. West Virginia was included in his new top seven – especially after coach Rich Rodriguez came back – but the word now is that as he focuses on his favorites, a visit back to Morgantown is not expected and he’s moved onto others.
Indiana, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Colorado, Auburn and Mississippi State are the front-runners and many believe the Hoosiers and the Bulldogs lead.
Landing a new offer from LSU was a “surreal feeling” and he “loved every second of it” as the three-star defensive end from Olympia Fields (Ill.) Rich Township has seen his recruitment absolutely take off recently.
Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama and Florida State are now reaching out as Ole Miss and Wisconsin have jumped out as the early front-runners.
Major visits to Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M are coming up for the 2027 four-star running back from Brandon, Miss. All those trips will be crucial as Robinson looks to find his college home but the word is that the Volunteers remain his early favorite.
The three-star offensive tackle from Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth missed a recent visit to Auburn but Shabazz has three standouts now in his recruitment.
This could end up being a battle between North Carolina and South Carolina but Ohio State rounds out the front-runners at this point.
The Nashville (Tenn.) Donelson Christian Academy four-star tight end has been committed to Tennessee since August but Sneed is taking a big round of visits as he hopes to see more tight end involvement in the passing game this season.
Sneed was recently at Louisville and liked how much the tight ends were used but no decisions will be made as UCLA, Colorado, Ole Miss, Tennessee, North Carolina and Miami will get trips. A visit to Florida State is also being considered.
Miami could have the lead in Stewart’s recruitment and the Hurricanes might be expanding it after a great visit to Coral Gables. From seeing how close everyone is on the team to sitting in meetings and seeing how the defense fits his style, Miami definitely looks strong.
Clemson, Vanderbilt, SMU, Michigan and Georgia are also major standouts for the four-star defensive back from College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy.
Things have been on the quieter side when it comes to Walker’s recruitment in recent months but the four-star running back from Peculiar (Mo.) Raymore-Peculiar has five visits planned and things should come more into focus by late June.
Walker will see Purdue, Kansas, Kansas State, Notre Dame and Nebraska and then get closer to a decision as the Jayhawks might have a slight edge.
There has been a ton of early chatter around Oregon when it comes to the favorite for Williams but after visiting USC in recent days the Trojans will be right there as well. The 2027 four-star safety from La Verne (Calif.) Damien had an “amazing visit” to USC where the coaching staff told him they want him to be their No. 1 guy in his class.
USC, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington are the early top teams.
Washington, Texas A&M, Georgia, Tennessee and many others are involved with the 2027 five-star cornerback, who also wants to play some receiver, but the word is that USC will be very tough to beat in his recruitment.
Williams knows the program well, there is a renewed focus on keeping top players home and Gardena (Calif.) Serra has been something of a feeder system to the Trojans over the years. A big visit is coming up to LSU this week that could change things, but watch for USC here.
