Recruiting Rumor Mill: Activity continues over holiday weekend

It was Easter weekend but there were still a lot of important spring games and visits taking place. Here is all the latest news and rumors Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill:

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Another week, another major offer for the standout offensive lineman from New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine as Adams landed an offer from Georgia on his weekend visit. Adams loved how the entire program operates and he especially liked seeing how the Georgia players carry themselves. The word is that Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M and if Alabama offers would battle it out for his services but don’t count out Michigan, Penn State and Ole Miss yet, either.

Ohio State will definitely be in Bolden’s top three when he’s ready to release it after an excellent visit to Columbus this past weekend. The coaches, how he interacts with them and how they see him utilized on the field stand out so much about the Buckeyes. Alabama and Georgia could also be very high up there along with Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Florida State and Notre Dame.

Arkansas is “easily the front-runner” for the four-star offensive tackle from Paris (Tenn.) Henry County and the Razorbacks could be really tough to beat. Commitment coming? That’s certainly possible because Brown had a fantastic visit to Fayetteville and really hit it off even more with coach Sam Pittman and position coach Cody Kennedy.

“(They) are making the place an offensive lineman’s dream,” Brown said.

Collins entered the Rivals Combine Series in Dallas two weekends ago with no Power Five offers and in recent days the great-looking 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end from Pine Bluff, Ark., landed an offer from Arkansas. The Razorbacks definitely jump way up in his recruitment and could be tough to beat but Collins isn’t jumping the gun yet especially since Baylor, Memphis, Ole Miss, Kentucky and LSU have all reached out now as well.

Ohio State is the front-runner for the 2024 four-star receiver from Philadelphia (Pa.) Roman Catholic after his weekend trip there. What especially stood out were his conversations with coach Ryan Day and position coach Brian Hartline about how they see him in the Buckeyes’ offense. Denmark has to return to Penn State and go to Alabama, Notre Dame and Oregon but the bar right now is beating Ohio State.

A Texas A&M commitment since February 2021, James was at Miami over the weekend and loved how hard the Hurricanes competed and the new staff’s attention to detail. James wouldn’t describe coach Mario Cristobal’s efforts trying to flip him but they made it clear they’d love to have him in the class. It is intriguing since he’s known Cristobal and many of those coaches for a couple years dating back to their time at Oregon. The Flint, Mich., native is also looking at Michigan and others but will sit down and weigh all options with his family before making a snap decision.

“I’m not looking to make any change right now,” James said.

After visiting Texas this weekend and enjoying his time but not getting offered, a Big Ten program could be emerging as the front-runner for the four-star receiver from Newport, Ark. Kendall is working on a visit to Indiana as he gets to know new receivers coach Adam Henry. Tom Allen has been involved here and the Hoosiers are looking strong right now.

“Everything” stood out to the three-star defensive tackle from Pinson (Ala.) Pinson Valley during his time at South Carolina over the weekend but what made the biggest impression is how he continued to build his relationship with assistant coaches Jimmy Lindsey and Jody Wright. The Gamecocks are definitely the front-runner right now, a top schools list could be coming soon and Knight would like to be committed by the end of July.

The top 2024 quarterback has made the rounds this offseason and this past weekend he was at Alabama, an “amazing” visit and it’s expected he will be back in Tuscaloosa for a game this season. Lagway was also recently at Clemson and things went really well there, he loved the realness of the coaching staff and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter is expected to see him throw this spring. That’s when the Tigers could offer. A recent trip to Oklahoma did not garner an offer as offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby also wants to see Lagway throw. Along with Alabama, SEC powers LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M have also left a huge impression.

Florida has at least pulled even with Alabama at the top for the five-star cornerback from Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson which is a big move up for the Gators in recent days as it looked like they could be running third in McClain’s recruitment. Getting back on campus this weekend, his growing relationship with position coach Corey Raymond and the idea of playing up the road are all playing factors but the Crimson Tide remain right there. McClain didn’t take an expected Ohio State visit recently so if that gets rescheduled watch out but right now it’s the two SEC teams up top.

A recent visit to Texas A&M really stood out to Muhammad as the pitch from the coaching staff was they needed to keep him in the state and the four-star cornerback definitely embraced that message plus he loved seeing the loaded Aggies defensive line work. This past weekend he was at Alabama and the Crimson Tide also blew him away as those two SEC schools could now be battling it out at the top. Florida, Michigan and Miami are some other standouts.

Last recruiting cycle, Michigan State went to Arizona for two commitments including offensive lineman Gavin Broscious and the Spartans are back, making a run at Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle standout Elijah Paige. His weekend trip to East Lansing went great as his relationship with position coach Chris Kapilovic was taken to another level along with coach Mel Tucker. USC, UCLA, Michigan State and Notre Dame are the four standouts right now. He visits UCLA in early May but the trip to East Lansing made up ground.

“It was a great trip,” Paige said.

Oregon, Iowa State, USC, Colorado, Cal and Washington are the standouts for the three-star linebacker from Englewood (Colo.) Cherry Creek but it’s the Ducks and Cyclones who could have the edge. Purchase was in Ames over the weekend and his talk with coach Matt Campbell especially stood out as Iowa State’s coach laid out how much the program thinks of Purchase as a person and a player. He will be at Oregon this weekend to balance out both visits.

Ohio State is “definitely a standout” and could be the leader for the three-star linebacker from Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville but others are still in the running. The Buckeyes left a big impression this weekend though especially because it was the first time Reese’s mom joined him on a trip to Columbus and the love they showed her was off the charts to him.

“They showered her with so much love it made me happy knowing she enjoyed her time,” Reese said.

He’s a 2026 recruit so anything could happen but Georgia definitely has made a huge impression on the Reserve (La.) East St. John standout and if there could be a leader this early it would be the Bulldogs. Stewart loves position coach Tray Scott, called him one of the best defensive line coaches you can ever meet and said he’s “like your dad outside football.” Stewart also got to see friend Shone Washington in action and meet Travon Walker, who said he’s going to see Stewart down the line. Many others will be involved but Georgia looks great early.

An early Baylor commit who backed off that pledge in March, Turner was at Oklahoma this past weekend and loved every part of it especially the people from the players to the recruiting staff all the way to coach Brent Venables. He hit it off with Dillon Gabriel, Billy Bowman and Key Lawrence as the Sooners are a front-runner along with Texas and Utah.

“They’re genuine people, no BS, no gimmicks,” Turner said.

Virginia, Penn State, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Ohio State are the standouts for the 2024 three-star receiver from King George, Va., and a trip to Columbus over the weekend really helped out the Buckeyes. There could be a long way to go in White’s recruitment but if position coach Brian Hartline remains at Ohio State when White is ready to decide the Buckeyes could have the edge.

“He is the best wide receiver coach in the country,” White said.

Auburn and Minnesota are the top two schools for the standout edge rusher from Zachary, La., as the Tigers made a big impression over the weekend especially because Williams likes their style of defense so much. Minnesota is a surprise top team for a kid from the Baton Rouge suburbs but he has an outstanding relationship with position coach Brick Haley and that could go a long way in his decision-making process.