Recruiting Rumor Mill: Another busy weekend in the books
We’re in the heart of the college football season and there is tons of news and rumors floating around as another busy weekend is in the books. Here’s the latest in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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After being committed to Oregon State for nearly three months, the three-star offensive lineman from West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade backed off his pledge to the Beavers in recent days. Kansas is “pushing hard now” for Abajian but Cal has also been very involved in his recruitment for months. Those would be the two to watch at this point although others could easily get involved.
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A Notre Dame legacy whose father was a Super Bowl champion and one of the best NFL running backs ever, the Irish are going to be very tough to beat in Bettis’ recruitment. The rumor was that after the Notre Dame/Ohio State game that the 2025 three-star receiver from College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy could have made a pledge to the Irish. That didn’t happen but it might only be a matter of time.
“The message they sent to us as the recruits was that by choosing Notre Dame, we’re choosing hard,” Bettis said. “There are a lot of other options that are a lot easier but they won’t put us in the same position to be successful.”
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Notre Dame is one of the top programs for the 2025 four-star defensive end from Chicago (Ill.) Simeon and that was only reinforced during a recent visit. But Burgess still has other trips to take and no decision will be made until his mother can see all the schools and sign off on one. She was in South Bend with him recently and so the Irish should definitely be watched as a main contender early on. Notre Dame looks strong but Burgess was at Colorado over the weekend so the Buffaloes have to be watched early as well - especially if things continue going well there. His mom will be a helpful decision-maker, too, and she wasn’t in Boulder over the weekend.
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The former five-star receiver chose Texas A&M out of Houston (Texas) Tomball but after getting dismissed from the team for off-field issues, Demas has landed at Garden City (Kan.) Garden City CC and he’s the leading receiver on the team. Looking for a fresh start, Demas is hearing from Louisville, Purdue, Louisiana Tech, Texas State and Toledo so far and he plans to take all his visits after his JUCO season.
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Michigan State could be slipping in Gach’s recruitment considering the coaching upheaval surrounding Mel Tucker’s ouster as others continue to be seriously involved. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia and USC would be that top group. The Nittany Lions definitely helped themselves since Gach visited there recently as it was made clear to the 2025 four-star offensive tackle from Beverly Hills (Mich.) Groves that he’s a “huge priority” to the program.
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Notre Dame is going to remain a top school for the 2026 four-star quarterback from Lake Mary, Fla., but others are making an impression as well with Miami, Michigan, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, UCF and Penn State high on the list. A recent trip to South Bend definitely left a major impression as the message from coach Marcus Freeman was one of thanks and then he told Grubbs he wants to find a way to “make you stay here.” It left a major impression on Grubbs early in his recruitment.
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Auburn continues to “definitely” recruit the 2025 four-star from Elba, Ala., the hardest and the Tigers remain in the best position to land the prolific running back. On Saturday, Henderson met with a lot of alumni and commits and the message from coach Hugh Freeze is that there’s no turning around now and that the standards are set high. Auburn still looks strong to eventually land Henderson’s pledge with Georgia and others also in the mix.
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The three-star offensive guard from Warner Robins (Ga.) Houston County has been committed to Stanford since late June but House was back at Auburn this past weekend and the Tigers should be watched in his recruitment. House loved the atmosphere and the energy inside Jordan-Hare Stadium and the message was that Auburn wants to flip him.
“I’m considering them again,” House said.
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USC, Oregon and Ohio State remain the front-runners for the 2025 high four-star safety from Pittsburg, Calif., and a recent visit to Eugene went great especially as the coaching staff talked up how they’d use him in the defense. But more teams are being added to the top list as well for Hudson as Washington, Tennessee and Penn State have now made major impressions as well.
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Alabama is going to remain high for the star 2026 linebacker along with Georgia and Auburn but LSU continues to gain real steam in his early recruitment. The Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s standout was recently in Baton Rouge and loved the experience there as the LSU coaching staff is picking it up a lot with him. The Crimson Tide are still the team with the edge but LSU is closing fast.
“I couldn’t even hear because of how loud it was,” Jones said after his LSU trip.
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Arizona, USC and Washington make up the early top three for the 2025 four-star cornerback from Mission Viejo, Calif., and the Trojans could hold a significant edge here as position coach Donte Williams has made him a top priority. Georgia is starting to make a push for Lee, who wants to visit Athens this season, and then Auburn and Ohio State have been aggressive in reaching out recently as well.
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Miami and Penn State are two other teams to watch but the recruitment of Lockhart could come down to USC and Oregon battling it out until the end. The star 2026 cornerback from Los Angeles (Calif.) Loyola has a ton of interest in the Trojans for numerous reasons but a visit back up to Oregon recently definitely left a major impression as well. Every coach knew who he was and preached about the impact he could have on the Oregon program.
“They have something special there,” Lockhart said. “The coaches showed me a ton of love.”
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Ohio State is going to be a contender for the former Notre Dame commit and Oklahoma could be very difficult to beat in the end but Penn State is becoming a serious contender here as well. The Washington, Okla., 2025 four-star tight end was recently in Happy Valley and his relationships with coach James Franklin and position coach Ty Howle are some of the best in his recruitment. Roberts also loves how the Nittany Lions develop players at tight end and that could go a long way in his decision.
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Robinson was at Kentucky over the weekend and now plans to make his commitment on Wednesday as the Wildcats are definitely one of the top contenders. It was a good weekend for the four-star linebacker from Westerville (Ohio) Westerville North to be in Lexington because the defense turned in such a dominant performance. While they were pushing for a commitment later in the week, the Kentucky coaches were supportive and wanted Robinson to make the best decision for himself, too.
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Oklahoma, Arizona and Utah are the three programs to watch for the 6-foot-7 offensive tackle from San Francisco (Calif.) Riordan after he decommitted from San Jose State in recent days. Another program that could get involved soon is Michigan and that could definitely be a game-changer but Ta’aga and those close to him are still waiting to hear more from the Wolverines.
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An Auburn commitment since February, the four-star quarterback from Little Rock (Ark.) Little Rock Christian isn’t looking at other schools - he has his sights set on adding two major pieces to the Tigers’ recruiting class. The top-two targets for White, the ones he’s mainly focused on, are former Georgia WR commit Ny Carr, who’s also looking at Miami and others, and White wants to flip Cam Coleman from Texas A&M. Auburn finished in second place for Coleman and White thinks he can get both done in time.
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After taking his first visit to Alabama and landing an offer from the Crimson Tide, Wynn is “not committing” yet but the Crimson Tide have moved way up in his recruitment and it might only be a matter of time until a decision is made. Georgia, Auburn and others will be squarely in the mix for the 2025 defensive tackle from Greensboro (Ga.) Greene County but Alabama was the dream school growing up.