Recruiting Rumor Mill: Another busy weekend in the books
Another busy weekend of visits and rumors is behind us so it’s time for another Recruiting Rumor Mill. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney offers what he’s hearing here.
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Tennessee remains the team to beat for the 2025 receiver from Saraland, Ala., even after a recent visit to Ole Miss that impressed him. The Rebels have emerged more for Alfred following his trip to Oxford but the two sides are still building that relationship so the Vols are out front with South Carolina also involved for him.
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After a recent visit to Missouri, the 2025 safety from Helena, Ala., will be back soon as he loved the environment and called it “second to none.” Playing in the region could be a big draw to Alvis since Mississippi State and Georgia Tech are two other standouts but Penn State is definitely a top school as well as the Nittany Lions have had some success in the state of Alabama in recent years. Visits to Cincinnati and Duke should happen soon.
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After talking to a bunch of Texas commits at the Red River Rivalry, the Longhorns remain one of the major favorites for the 2025 three-star defensive tackle from Mansfield (Texas) Timberview but Oklahoma is absolutely right there as well. TCU, SMU, Alabama and Michigan would be four others to watch but this could end up being an Oklahoma/Texas battle.
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The 2026 five-star offensive tackle still has five or so schools that are “in the same spot for me” and so a clear front-runner has not emerged although the chatter is that Oklahoma is ahead of every other school. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Texas A&M are some others to watch and even after a visit to Missouri recently it still feels like the Tigers are among the second-tier of schools in his recruitment.
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The Ole Miss coaching staff is still going to make a big effort to flip Carter from Florida State and a recent visit to Oxford definitely went well especially the family feel inside the program. There is still a long way to go in Carter’s recruitment since he is a 2026 four-star athlete from Augusta (Ga.) Augusta Christian but he seems solid to the Seminoles. Two trips coming up are planned: When FSU plays Duke and Miami.
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Michigan offered in recent days and the word is the Wolverines move right to the top of the list for the 2025 three-star offensive tackle from Matawan, N.J. Georgia and Florida State are the two other programs to watch early on in Elijah’s recruitment as things have picked up a lot in recent months.
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The Columbia, Miss., athlete committed to South Alabama in late June but the chatter is that Fortenberry could reopen his recruitment soon especially after Ole Miss offered in recent days. The Rebels are definitely one to watch now and Fortenberry is also hearing from Arizona now as well and Washington State offered on Friday.
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After a four-month commitment to Virginia, Franklin backed off his pledge to the Cavaliers over the weekend but the chatter is that the three-star defensive back could end up staying in the ACC. Georgia Tech has made the biggest push to land the Marietta (Ga.) Kell standout and is now the main contender in his recruitment.
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The 2025 four-star defensive back had talks with coach Shane Beamer and assistants Torrian Gray and Sterling Lucas among others that really stood out during his weekend visit to Columbia. The Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass standout who backed off his Ohio State pledge in July felt like a “big priority” to the Gamecocks and the word was he could help early in his career in Columbia. As it stands now, USC has a slight lead over South Carolina but both are battling it out for him.
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The 2026 athlete who plays at Aledo, Texas is originally from Fort Worth and so TCU was the dream school growing up and the Horned Frogs should still be considered a serious contender in his recruitment. Things are blowing up early this season, though, with USC, Georgia and Oregon as the other three to watch. In recent days, Oklahoma and Texas have also offered to further muddle Guillory’s early recruitment.
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The message from the Florida State coaches was that they’re going to “do everything in their power to get me to become a Seminole,” and that definitely stood out to Henderson during his weekend trip to Tallahassee. The 2025 four-star running back from Elba, Ala., who’s putting up monster numbers in his junior season also loved how dominant FSU was on both sides of the ball. This is shaping up to be a battle between Auburn and the Seminoles with others involved as well.
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The star 2026 linebacker from Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s is not ready to commit anywhere yet but the word is after another visit to LSU that the Tigers are now the team to beat. Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and others are seriously involved with Jones but after a patient, steady recruitment, LSU is now the front-runner.
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The Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake offensive tackle remains committed to Troy but it will be severely tested in the coming months as other schools look to flip Steward, who recently visited Missouri and loved it. The environment and Missouri competing so well against LSU definitely stood out and the Tigers have already offered. Georgia Tech and UCF are two others to watch moving forward.
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Georgia, Arkansas, Oregon, Missouri and Wisconsin remain the schools making the biggest impression on the 2026 four-star running back from Peculiar (Mo.) Raymore-Peculiar and a recent visit to Missouri went well. He loved how hard the Tigers battled against LSU, he likes coach Eli Drinkwitz and sees the program moving in the right direction. Nebraska is a new program that really impressed him as well early in his recruitment.
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Alabama is trying to get the Notre Dame four-star linebacker commit out for a visit and Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco teammate Peyton Woodyard is committed to the Crimson Tide so he’s trying to convince Viliamu-Asa as well. The word is that the high four-star probably won’t take a trip to Tuscaloosa and is locked in with the Irish but it’s something to watch in the closing months here.
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Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State have been the four standouts for the 2025 high three-star offensive lineman from Phenix City (Ala.) Central but a new offer from Alabama “definitely changes some stuff up.” From what coach Nick Saban has done there to the fact he’s a double legacy and his dad played there, the Crimson Tide are absolutely one to watch in Waldrep’s recruitment now.
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The Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe three-star defensive end backed off his Arizona pledge in recent weeks and since that time UCLA, Oregon State and Washington have been the schools that have emerged the most in his recruitment. He was at the big Oregon/Washington matchup over the weekend as the Huskies are now the one to watch.
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Alabama was the dream school growing up and so a recent offer from the Crimson Tide was definitely a big deal but the chatter is that Florida State is “looking best” in Wynn’s recruitment right now. The 2025 defensive tackle from Greensboro (Ga.) Greene County was at FSU over the weekend and loved what defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins said about being a good teammate. The Seminoles have the edge here.