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Recruiting Rumor Mill: Early returns from first June visits

Mykel Williams
Mykel Williams (Rivals.com)

National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney is back with his Recruiting Rumor Mill, with recruiting chatter and news from around the country as the first big weekend of official visits kicks off.

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Alston worked out at Florida earlier this week and the feeling from him is that the Gators want him badly at running back - especially after they saw him move in person. He ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and the chemistry between the four-star from College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy and position coach Greg Knox was second to none. Florida looks good in his recruitment but there are still a long list of favorites with Penn State, Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Auburn, North Carolina, Georgia and Northwestern the other favorites.

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Georgia is the newest offer for the 2024 running back from Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day and it’s a major one. The chatter is that the Bulldogs are the dream school for Carrie and that it’s a major deal that they offered. LSU also recently came through with an offer and the 2024 standout visited Florida in recent days as well but watch out for Georgia here.

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Florida is going to remain a top team for the 2023 receiver from North Richland Hills (Texas) Richland because he plays 7-on-7 with QB commit Nick Evers and that’s going to be important but even bigger is Cozart’s relationship with position coach Billy Gonzales. Cozart was absolutely blown away by the film session they did during his visit to Gainesville and as long as Gonzales is on staff there then the Gators will be a contender. Texas A&M offered Cozart on Thursday and the Aggies could move way up but first that bond between Cozart and WR coach Dameyune Craig gets kickstarted.


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The four-star athlete visited Florida earlier in the week and now the Gators are definitely a major contender in his recruitment. The Donalsonville (Ga.) Seminole County standout loved the people there and said “it truly felt like home,” which puts Florida high on the list. Florida State and Alabama were early favorites but the rumor is the Seminoles have not communicated as much and now Florida is very much in contention.

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If USC has a real shot at landing Daugherty it’s because the 2023 defensive back from Grayson, Ga., completely hit it off with assistant coach Donte Williams during a visit last week. Williams’ philosophy and how he teaches the position especially stood out to Daugherty, who has some Southeast standouts as well including Florida State, LSU, Georgia and others. But the Trojans will be a contender as long as Williams is on staff.

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The new 2023 four-star receiver from Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill had an excellent visit to Florida over the last few days and has other trips planned but the Gators definitely impressed him. His relationship with assistant coach Tim Brewster is definitely helping Florida be one of the front-runners. But Ole Miss should be watched here and could have the early edge. A two-sport standout, Davis has a great relationship with the Rebels’ basketball coaching staff and things are picking up with Lane Kiffin and his guys, too.


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What really struck a chord with Durant during his visit to Miami in recent days is the coaching staff was telling him how they’d use him in the defense and just their personalities and not trying to sell him on all the glitz and glamour of the program and the city. That actually helped Miami a lot with Durant but Indiana, Penn State and West Virginia also remain really high on the list.

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A standout 2023 offensive lineman, Green is going to take his time with his recruitment but a visit to Missouri’s Night At The Zou event went really well and the Tigers’ coaching staff - especially position coach Marcus Johnson - stood out most. National powers are going to be involved with the Lee’s Summit (Mo.) Lee’s Summit North standout but the relationships being built in Columbia will go a long way as Green also especially liked that the coaches knew his game well enough to give him pointers on how to get better.

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One of the top running backs nationally in the 2023 class is Haynes and he had a phenomenal visit to Clemson in recent days. The people there stood out most and the honesty of the coaches definitely left an impression. The words “felt like home” was used as the Tigers will definitely be in the mix. It’s still early for the Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity standout but Clemson, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Notre Dame, Stanford and Miami are coming the hardest.

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The four-star running back from Fort Worth (Texas) Timber Creek enjoyed the Missouri event over the last week and the offense could be a perfect fit for Megwa’s style so the Tigers will remain a major contender on his list. But Megwa has plenty of other favorites with Ohio State, Notre Dame, Washington and TCU standing out the most.

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The 2023 tight end enjoyed his visit to Missouri over the last few days and there were two things that specifically stood out: The coaches’ vision for winning an SEC championship and the brotherhood Norfleet saw among the coaches, recruits and the players in Columbia. That’s a big draw for the Saint Charles (Mo.) Francis Howell School and will be a major consideration as Norfleet works toward a decision. Tennessee, Washington and Florida State also stand out early on.

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The four-star defensive back from Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington was at the Night at the Zou earlier this week and what struck Williams the most is how much experience the Missouri coaches have on defense but how down-to-earth they are as well. That’s going to be a big selling point to Williams but the rumor is the Tigers are not yet in his top three. Oklahoma, USC and Florida are highest and then Arkansas and Missouri are pushing to get that high.

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Georgia is still a major contender for Williams but now Florida has entered the picture after a great visit to Gainesville, the five-star is going to visit USC and then Georgia Tech and Kentucky cannot be counted out now because he’s planning visits there as well. The Wildcats could be particularly interesting as the Columbus (Ga.) Hardaway standout has great connections with coach Mark Stoops and assistants Anwar Stewart and Jon Sumrall plus he is friends with everybody along the defensive line.

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The 2023 four-star linebacker from Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln visited Clemson in recent days and absolutely loved the P.A.W. program there plus all the other off-field opportunities he saw there. And now the rumor is Clemson is the program to beat in his recruitment right now. Many others are high on the list and with more than 20 offers there is lots of competition but Clemson is No. 1 right now.

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The 2023 four-star running back visited Georgia in recent days and loved the pitch from the coaching staff: That they wanted him to be the next superstar running back in the Bulldogs’ backfield. That’s going to go a long way with the Lehigh Acres (Fla.) Lehigh standout but the chatter is there is no clear front-runner yet especially with Ohio State and Alabama also pushing really hard for his services.

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