Recruiting Rumor Mill: Early start for 2024 defensive prospects

The 2024 watch list of the top 100 players in that class was released earlier this week. In this Recruiting Rumor Mill we lay out some news, rumors and chatter on prospects on the defensive side of the ball.

Note: Not all defensive players on the new 2024 watchlist responded for this story.

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The Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s cornerback was at Penn State’s Whiteout win over Auburn last weekend and the Nittany Lions have clearly made a big-time early impression on him. Agard is also high on Ohio State, Clemson and LSU at this point in his recruitment.

The Longhorns are the leader right now for the Aledo, Texas, cornerback because he’s often around the program and because his brother, Bryan Allen Jr., is a 2022 Texas commit. Once more schools get involved in his recruitment, things could pick up even more for Allen.

Ole Miss has been standing out the most to the LaGrange (Ga.) Troup County defensive end, and Georgia Tech has also offered. At a recent game against five-star Mykel Williams and Columbus (Ga.) Hardaway with Georgia and Alabama coaches in attendance, Birdsong totaled 14 tackles and two sacks, so those SEC schools could become more interested.

North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia Tech and NC State are the early frontrunners for the Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith cornerback. Brown was supposed to attend the Penn State Whiteout last weekend, but he needed treatment after his Friday game so he didn’t make to Happy Valley.

Brown has said there are no early favorites yet, but many believe Georgia is going to be a top school throughout his recruitment. With his location and how close he is to Athens, plus seeing the outstanding defense the Bulldogs have this season, it makes sense that Georgia will play a big role. Brown also visited Ole Miss this past weekend.

USC and Alabama are the two schools where the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei defensive back could see himself playing, but many more offers are expected through his sophomore season. Once the Trojans hire a new coaching staff, Brown’s recruitment could take shape even more.

Florida and Miami are battling it out as the top two for the Miami Columbus defensive end. UCF and Ole Miss have also offered, but the Gators and the local Hurricanes have made the biggest impressions so far.

Cunningham is already close to 30 offers, so the defensive end from Johns Creek, Ga., is not running a list of frontrunners, but three schools that have captured his attention early are Clemson, Georgia and Florida State.

Michigan is definitely one to watch early on for the West Bloomfield, Mich., defensive lineman who is listed as an athlete as well, but Penn State, Ole Miss and West Virginia are three other standouts early on as well.

When the Mission Hills (Calif.) Alemany cornerback visited Texas A&M he was “treated like a king,” so the Aggies, along with Michigan State and Alabama stand out. Closer to home, Oregon will always be toward the top of his list, and his brother, Armond, is on staff at USC, so he’s closely watching that coaching situation play out.

The Texas A&M defense definitely has Edwards’ early attention and he loved his campus visit. Trips to Arkansas and possibly other schools that have offered could happen this season, but he’s definitely heading to Fayetteville later this season and is trying to get to Georgia Tech as well. Edwards is still trying to figure out whether he wants to stay closer to home or leave the state for college. Right now, he’s leaning toward heading out, but that could change.

Florida, UCF and Georgia Tech are the three standout schools right now for the Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day standout, and he’s also taking a close look at Pitt and Penn State early in his recruitment.

Since Georgia Tech offered the Lawrenceville (Ga.) Mountain View defensive end, Greene has felt the Yellow Jackets definitely want him. Upcoming trips to Notre Dame and Mississippi State are happening, and new interest is coming in from Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida State and Auburn.

Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, LSU, Texas A&M and Arkansas are all standouts, so it’s still a pretty extensive list for the Lewisville, Texas, cornerback as things pick up even more in his recruitment.

Florida State, Iowa and Miami are the three early standouts for the Largo, Fla., linebacker, but a new offer from Ohio State could definitely make things much more interesting. Hayes is looking forward to offers from Florida, Alabama and LSU.

Georgia, Georgia Tech, Michigan and UCF are the schools that have made the biggest impression on Henderson so far, but the Leeds, Ala., defensive end is building relationships with Florida State, Auburn and Alabama as well.

Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State have all made an impression on Hines, and it’s too early for him to name any favorites. Notre Dame has invited him to a game and the College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy linebacker hopes to hear from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Stanford and others.

Michigan, Ole Miss, Penn State, Liberty and West Virginia are the five programs standing out most to the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy linebacker. The Wolverines are considered a frontrunner since Jackson is originally from West Bloomfield, Mich.

The Fort Worth (Texas) Brewer cornerback is not ready to name any favorites yet, but his recruitment could take more shape after some upcoming visits. Johnson-Rubell is looking to visit TCU and Texas A&M soon and is hopeful he can get to Alabama and Georgia as well.

Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Baylor and Notre Dame are the five early frontrunners for the DeSoto, Texas, defensive end, which represent most of his early Power Five offers. Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Utah and others are also involved.

The schools that stand out most in Obidegwu’s recruitment are Virginia Tech and Maryland, with Boston College, Colorado, Penn State, South Carolina and others involved for the Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances cornerback.

Florida State is definitely a big-time player early on for Patterson, and Miami, Michigan and others stand out to the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna athlete who projects as a safety at the next level.

Texas, LSU, USC, Notre Dame and Oregon are the five early favorites for the Long Beach (Calif.) Millikan athlete. He saw Texas this summer and is planning to return for a game. USC is close to home and has always been closely watched. He’s headed to Notre Dame for its games against the Trojans, while he has family in Louisiana and his uncle played at Oregon, so the Ducks will be high.

The Florida State athlete commit from Blountstown, Fla., said the Seminoles continue to have his pledge but Florida, Penn State, Ole Miss and Auburn continue to reach out. Pride has been committed to FSU since July.

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Penn State is going to play a big role in the recruitment of Robinson, who plays at New Rochelle (N.Y.) Iona Prep but is originally from New Haven, Conn. Ohio State is definitely another big one and Robinson hopes to hear more from LSU, Florida State, Arizona State and USC.

The Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe outside linebacker/defensive end had an outstanding visit recently to Notre Dame, but Rushing said it’s way too early to narrow down anything in his recruitment. Rushing is expected to visit Arizona soon.

Arkansas has had a “big impact” in Sims’ recruitment, since the Razorbacks were the first to offer and he’s keeping a very close eye on their game this weekend against Texas A&M in Dallas. He visited TCU a couple weeks ago for a game and then Notre Dame, Clemson and Texas are three other schools showing early interest in the Denison, Texas, defensive end.

The LSU offer is big for the Many, La., athlete, and the Tigers could be tough to beat even though it’s still early in Singleton’s recruitment. Mississippi State has also offered, but LSU is the team to watch throughout for Singleton.

Virginia is the favorite “by far” for the Windsor (Conn.) Loomis Chaffee defensive end and one main reason is because of his excellent relationship with assistant coach Garett Tujague. Coach Bronco Mendehall also stands out to Smith, who said Rutgers, Kentucky and Tennessee have also made good early impressions.

Wisconsin is an early standout for Stone, who called it a “home away from home,” and the similarities to his own program at Del City, Okla., definitely left a good impression. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are going to play big roles in his thinking, and Texas A&M is another program that’s going to stay high on his list. Stone would like to hear more from LSU, Oregon, Ohio State and Alabama.

Recruiting is just getting started for the Allen, Texas, defensive end, but so far LSU and Florida have made the biggest impression on the 6-foot-4, 209-pound prospect. Umeozulu also really likes USC as well, and he has significant interest in the Trojans.

USC, Oregon, Ohio State and LSU are the four early standouts out of a dozen or so offers for the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco linebacker who has been sidelined so far through his sophomore season with a knee injury.

Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M are the three SEC programs that stand out most to the Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County defensive tackle. White loved his summer visit to work out in College Station, and he has a lot of connections to UGA since his sister attends school there and it was his dream school growing up.

Oregon, Boston College, Ohio State and USC are the schools that have left the biggest impression on the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco cornerback who has one brother, Max, at USC and another brother, Macen, at Arizona State.

Arkansas, Ole Miss and Baylor are the three schools that stand out most to the Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek safety, but Williams is also interested in a good amount of other schools with Texas A&M, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas and LSU leading the way.