Recruiting Rumor Mill: Fast and furious weekend across the country
The flow of news is fast and furious with another busy week on the recruiting trail and major visits happening over the weekend. Here’s the latest in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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MORE: Auburn wins out for four-star RB J'Marion Burnette
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A new offer from Texas A&M is definitely going to stand out in Butler’s early recruitment especially after the 2025 linebacker had a great conversation with assistant coach DJ Durkin and the two are already developing a close bond. Butler also knows some other coaches there so the familiarity is already growing. But Tennessee is definitely a team to watch as the Jefferson, Ga., standout is headed back to Knoxville for the third time in early April and he’s going to visit Michigan this summer as well. Butler is also Sammy Brown’s teammate - who has Georgia and Clemson highest on his list - so that’s something else to watch.
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A new offer from Florida definitely has caught Charles’ attention as the Gators now join Miami, LSU and Florida State as the early front-runners for the 2025 receiver from Boynton Beach (Fla.) Somerset Academy. What’s interesting here is that Charles wants to play with 2026 receiver teammate Denairius Gray and while package deals don’t often stick, the feeling is this one will.
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The high three-star linebacker from Salem, Va., was surprised when he landed his newest offer from Georgia but the word is that coach Kirby Smart and co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann loved what they saw on film and in person. The Bulldogs are definitely going to be a major contender for so many reasons including that his visit was an “amazing experience” but visits to Tennessee, Miami, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon, Clemson, Maryland, Penn State, Stanford and USC are planned this spring so a decision could be way off.
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LSU and Ole Miss have the edge right now for the four-star defensive end from Little Rock (Ark.) Mills but some believe Arkansas is still very much in the picture for Collins’ signature. Something else to watch is that Collins and four-star athlete Courtney Crutchfield from Pine Bluff, Ark., are serious about playing together in college so that adds a little complexity to the decision-making process.
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The high four-star 2025 receiver from Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County visited Alabama in recent days, landed an offer from the Crimson Tide and was blown away by pretty much everything in Tuscaloosa from how many receivers they produce to how hard Alabama practices to the atmosphere to the graduation rate. The word, though, is after that visit Florida State still stands out most in his recruitment after a recent trip there and that could be huge news down the line for the Seminoles if they can stay atop his list.
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The 2025 four-star cornerback from Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass has been committed to Ohio State since late July but the Buckeyes are going to have significant pressure to keep Gilbert in that recruiting class. He wore Tennessee gloves at the OT7 Phoenix two weekends ago and the Vols are definitely a major contender with Georgia and now Alabama after the Crimson Tide offered in recent days. Getting complimented by coach Nick Saban was a huge part of his visit and Alabama is definitely in this now.
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After being committed to Duke for two months, Hejny backed off that pledge in recent days and he was at Oklahoma State and Houston over the weekend. But the rumor is that TCU is the team to watch for the three-star quarterback from Aledo, Texas and that the Horned Frogs could be sitting pretty right now.
“They’re up there,” a source said.
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The four-star safety from Rockledge, Fla., has been committed to Georgia since mid-January but the message from the Miami coaches when he visited late last week was that they respect his pledge but that they’re not going to stop recruiting him until he signs somewhere. Part of the message as well was that Heyward could bring back The U to what it once was as Michigan, Auburn, UCF, Oregon, Notre Dame and Penn State are also trying to flip him.
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A recent visit to Florida State where the high three-star Michigan State commit was decked out in FSU gear has definitely caught the attention of many but the word is that the Spartans still stand out “100 percent” in Howard’s recruitment. The Seminoles are among his top eight and Alabama should be a team to watch but a flip has not occurred after his visit to Tallahassee and that could be great news for the Spartans so far.
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The 2026 running back from Montgomery (Ala.) Trinity has a long time to go in his recruitment but a new offer from Alabama will definitely be one to watch as Jones’ recruitment continues. There is a significant SEC focus to his early recruitment, too, as the word is the offers in that conference stand out most with the Crimson Tide, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M leading the way.
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The Florida quarterback commit took another trip to Gainesville with the sole purpose of trying to convince five-star receiver Jeremiah Smith to join him in the Gators’ recruiting class. The pitch was the Smith could be the top dog from Day 1 and that Lagway and Smith could be “the nastiest tandem in college football,” which could be a compelling case for the Ohio State commit. Georgia is currently recruiting the five-star receiver the hardest along with the Buckeyes but Florida - and Lagway - has given him something new to consider.
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Former teammate Brandon Inniss is at Ohio State and Louis was there in the last couple days as the Buckeyes remain a major player in his recruitment along with USC, Penn State, Oklahoma, Georgia and Miami in no order. The four-star running back has nearly 30 offers but only had 55 carries last season as Miami signee Mark Fletcher was the main ball carrier at Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage. Teaming back up with Fletcher close to home is an option but so is Louis doing his own thing.
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A new offer from Alabama will be instrumental in Martin’s recruitment as it’s been his dream school growing up and after having an extensive conversation with position coach Holmon Wiggins, the Crimson Tide are now very much in the game. Alabama is definitely going to be a contender if it continues to pursue the Denton (Texas) Guyer three-star receiver but Arkansas, Houston, TCU, Tennessee, Boston College, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Purdue have also caught his attention. Upcoming visits should trim his list and get things more in focus.
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A new offer from LSU could be the one to beat now for the high three-star safety from Denham Springs, La., which is only 20 or so minutes away from the Tigers’ campus in Baton Rouge. LSU has “always been one of the schools on my list that I’ve been waiting for,” and now that it’s here, it could be tough for McBryde to turn down although he’s also very closely watching if Michigan and TCU come through with offers soon because those two programs definitely impress him as well.
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Miami, Oregon, TCU and BYU to an extent are the standout programs for the high three-star quarterback from Phoenix (Ariz.) Sunnyslope and Moga was back in Coral Gables this weekend. Arizona State might also be a team to watch here but the Hurricanes have definitely left a good impression - and he sees an opportunity there to get on the field early. Moga is also waiting on one unnamed SEC team to see how involved it’s going to get before he gets too serious about a commitment.
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It’s very early for the 2026 athlete from Texarkana (Texas) Liberty-Eylau but Texas A&M, USC and LSU have caught his attention the most and he’s close with Tigers commit Joseph Stone so that could be something to follow in the coming years. Arkansas is also going to be a contender and with a new Texas offer the Longhorns have entered the picture and could impress in the coming years.
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During his visit to Notre Dame, the 2025 four-star defensive end from Pittsboro (N.C.) Northwood landed an offer from the Irish and they immediately become a serious contender in Ritchey’s recruitment. What he liked most about the trip was at Notre Dame you can compete for national titles while also getting a great education and he loved seeing assistant coach Al Washington work with his position group. But another visit to NC State in recent days is big with Colorado, North Carolina and Clemson high on the list, too.
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A new offer from Notre Dame means a lot especially because he knows the offensive line tradition there and it was his grandfather’s favorite team so being able to honor him by playing for the Irish will be a consideration. Wisconsin and other Midwest programs are definitely in the running here but watch out for Florida and some SEC schools since the 2025 four-star from Waukesha (Wisc.) Catholic Memorial seems drawn to that conference.
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Auburn is “pretty high up there” with the high three-star offensive lineman from Purcellville (Va.) Loudon Valley after his visit in recent days and what stood out most to Wade is the love and passion the new coaching staff has for its players. That is going to play a significant factor as Wade works through his recruitment with Duke, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Maryland and Boston College also standing out as more visits are coming up soon.