Recruiting Rumor Mill: Focus shifts to February for 2022 class
The first National Signing Day is over but there are still tons of recruiting rumors heading into the holidays and February. We take a look right here.
MORE NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: Five surprises | Five disappointments | Winners and losers | The Gorney awards | Travis Hunter spurns Florida State, signs with Jackson State | Breaking down team rankings | Where will Deion's next job be? | How teams announced their signees | Top 10 storylines of Late Signing Period | Ten best still available | NSD Blog | Ten biggest flips of NSD | Top Group of Five signees
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MORE: Five-star Tetairoa McMillan flips from Oregon to Arizona
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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The feeling on Campbell is that Texas is still the front-runner but there is some confusion as to why he didn’t just sign with the Longhorns if they’re really the team to beat. Oklahoma is in his top two and new coach Brent Venables and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh will try to get him to take another visit there. If that happens, then the Sooners could be an even bigger player but Texas still has the edge.
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Texas A&M already had the edge in Perkins’ recruitment and the Aggies could have further solidified the five-star linebacker after LSU decided to not retain position coach Blake Baker in recent days. LSU, Texas and Texas A&M are the three favorites and Perkins has talked about dreaming of playing in Baton Rouge every time he’s driven through there to see family in Louisiana but Texas A&M is absolutely the top program right now.
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Texas A&M is going to continue making a serious run at the five-star safety from Ponchatoula, La., but this might come down to a numbers crunch as the Aggies continue to load up with elite talent. There’s no doubt A&M would try to figure out a way to get him onboard if Mathews is serious about it but re-committing to LSU looks like the most reasonable expectation here. He will have ample time to get to know the new coaching staff in Baton Rouge before his decision.
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Texas A&M is “way ahead” for the high four-star defensive end according to a source but Georgia is trying to get a visit which has the possibility of swaying him to the Bulldogs. Miami is in his top three as well and coach Mario Cristobal could pull off a huge surprise especially if he builds a quick relationship through January and Stewart gets the itch to stay closer to home but the Aggies look like the main player here.
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Heading into the Early Signing Period, Greene was going back-and-forth between Alabama and Georgia with Texas and Ohio State also under serious consideration. But this was a battle of SEC powers and it felt like for a few weeks that the Crimson Tide took the lead. But when it came down to it, Georgia recruited Greene earlier, they could give him a shot to play offensive tackle, his heart was with the Bulldogs and it looks like they now hold the lead as Greene plans to announce at the all-star events.
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After being committed to Notre Dame since August, Williams backed off his pledge after taking visits to USC on back-to-back weekends. The Trojans and UCLA are now his favorites and he will announce at the All-American Bowl. The four-star was not thrilled that USC coach Lincoln Riley didn’t recruit him all that hard when Riley was at Oklahoma but it’s still believe both sides worked that out and the Trojans are now the heavy favorite.
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There are still a lot of moving pieces in Conerly’s recruitment but one mainstay: Michigan thoroughly impressed him during his visit in the fall so much so that it felt like the Wolverines were about to get his commitment. They didn’t but Michigan is still right there. The team to watch is Washington since he grew up a fan and that new coaching staff will make him a major priority. The same goes for the new staff at Oregon and at USC.
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Auburn and Florida have made a run at the Lake Charles (La.) Lake Charles College Prep standout but the feeling now is that LSU loops him back into the recruiting class. Citizen was committed to the Tigers from July to late November but reopened things with the coaching change in Baton Rouge. He’s still a top target for LSU and looks like he could end up there again.
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Florida State has been involved with Coleman the longest and continues to come after him but a late visit to Miami now with coach Mario Cristobal there does make things a whole lot more interesting. USC should absolutely not be counted out either at this point. The Seminoles have to like that they’ve built the strongest relationship with Coleman but a surprise pick wouldn’t be the most shocking thing here so Miami and USC are also in play.
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Georgia is believed to be the favorite - maybe the big favorite - but the four-star defensive tackle from Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove does have a flair for the dramatic so making everyone wait a little while longer is expected. Ohio State is still battling and the Buckeyes can never be counted out but if he ended up there it would be a big surprise especially with friend Mykel Williams in Georgia’s class as well.
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It was noticed that during his state championship game Abor wore Texas gloves. It might be a sign that the Longhorns have made a bigger impression on him and they’re moving up. But probably not. Ohio State is still seen as the team to beat for the four-star defensive end from Duncancille, Texas. That could change if he didn’t sign in the early period and Texas could become a bigger player but that was not the case in just the last few weeks.
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Many believed Hinzman would have reached a decision by this point as he was struggling mightily between Ohio State and Wisconsin but the Early Signing Period came and went without a decision. The rumor is that the Buckeyes hold a slight edge in his recruitment but there is this constant back-and-forth and there won’t be a final decision just yet.
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Clemson, Florida and LSU are the three finalists for the four-star all-purpose back from Jennings, La. From there, it gets a little more complicated. Etienne has partnered with HUMBL, a blockchain company, and now alumni and fans of those three programs will have the opportunity to pick which uniform combination best fits Etienne and purchase NFTs. Etienne’s recruitment could be making NIL implications even more interesting.
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The situation with Moss is definitely interesting because it looked like Oregon was the front-runner before Mario Cristobal left but then when Cristobal left for Miami, Moss loved it there and now the Hurricanes are under serious consideration. The rumor here, though, is that someone is going around saying Moss to USC is the most likely outcome in his recruitment as the Trojans re-entered the race following Lincoln Riley’s hiring. Teammate and four-star safety Zion Branch recently committed to USC as well.
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Last weekend, Tashard Choice was selling USC’s vision for him while the four-star running back was on campus. Just days later, Choice left the Trojans to join Texas’ coaching staff. USC remains a serious contender for the Las Vegas (Nev.) Desert Pines standout but Oklahoma has always been a major contender for Barnes and his relationship with DeMarco Murray cannot be understated. Florida State also remains in the picture.
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Georgia, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, LSU and Ohio State are the five top programs for Kanu and many believe the Buckeyes are definitely the favorite. Oklahoma should not be counted out, either, especially with new coach Brent Venables now involved. Geography is not a big deal to Kanu, who is originally from Germany and so he can play anywhere. USC is also looking to make a late push with coach Lincoln Riley in charge so the Trojans should be watched in these closing weeks, too.
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The four-star linebacker had been committed to Oregon since June and he had a strong relationship with then-position coach Ken Wilson but he’s taken the head coaching job at Nevada so the Ducks are in a very tough spot now. Texas, Florida and Clemson are the schools to watch moving into the late period and now staying in the Southeast wouldn’t be a major surprise.
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Unless there is a surprise addition from the transfer portal, it’s expected that Bryant-James signs with Georgia although he didn’t in the early period even though he’s been committed since March. The Bulldogs are still in the best shape but the Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland standout did pick Georgia over Tennessee and Oklahoma and so others could be trying to stay involved late.