Recruiting Rumor Mill: Football season is right around the corner
The season is about to get started all over the country but there is still tons of recruiting news and rumors going around. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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The Penn State campus really stood out to the 2025 high three-star defensive tackle from Mansfield (Texas) Timberview but what made a bigger impression was that the coaches made it clear they’re making him a major priority.
That was big for Battle as the Nittany Lions are definitely an early team to watch with Texas and Oregon as the two other standouts.
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Alabama looks to be the front-runner in Edwin’s recruitment especially after a summer visit to Tuscaloosa where “everything was impressive” as the coaching staff stood out most to the McDonough (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian three-star offensive lineman. The “honesty” and “family values” within the program made a huge impression on Edwin.
Florida and others could make a push, but Alabama “checks a lot of boxes” for Edwin at this point.
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As the summer winds down for one of the top offensive line prospects in the 2025 class, four programs are standing out most to Fasusi: Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon and Florida.
The Sooners could hold the slight edge over Texas right now for the Lewisville, Texas, standout mainly because of his relationship with position coach Bill Bedenbaugh but it’s close.
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The energy at Wisconsin really stood out to the 2025 high three-star receiver from West Bloomfield, Mich., and the message from coach Luke Fickell and position coach Mike Brown was that Flowers would be the “perfect match” in the Badgers’ new passing offense.
Michigan State and Arizona State have held an edge in his recruitment but Wisconsin looks to be a major player now as well.
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A recent visit to Purdue definitely left an impression on the former LSU commit especially with how the new coaching staff will run its offense and the fact that they told him he’s their No. 1 target right now at tight end. That could be big for the new Pickerington (Ohio) Pickerington Central standout.
LSU, UCF, Miami, Colorado, Auburn, Houston and Arkansas are other standouts but now there is another key player: Utah. The Utes have made a big move here recently and if there could be some follow-through then Utah will definitely be a major one to watch.
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Having coach Brent Venables at Oklahoma has definitely pushed the Sooners way up Granville’s list since the two hit it off during a recent visit so OU will definitely be a major contender moving forward for the 2025 four-star defensive end.
The Sugar Land (Texas) Fort Bend Christian standout also likes SMU and Baylor a ton with Texas A&M and Kansas as two other programs to watch.
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Auburn is going to be a major contender for the 2026 defensive end from Huntsville (Ala.) Jemison and might already be the team to beat as “everything” stood out during a recent visit there. Harris loved the coaches, hanging out with the current commits and the message from the staff was that he’s the No. 1 target in the 2026 class.
Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida State are the other standouts.
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Ole Miss is absolutely going to be a tough team to beat in Jones’ recruitment especially after a recent visit there as the 2025 tight end from Madison (Miss.) Central loved the family-oriented environment and the support staff around the program.
The Rebels are the team to watch right now with Louisville, Mississippi State, LSU, Florida and Florida State also involved as Jones’ recruitment could pick up a lot this season.
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Laudenslager, who lives in Harrisburg, Pa., but goes to school at Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh, only visited Penn State and Pitt this summer because those schools are close to home and he could make day trips out of them. Those two should definitely be watched for the 2025 three-star athlete but Laudenslager is ramping up his visit schedule for the fall.
He has his eye on Wisconsin and Tennessee since both of those programs have been recruiting him hard.
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A top eight has come out for the 2025 high three-star athlete from Atco (N.J.) Winslow Township but the word is Penn State, Michigan, Syracuse, Rutgers and Wisconsin could be the top teams in his recruitment and the Nittany Lions should be watched.
His coach is former PSU player Bill Belton and a recent visit to Happy Valley definitely played a big role especially when he sat in the defensive back meetings and got to see how things operate there.
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There have been a lot of rumors recently that the 2025 Georgia linebacker commit is nearing a flip to Florida State but the feeling now is that Perlotte is going to take his time and go through the recruiting process slowly. The Buford, Ga., standout remains pledged to the Bulldogs and does have interest in Florida State but is also going to re-evaluate Alabama, Ohio State and others.
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The rumor is Texas is way out in front for Rink but a recent visit to Oklahoma definitely has him thinking about the Sooners especially since he saw everyone as a “big family” in Norman. OU's coaches made it clear he’s a top target who could thrive in that defense.
Texas is “one of my top schools” but Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Oregon are some other favorites for the 2025 four-star defensive end from Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair.
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Wisconsin has to be considered a top team for the Wautoma, Wis., 2025 offensive tackle but Indiana, Minnesota and Notre Dame are also going to be heavily considered by the 6-foot-7, 290-pound prospect.
A recent visit to Madison did go really well as the coaching staff “made it obvious” that Roeske is a top target in the 2025 class and the in-state recruit is definitely excited to see how the new coaching staff operates there.
“They’re going to be a top team very soon,” Roeske said.
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The 2026 quarterback from Manvel, Texas, has made the rounds this summer and saw schools all across the country as Seymour gets a jumpstart on his recruitment. Florida, Florida State and UTSA were the standout stops for the 6-foot-5 quarterback.
Working with coach Mike Norvell and especially position coach Tony Tokarz in Tallahassee stood out a whole lot.
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Arkansas, Texas Tech and Tennessee are three other programs Shieldnight is strongly considering but it sure sounds like Oklahoma might be tough to beat for him for two reasons.
The 2025 three-star defensive end from Wagoner, Okla., really hit it off with coach Brent Venables and called him an “amazing guy that is truly about what he said,” and Shieldnight loves working with position coach Miguel Chavis.
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The 2025 safety from Lakeland, Fla., committed to South Florida early in August but since then Young’s recruitment has completely taken off and it will be something to watch. USC offered only three days after his commitment to the Bulls and the Trojans will be a major contender here along with Oregon. Those two power programs will continue to pursue Young among others as he gets settled into his USF commitment.