Recruiting Rumor Mill: Junior Days kick off across the country
This was the first weekend for junior days across the country for the 2025 class and a lot of top prospects were on the road. Here’s what Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing in this Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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The message from the Kansas coaching staff was a compelling one: That Babalola can stay home and make a difference in Lawrence and that the staff is there for the long haul, that they’re not just talking about it but they’re doing it as the Jayhawks become a contender in the Big 12. Kansas is one of the top programs for the Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest four-star offensive tackle with Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Penn State and Texas A&M also high on the list. He visits the Vols in early February.
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Meeting new defensive line coach Gerald Chatman was a major deal for Carter as now Florida is “very high” in his recruitment although others are seriously pursuing the Newberry, Fla., defensive tackle. Miami, Penn State, Notre Dame, UCF, Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas A&M and USC are also under consideration but the Gators look to have the edge.
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Cordova had “one of my best” visits to Texas A&M over the weekend as he found the new coaching staff very professional and full of energy and their message was that College Station will be the place to be as long as coach Mike Elko is there. The Aggies are definitely one of the front-runners for the high three-star defensive end from Austin (Texas) Lake Travis with Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas and TCU high on the list.
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Georgia is now emerging as another main contender for Gilbert after his weekend visit to Athens. The four-star athlete from Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass who’s expected to play defensive back in college felt wanted and loved at Georgia and his talk with coach Kirby Smart about life after football really stood out. The Bulldogs are definitely moving up as Clemson and South Carolina have been highest on his list as well.
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The Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes four-star offensive lineman committed to Alabama in April but the Crimson Tide are going to have a major fight to keep Glover in the class. First, he committed when Nick Saban was coach and now with Kalen DeBoer taking over the relationship needs to be rebuilt. Plus, days after Saban’s departure, Glover was at Auburn’s junior day and then Texas, Tennessee and Miami are all trying to flip him as well.
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The message that stood out to Granville during his visit to Texas A&M was the coaching staff’s message that they’re going to be the premier college football team in years to come and it was good for the Sugar Land (Texas) Fort Bend Christian four-star defensive end to just spend more time around the new coaches. The Aggies are definitely a big contender for Granville with Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas and Penn State so far.
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It was a big weekend for Grubbs at Florida since he got to spend a good amount of time with coach Billy Napier and position coach Ryan O’Hara to talk through the offense and get a better feel for things. It ended with an offer so the Gators definitely have his attention. The 2026 four-star quarterback from Lake Mary, Fla., still has a long list with Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas A&M, Miami, Florida State, Ohio State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech on it.
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A Georgia commit since June, Harris “definitely has something to think about” after visiting Florida over the weekend. The pitch from the Gators’ staff is that the four-star cornerback from Cedartown, Ga., is needed in their secondary especially because of how versatile he is. That message rang through to Harris, who is definitely more interested in Florida now as Georgia looks to hold onto his commitment.
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If Georgia is going to land the four-star running back from Elba, Ala., who rushed for a mind-boggling 3,523 yards and 61 touchdowns on 225 carries this season, it’s going to be based on what Henderson sees as the player development on and off the field. The feeling has been Auburn leads here with Florida State second but Oregon, Miami, Tennessee and Alabama are also involved. Henderson “doesn’t know much” about new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer but he plans to meet him soon and build that relationship.
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Florida is now “working on a whole different level” and Hill credits coach Billy Napier for finally turning a corner. He’s especially interested to see the Gators this upcoming season as Florida is one of the schools now involved with the former Colorado commit. The four-star quarterback from Warner Robins (Ga.) Houston County has a long list again with Louisville, Florida State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Memphis, Colorado, Alabama, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech under consideration.
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Kansas will be a major contender for the three-star linebacker from St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet since he feels like a high priority in Lawrence and the coaching staff feels he fits in perfectly into their system and culture. The electric environment inside Allen Fieldhouse was also a big draw to King who’s also high on Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Iowa State and Cincinnati.
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The four-star linebacker from Buford, Ga., has been committed to Georgia since December 2022 but throughout his recruitment he has taken other visits and listened to other programs. The message from the Bulldogs’ coaching staff over the weekend is that everybody is ready to get back to work and to bring his best with him to Athens. Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State are trying the hardest to flip Perlotte at this point.
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After meeting with coach Mike Elko and the new Texas A&M staff, Rink “loves” them and so the Aggies are definitely a team moving up for the four-star defensive end from Cypress (Texas) Cy-Fair. The word has been that Texas is way out in front here but the other schools mentioned by Rink were Oklahoma and Ohio State so that could be something to watch.
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The message to Sellers and other recruits at Georgia on Saturday was, “If you’re here today, we want you and you can help us win more championships.” The four-star cornerback from Pearland (Texas) Shadow Creek loved the passion and confidence of the entire staff as Georgia has definitely moved up after the visit but the feeling is that Oklahoma, Texas and LSU still have a slight edge. The new Texas A&M staff has also been reaching out so Sellers is open to that, too, but the Aggies have ground to make up.
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USC and Notre Dame have made huge impressions early on for the 2025 four-star offensive tackle from Waukesha (Wisc.) Catholic Memorial but his weekend trip back to Wisconsin was huge for the Badgers. Strebig got to spend time with new offensive line coach AJ Blazek and that was a big factor as the Badgers are now moving “in the right direction” for the in-state standout.
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The chatter is that Florida still has the edge in Stubbs’ recruitment but USC, Miami, Penn State, Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin and Clemson all remain in the mix for the four-star safety from Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin. After his visit back to Gainesville, Stubbs is still a big believer that coach Billy Napier is putting something special together with the Gators and meeting with new position coach Will Harris was a big help.
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Georgia is going to be the program to watch in Wallace’s recruitment especially after his visit to Athens over the weekend where he was “expecting greatness and witnessed it.” The four-star linebacker from Jesup (Ga.) Wayne County definitely has the Bulldogs high on his list but LSU and Florida State are also involved and “of course” Kentucky which continues to recruit him very hard.
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After getting an offer from North Carolina on his weekend visit, the Tar Heels are definitely a team to watch in West’s recruitment. The three-star running back from Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s loves the genuineness and transparency of the Tar Heels coaching staff and really appreciated meeting with coach Mack Brown. Wisconsin, Nebraska and Kentucky are the other standouts at this point.