Recruiting Rumor Mill: Junior Days spinning up across the country
It was another busy weekend of junior days across the country and Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has lots of news and rumors to share in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill:
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MORE: In close race, Arizona wins out for four-star LB Leviticus Su'a
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A new offer from Alabama is definitely a huge one in Abdullah’s early recruitment as the 2025 receiver from College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy loves how the Crimson Tide receivers have been developed over the years but there are a handful of others that have really piqued his interest as well. LSU is absolutely one to watch along with Michigan, Tennessee, Texas and Florida State.
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Florida State is definitely one of the early front-runners for the 2024 three-star receiver from Fort Myers (Fla.) Dunbar and his weekend in Tallahassee only reinforced that. Abrams loved the message that if he goes to FSU then the environment is set up for him to thrive there. Texas A&M, LSU and South Carolina have also caught his attention.
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Bowens committed to Florida in mid-September and he’s stuck with the Gators heading into the New Year as he took another visit to Gainesville this past weekend. The 2024 four-star running back from North Palm Beach (Fla.) Benjamin School loved how the coaches showed him their plan for him both academically and athletically. Bowens remains happily committed but Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama and Tennessee are pushing.
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The relationships Davis is building at Florida State continue to grow ever stronger and that’s one of the reasons why the Seminoles have kept his early commitment despite intense pressure from other schools. The Albany (Ga.) Dougherty four-star running back spent some time with the baseball coaches on this visit, worked on some plays with the running back coaches, chatting it up with quarterback Jordan Travis and had an excellent time as Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Auburn are trying to flip him.
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The 2024 defensive end from Buford, Ga., has seen his recruitment explode in recent weeks and offers from Michigan, Auburn and Florida definitely caught him by surprise as all three - and others - will be closely watched early in his recruitment. The ones Dillard is hoping to get soon would be Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State and Colorado. Since offers just started flooding in, no favorites have clearly emerged yet.
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Finau got to Tucson a day early so he had extra time with the Arizona coaching staff and his trip went really well as the Wildcats are definitely a big contender in his recruitment. The three-star offensive lineman from Hesperia (Calif.) Oak Hills had some great talks with coach Jedd Fisch and he loved how he was treated on the visit as Washington, Utah, BYU, Arizona State and Miami also stand out.
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Penn State coach James Franklin’s talk to Gray and the other recruits about not BSing them during the recruiting process especially left a major impression on the 2024 defensive end from Springdale (Md.) Flowers as his interest in the Nittany Lions remains very high. Tennessee has also left a major impression along with James Madison and West Virginia so far as the Mountaineers want him to visit soon.
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LSU felt like home to the 2024 three-star receiver from Sardis (Miss.) North Panola and he loved that the message from the coaches was so clear that they want him badly in Baton Rouge. LSU will definitely play a major role moving forward for Harrell but so has Tennessee and Mississippi State along with Ole Miss to some extent.
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From the organization and detail to everything inside the program to Hipp’s belief that Oregon is a great program for tight ends and that all the coaches have his best interests at heart, the Ducks definitely left an impression over the weekend. Oregon is going to be a major contender for the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Desert Mountain tight end who’s also focused on Washington, Baylor, Tennessee, Arizona State, Louisville, Wisconsin, Auburn and Oregon State.
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Clemson, Georgia and many others have interested the 2025 four-star quarterback but a return trip to Ohio State this past weekend as the Buckeyes also stay very high on the list because they have something the others don’t - his brother. Luke Montgomery signed in Ohio State’s 2023 class and while that isn’t the only factor being considered it’s hard to believe it won’t play into the final choice.
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There are a lot of schools that have made a big impression on Odom but Florida could be moving way up the list for the high three-star receiver from Carrolton, Ga., after his weekend visit to Gainesville. The message sent to Odom over the weekend was how Florida was an “everything school” and that he could excel on and off the field if he ends up with the Gators.
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What stood out most to O’Neil during his weekend visit to Colorado was that there are winners everywhere in the building - and that rebuilding that program could happen fast. The Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral quarterback loved talking with new coach Deion Sanders and breaking some things down with new offensive coordinator Sean Lewis among so much more in Boulder. Kentucky has been rumored to be the team to beat but Colorado, Louisville and Illinois are also high.
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The Tuskegee (Ala.) Booker T. Washington linebacker has come on the scene quickly and a weekend trip to Florida has pushed the Gators even higher on his list. Phillips and position coach Mike Peterson have absolutely hit it off and that relationship could be the key if Florida lands Phillips, who also has Alabama, Auburn, Penn State and Georgia also high on the list with Tennessee in there as well.
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Iowa State has to be making a major push up Rakers’ list if the Cyclones weren’t there already after a weekend visit that could not have gone much better. The three-star offensive lineman from West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling absolutely hit it off with coach Matt Campbell and new position coach Ryan Clanton and the emphasis on how they take care of and love their players definitely connected.
“The care that they emphasized for their players is like nowhere else,” Rakers said.
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The message from Penn State coach James Franklin and position coach Phil Trautwein was that they were going to recruit Satterwhite hard and it meant a lot that someone from the engineering program there met with the Akron (Ohio) Hoban offensive guard during his time in State College. The coaches were pushing that Satterwhite was a perfect fit academically and athletically for the Nittany Lions as they have definitely moved into a great spot along with Michigan State, Cincinnati, Pitt and Duke.
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The feeling is that Ohio State might be unbeatable for the four-star cornerback from Springfield, Ohio but things might have just gotten more interesting with a new offer from Oregon. That was Scott’s dream school growing up and he always followed the Ducks closely so if a visit happens to Eugene things could get more interesting but the Buckeyes have to like their spot.
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Arizona State is “easily” the top choice for the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Desert Mountain athlete and there were rumors of an early commitment but it sounds like Tapley will now take his time just to make sure. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound prospect visited Oregon and Oregon State over the weekend but unless something entirely surprising happens, the Sun Devils are the top team here.
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Now with more than 30 offers, the four-star running back from Longview, Texas still has a long list of favorites with USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Penn State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oregon, LSU, Florida State, TCU, Ole Miss, Texas and Alabama making the biggest impression so far. Tatum was at Texas this past weekend and then will head to Michigan for its junior day this weekend. The rumor is Alabama likes Tatum a ton but his list still remains extensive.