Recruiting Rumor Mill: Latest buzz around 2025's top players

The new 2025 Rivals250 is being released today and with it there is already lots of top teams and recruiting rumors out there. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill:

MORE: Offensive prospects to watch at NextGen Pro Day | Observations, evaluations and more from Future 50

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Monday: New Rivals250 unveiled | Latest recruiting news for 2025 stars | Five-Star Countdown | Position-by-position through the new Rivals250 | Rivals Rankings Podcast | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: New position rankings | Gorney's position-by-position comparisons | Friedman's new faces to know

Wednesday: New state rankings released | Top battles in state rankings

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Now being in Southern California could certainly help USC’s chances with the Mission Hills (Calif.) Bishop Alemany four-star athlete but Ohio State, Tennessee and Alabama are the three other schools that have really captured his attention early on.

LSU is believed to be the big-time front-runner for the Metairie (La.) St. Martin’s Episcopal four-star running back and the Tigers could be really tough to beat. But Texas and Florida would round out his top three and if any programs have a shot it would be the Longhorns and the Gators right now.

While the Miami (Fla.) Miami Central five-star defensive end admits he hasn’t researched every school yet this early in his recruitment, Florida State is the one that is standing out the most. The Seminoles are the ones to watch right now with Florida and Miami also making an impression.

It’s still a long list for the four-star receiver from Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County but this could end up being more of an in-state battle with possibly Ole Miss having a slight edge over Mississippi State but many other Southeast teams will contend here. LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisville, Auburn, Florida State and Miami are also high on Cunningham’s list.

A new offer from Clemson that Davis landed earlier this month is definitely big and the Tigers should be watched for the Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley standout defensive end but there are others high on the list as well. Georgia, Tennessee, Duke, Florida, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Michigan are also on his watch list.

Ohio State has always been a school to watch in Davison’s recruitment because he has loved watching Ezekiel Elliott throughout his career but Texas is also making a major move for the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout. Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Michigan, USC, Tennessee and Florida State round out his early front-runners.

Others could join the top list for the Olney (Md.) Good Counsel four-star safety with so much time before signing day for the 2025 class but as of now Alabama, LSU and Ohio State are the three top programs for Delane.

USC and Notre Dame are definitely two programs that have stood out to Faraimo for a long time but as the San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic four-star linebacker sees more schools, his list expands. Ohio State is definitely one to watch now with UCLA, Alabama and Oregon as well and a fall trip to Tuscaloosa is being planned.

Earlier this offseason, Fasusi had a slightly different list of top programs but heading into a quieter period in July, the athletic four-star offensive tackle from Lewisville, Texas has the Longhorns along with Oklahoma, Oregon, Michigan, South Carolina, Alabama, USC and LSU up top.

Alabama has been the team pegged to the Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin four-star receiver since early in his recruitment and the Crimson Tide are still believed to have the edge. Florida State, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame are the four other programs that are high up on his list.

If there is a team that’s the biggest threat to flip the 2025 four-star safety from Ohio State it could now be USC after an excellent visit there during his trip West for the Elite 11. Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Alabama are others to watch as the Atlanta Westlake standout works through his recruitment.

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There is some that thought Auburn might have an edge for Grady but that might not necessarily be the case as the four-star defensive end from Troy (Ala.) Henderson spent a few recent days at Alabama and loved the trip (he was at Auburn prior to the trip to Tuscaloosa). The Crimson Tide and the Tigers could battle it out for Grady but Georgia, Florida State, Oregon and Tennessee are also high on the list.

There’s a top 10 for the Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Siegel cornerback with incredible size and length as Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Arkansas, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Miami, LSU and Tennessee made the list. That’s still a long list but early on the Razorbacks and the Huskers stood out most so there could be an edge there.

There is a top group of schools emerging for the four-star receiver from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei but it doesn’t really have a West feel to it. Texas, Tennessee, Penn State, Oregon, Miami and Georgia are the early standouts for him.

Auburn could be the team to beat for the four-star running back from Elba, Ala., as he sees a big-time fit in coach Hugh Freeze’s offense. While the Tigers have made a big impression the list remains long for Henderson as Texas, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas A&M, USC, Oregon, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Louisville are also on watch.

Louisville and Michigan have emerged as the biggest contenders for the four-star athlete from Belleville (Ill.) Althoff and it could come down to those two programs but Missouri cannot be counted out yet, either.

USC and Oregon could be battling it out for the four-star safety especially as the Pittsburg, Calif, standout considers all his options but many others are still intriguing him with Ohio State, Miami, Penn State, Georgia and Washington topping that list.

USC is the leader for the four-star cornerback from Mission Viejo, Calif., who is absolutely a national recruit but has not yet seen all the elite programs offer him. The Trojans definitely look best with Arizona and Washington as the two other main standouts at this point.

His brother, Anthony, is committed to Texas A&M so that should give the Aggies a major edge in his recruitment but there are many other contenders for the high four-star defensive tackle from Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove. Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Texas, Ole Miss, Miami and Auburn are also on the watch list.

There is a good chance the high four-star defensive end from Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter will head South for college as Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Clemson, Tennessee and Ohio State are the top programs at this point.

Alabama and Miami are two programs to watch for the four-star tight end from Los Alamitos, Calif., who transferred there from Allen, Texas but Oklahoma is believed to have a significant lead in his recruitment. The Sooners definitely look best right now and it would be a surprise if the Los Al standout ended up anywhere else at this point.

It’s still in the early stages for the four-star cornerback from Birmingham (Ala.) Parker but a top list of schools is starting to emerge. Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, Oregon, Miami, Arkansas and Clemson are standouts right now.

Three programs have made the biggest impression so far on the four-star linebacker from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy with Florida, Miami and Notre Dame leading the way. His other brother, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, played for the Irish so that will absolutely be something to watch moving forward.

For a long time, Texas A&M has been the program to watch for the four-star cornerback from Katy (Texas) Paetow and the Aggies are still one of the top teams but Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida are also high on the list.

There is a very real chance the new five-star safety leaves the Southeast as Michigan and Oregon have really intrigued him but the Zephyrhills, Fla., standout is also very serious about Georgia, Florida and Alabama early on.

The four-star defensive end from Birmingham (Ala.) Spain Park has been juggling football and basketball this offseason so he hasn’t had a ton of time to visit schools but a recent trip to South Carolina especially stood out as he hit it off with coach Shane Beamer. Georgia and Florida State are the two other programs that stand out a ton at this point.

The two-way four-star standout at Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor school has three early standouts with Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State leading the way. The feeling is that the in-state Vols have the advantage right now but those two others are definitely still very much involved.

Alabama, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Illinois and others have definitely left an impression on the four-star receiver from Geneva, Ill., but Georgia is the school to watch. Out of all his visits this offseason, the Bulldogs stood out the most and it could play a big role in his future thinking.

Some believe Georgia has the edge for the Ellaville (Ga.) Schley County four-star outside linebacker while others think Florida State could be a sneaky leader for him. Those two programs are definitely high on the list for Walker, who also has Miami and South Carolina as top schools.

Location is going to play a significant factor for the Galveston (Texas) Ball four-star safety as his parents definitely want to drive to games - or at least have it be a consideration. That bodes well for Texas A&M but Oklahoma and Ohio State also have his attention in a big way.

Alabama, Oregon, UCLA and Texas have been showing the most interest through the summer and recruiting the four-star outside linebacker the hardest at this point. His visit to Eugene this summer went incredibly well and he’s planning a trip to Alabama soon. Ohio State and Miami are two other programs on his radar.