Recruiting Rumor Mill: Latest on J.T. Tuimoloau, LJ Johnson, Terrion Arnold

National Signing Day is a day away and while most prospects signed in the early period, there are still lots of rumors and news heading into the final 24 hours. Here is the latest Recruiting Rumor Mill heading into Wednesday.

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There will be no commitment from the five-star defensive end Wednesday. It’s not that Tuimoloau wants to prolong his recruitment any longer or make this a circus past National Signing Day, but he has not taken many visits yet and wants to see the programs - possibly as late as April - before making his decision.

His senior season in Washington has not even started, so the timeline has been pushed back. The chatter is that Oregon does not mind the delay and feels if he can get to campus he would hit it off with the players and the coaches so the Ducks are in great shape. Alabama and Ohio State are two other destinations Tuimoloau would want to hit and USC is staying alive as well. We’ve been hearing Oregon and Alabama are up top but many feel the Buckeyes are in the thick of it, too.

The latest on Johnson is that Texas A&M looks like the team to beat and this would be a major recruiting win for coach Jimbo Fisher, giving him a major weapon in the Aggies’ backfield and especially important as it looks like they held off Texas late. After a recent visit to College Station, Johnson left without committing and it looked like new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian might be able to pull this off but in the final days it sounds like Texas A&M is going to get him. Nothing is final, but the Aggies have the edge.

Arnold is going to keep everyone guessing until he announces on Wednesday and the rumor is he’s not even telling Alabama’s Nick Saban or Georgia’s Kirby Smart before the decision on national television. What we know is that it looks like Florida is fading fast in this one, that Alabama seems to be the pick du jour but that Georgia is still fighting very hard to get Arnold in this class. The Crimson Tide have really gained ground once again and they can always close, so it sounds like Alabama could be the pick.

Malone has kept his thinking to himself over the last few days as this looks to be an Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M battle to decision time. Florida State is still in there after he visited but this looks like an SEC West contest. The four-star defensive tackle took visits to his favorites over the last few weeks and in Oxford he spent most of his time with football players who are also on the baseball team. The best guess? Ole Miss has led for so long and still does heading into his commitment.

All signs now point to USC being the pick for Davis and it’s big because coach Clay Helton has landed another top in-state prospect, something he didn't do enough of in their 2020 class. Davis took a late visit to Ohio State after backing off his LSU pledge and the Columbus trip went very well (his mother was especially impressed by Ohio State), but USC has always been a school high on Davis’ list and with the 2021 class and start to the 2022 group, the Trojans are an intriguing spot once again.

There are rumors Thomas might not even sign, but nothing has been substantiated when it comes to his final decision. According to sources, the schools involved are not even sure what Thomas will end up doing with Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M all waiting to see what happens. History is on LSU’s side and if he picks the Tigers then they would have landed the top-five players in the state. Most top receivers in Louisiana end up at LSU so the guess - and it’s just a guess - is that the Tigers land him.

Not much has changed with Hill over the last week or really over the last few months as Florida State remains the far-and-away favorite to land his commitment. The four-star receiver did not commit to the Seminoles during the early period and that worried some as his team made a playoff run but it might be nothing after all. This looks pretty close to a lock for FSU right now.

When Dickerson decommitted from Minnesota after a nine-month pledge, it made sense that Nebraska was going to land the Omaha (Neb.) Westside four-star cornerback but heading into signing day that no longer looks to be the case. Oregon has surged in Dickerson’s recruitment, the Ducks are looking for longer cornerbacks and the rumor is that Oregon is where the four-star would prefer to play. Nebraska isn’t out in the final hours, but the Ducks definitely look strong.

If Gus Malzahn was still Auburn’s coach or if new Auburn coach Bryan Harsin kept position coach Travis Williams (now at Miami), then the Tigers would be the front-runner for Wallace’s signature. But Kentucky has made a serious move with the former Boston College commit and the rumor is that it would take something out of left field in the final hours to sway Wallace away from the Wildcats now. Ole Miss is involved, too, but it looks like Wallace could be headed to Lexington.

Moko has shut down communication recently, so it’s hard to really figure his recruitment out but LSU, Oregon and Texas A&M are the three finalists and the Aggies are believed to be the front-runner. The massive and powerful offensive lineman from Ephraim (Utah) Snow College recently landed an Auburn offer, but that might have come to late. Moko could be A&M’s to lose.