Recruiting Rumor Mill: Massive month continues on recruiting trail
The month of June continues with big visits, big camps and now college coaches can reach out to 2026 prospects as of June 15 as well. Here’s the latest we’re hearing in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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Texas, USC and Texas A&M had taken a big lead in Ball’s recruitment but a recent visit to LSU could put the Tigers toward the top as well. The message from the Tigers’ coaching staff to the 2026 four-star running back from Texarkana, Texas, was that if he wants to play in the NFL then come to LSU and after working out with the coaching staff in Baton Rouge, Ball plans to be back soon.
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Days after decommitting from Georgia (a pledge that lasted only days as well), the 2026 high four-star athlete from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna was at Ohio State and had a great visit to Columbus.
The coaching staff was “very interested” in Cooper and he loved the discipline shown during the camp. On the first day, college coaches could officially contact 2026 recruits, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko was the first one to reach out.
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Epenesa is an Iowa legacy and his brother, AJ, starred for the Hawkeyes as the Big Ten power still remains the considerable front-runner in his recruitment. But if the four-star defensive end from Edwardsville, Ill., is looking for something different, the word is that Epenesa’s best trip so far was at Utah over the weekend.
The Utes could be a sneaky pick here if Iowa’s lead isn’t insurmountable.
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Grady’s visit to Tennessee was his “best by far” as the constant love from the coaching staff continues to stand out to the four-star defensive end from Enterprise, Ala. The message from the Vols was that his skillset fits best in Tennessee’s defense and Grady is confident they can develop him for the first round of the NFL Draft.
Florida State and Tennessee has stood out most to Grady so far but a major visit to Ohio State closes out June for him.
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The 2026 four-star defensive end from Rolesville, N.C., was expecting an offer from Ohio State at some point and now that it’s here the Buckeyes are “definitely a top school” in his recruitment.
Griffin-Haynes “loves what they got going on” as Ohio State will be a major contender with South Carolina, North Carolina, UCLA, Florida State, Miami and Tennessee.
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The 2026 high three-star receiver from Rochester (N.Y.) James Monroe had a great performance at Ohio State’s camp and the message from the coaches was to keep it up once he gets home as the Buckeyes are definitely now one of the frontrunners.
Prior to the Ohio State offer, Penn State, Syracuse, Rutgers and Michigan were the teams to beat early on.
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Kentucky has been a program to watch for the high three-star tight end from Cleveland (Ohio) Gilmour Academy and he was in Lexington over the weekend. But now that Ohio State offered in recent days the Buckeyes should be the team to watch.
Ohio State already has four-star TE Nate Roberts committed but after the offer the word is Lennon could commit somewhere by the last week of June.
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What Mack loved about his camp experience at LSU was that everyone was there to compete heavily and get after it and the 2026 four-star receiver from Destrehan, La., shined at the event as the Tigers have gotten even more involved in his recruitment.
The word from coach Brian Kelly and his staff was to keep working and that Mack could be one of the greatest. While Mack isn’t saying which programs stand out most, the Tigers could be considered the front-runner as he’s said for months – even before he had an LSU offer – that it was one of his leaders.
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The rumor was that McNair was heavily leaning toward Arizona State but the three-star receiver from Corona (Calif.) Centennial decided against making a commitment to take other visits.
Utah’s success and how structured everything is inside the program definitely left an impression as Cal, Georgia, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Colorado State and UNLV are all involved.
One wonders, though, if Arizona State still has a big lead here.
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The four-star Miami linebacker commit visited Oklahoma over the weekend and believes coach Brent Venables is a “linebacker guru” who made him feel like a priority and made him feel at home in Norman.
The message from the coaches was that they could meet him where he is and then develop him into what he wants to become and the Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola standout “loved it.”
Melendez is “still loving” the Hurricanes but all four programs where he’s taking official visits are even at this point.
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Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss and Florida State have been the standouts for the high three-star offensive tackle from Mansfield (Texas) Lake Ridge but now Ohio State definitely joins that list as well.
The Buckeyes offered in recent days and Ojo hit it off with coach Ryan Day and position coach Justin Frye. Ohio State “stands pretty high right now” in Ojo’s recruitment.
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Oregon, BYU, NC State, Arkansas and Texas A&M are the standouts for the four-star offensive tackle from Highland (Utah) Lone Peak and a recent visit with the Ducks definitely left a huge impression.
What stood out most to Pay was spending time with position coach A’lique Terry and the rest of the offensive line staff, plus all the other coaches really hit it off with him so Oregon should definitely be one to watch.
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It’s early for the 2026 receiver from Melissa, Texas, but the Longhorns are definitely making a major impression on Porter, especially after he visited for a recent camp. He loved that the coaches were not only complimenting him but giving tips on how he could get better and paying a lot of attention.
Missouri, Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma State are the others to watch.
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The high four-star safety from Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin has been committed to USC since late March and he had a fantastic visit to Los Angeles recently but Stubbs was back at Florida over the weekend and the Gators gave him a ton to consider.
The Florida coaches made it “very clear” they are determined to keep pushing for Stubbs and that his recruitment is “far from over” as that level of commitment only made his “interest in Florida stronger."
Stubbs is still locked in with the Trojans but if something were to happen it would be during his senior season.
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Taylor has been committed to Notre Dame since Dec. 1 but the four-star safety from Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange perked up some interest with a recent visit to Alabama as the Crimson Tide try to flip him.
The word is Taylor’s visit to Tuscaloosa went “great” especially since the coaches were so easy to talk to. The Notre Dame commit is “keeping an open mind” in his recruitment but he was back in South Bend over the weekend and that has to be a great sign for the Irish.
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