Recruiting Rumor Mill: More chatter from key weekend visits
There is an overflow of news after another busy weekend with top prospects on the road that called for a second Recruiting Rumor Mill this week:
HEAT CHECK: How toasty are some coaches' seats getting?
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Alford was at Miami over the weekend and saw the last-minute mishap that led to the Hurricanes’ loss but he saw a lot of “promising talent” on the team that he believes the coaches when they saw with a couple of fixed pieces the program will be in great shape. That’s all true and Ohio State, Penn State, Louisville, Florida State and Tennessee are some other schools to watch but the word is the 2025 four-star linebacker from Vero Beach, Fla., still favors Florida in his recruitment.
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The 2025 four-star defensive end from Opelika, Ala., has been committed to nearby Auburn since February but he’s made it no secret about taking other visits. Florida has been pursuing him hard, he was just at Georgia where he has a great relationship with the coaches and they’re telling him to “come be great” in Athens and the trips aren’t done yet. Autry will be at LSU this weekend - and it’s no surprise that Auburn will be in town.
“I’m still committed but I am still taking visits,” Autry said.
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Texas A&M is definitely the team to watch for the 2025 four-star all-purpose back from Humble (Texas) Atascocita especially after another great weekend visit to College Station. The coaching staff made it clear that he’s “at the top of their board” and he loved the game-day atmosphere when Alabama was in town. The Crimson Tide are another one to watch along with Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas and Georgia.
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Texas A&M is looking really strong for the 2025 high three-star cornerback from Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall and the message this past weekend from coach Jimbo Fisher was that Chester has the “exact criteria” of what the Aggies look for at that position and that Fisher is making him the “top priority.” Florida State, Texas, Oregon, Arkansas and now Washington are involved but A&M is looking stronger than ever.
“The atmosphere, it didn’t even feel real,” Chester said. “Felt like I was in a video game.”
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Despite the close loss to LSU, Farrington loved his visit to Missouri and especially the intensity from the fans that befitted that big-time matchup. The message from coach Eli Drinkwitz to the 2025 running back from College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy was that Missouri is there to win now, not later and that they have a plan to be one of the top teams in the SEC. That was a big selling point for Farrington, who has Missouri, Duke, Louisville and Arkansas as his favorites. He will visit Colorado in early November.
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Even though Oklahoma beat Texas in the Red River Rivalry, the outcome of one game won’t have a major influence when it’s time for the 2025 high four-star offensive tackle to decide. The Sooners and the Longhorns continue to battle it out for the Lewisville, Texas standout with Oregon and Ohio State as the only other major competitors now.
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In the last few weeks, the 2025 four-star defensive end from Sugar Land (Texas) Fort Bend Christian has landed offers from Ohio State, Auburn, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, LSU and others. The chatter is that the Crimson Tide offer particularly caught Granville’s attention but early on he remains open to all.
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The 2026 four-star quarterback from Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit was back at Florida over the weekend, talked a bunch with coach Billy Napier, Ryan O’Hara and others on the staff as the Gators could have the early edge in his recruitment. But Ohio State is talking a lot more with Griffin and he’s planning to visit there in November and Texas is also working on getting the Tampa Jesuit standout on campus soon as well.
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The message from coach Jimbo Fisher to Harris during his weekend visit was that he was “going to come after me really hard,” and that definitely meant a lot plus the attention paid to him from position coach James Coley and staffer Rohan Gaines, which was definitely a big deal. The 2026 tight end from St. George (Utah) Pine View grew up in Oregon and has been a Ducks fan so that’s something to watch and then Utah, Alabama and Georgia are in the mix but the Aggies are very much in the picture now as well.
“I definitely will be back,” Harris said.
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After a commitment to Missouri lasted less than a month when Marks backed off his pledge on Tuesday, the 2025 four-star defensive end has a handful of schools that have really caught his eye in recent weeks. Moving forward, Michigan, USC, Alabama and Oklahoma would be the four programs that have made the biggest impression on the Overland Park (Kan.) St. Thomas Aquinas standout.
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The 2025 tight end from Rabun Gap (Ga.) Rabun Gap Nacoochee is a “firm believer” that Miami is a special place and the program’s future is bright after a weekend visit that could have really moved the Hurricanes way up his list. Mario Cristobal and position coach Cody Woodiel talked highly of Pritchett’s game and the message from staffer Alonzo Highsmith was that he felt the 2025 prospect could be the best flex TE in the country. South Carolina, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech also stand out.
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In late winter, Pyfrom had Iowa, Penn State, Kansas State and Nebraska among his favorite programs but only three months later, he committed to Illinois. That pledge lasted a few months but now the high three-star offensive tackle from Omaha (Neb.) Central is back on the market and Missouri is absolutely showing him the most attention. He was in Columbia over the weekend and now the Tigers look to be the team to beat.
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The message to the 2025 four-star Alabama offensive line commit when he visited Georgia was that “they are not stopping even until the last day,” in his recruitment. The Evans, Ga., standout thought Georgia “rolled out the red carpet” for him over the weekend and that the attention from the Dawgs coaches didn’t go unnoticed as Alabama retains his commitment at this point.
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Smith’s visit to Florida over the weekend went really well, he loved the atmosphere inside The Swamp but the Gators are “not really” the favorite yet as has been rumored. Florida is definitely a program to watch for the Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot four-star quarterback who’s having a phenomenal junior season but Michigan, Penn State and Florida State have to be watched as well.
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As of Friday, Solomon was still committed to Auburn but was talking a whole lot about South Carolina and on Tuesday the four-star athlete from Ellaville (Ga.) Schley County backed off his pledge to the Tigers. South Carolina finished in second place when Solomon committed to Auburn the first time and the word is now the Gamecocks might be the only team to watch now.
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Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee are some other schools to watch but the word is that Williams’ family would love to be able to drive to his games and that means Texas A&M could have a geographical advantage. The 2025 five-star safety (who could end up a linebacker) visited College Station for the Alabama game and the message from the coaches was that he’s a top priority and if he commits “they’d make it my permanent home.”