Recruiting Rumor Mill: Movement continues as visits heat up
Visits remain busy and a lot of elite prospects were on the road this weekend. Here is a lot of the latest news and buzz coming from those players and others in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill:
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Washington, Tennessee, USC, Oregon, Miami, Florida State, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M and Clemson made the top 10 for Bradley but it’s been the Aggies and the Volunteers who have especially caught his attention the most recently. The Platte City (Mo.) Platte County four-star defensive end will be in College Station next weekend and it could further push the Aggies toward the top of the list.
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A visit to Boston College has further helped the Eagles in their pursuit of Cotman, who really likes coach Jeff Hafley and position coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim. His trip this past weekend has definitely moved Boston College into Cotman’s top five as North Carolina, Penn State and others pursue the four-star cornerback from Chester (Va.) Life Christian Academy.
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The Florida State commit visited Alabama this weekend and things went well as the Albany (Ga.) Dougherty four-star running back loved watching the scrimmage especially. At this point, the feeling from Davis that the Crimson Tide coaches are focused more on building relationships and getting to know him and not necessarily trying to flip him. Davis has been committed to the Seminoles since Feb. 2021.
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Oregon was “as good as advertised” and the Picayune, Miss., running back especially hit it off with position coach Carlos Locklyn during his weekend in Eugene. Calling Locklyn a “real dude” the Ducks are one of the top teams for the big, powerful running back who is also high on Arkansas, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
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A recent visit to USC made a huge impression on the three-star defensive end from Cypress (Texas) Cypress Woods and the Trojans should be one of his main contenders as his recruitment continues. Green also took a trip to Auburn and loved it especially watching coach Jimmy Brumbaugh in action. There are other top programs involved in Green’s recruitment and a visit to Oregon this weekend could be big.
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Alabama, Oklahoma and others have made a big impression on the high four-star receiver from Longview, Texas and a weekend visit to Ohio State gave him even more to consider. A visit to USC is coming up and the word is that Hale could be ready to release a top list soon. The Longview standout has a “couple schools” that are high up for him but Hale isn’t giving away any hints yet.
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Georgia is believed to have the edge for the nation’s No. 1 running back but Alabama, USC, Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida and Texas A&M also has his attention. The Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity standout was at Alabama this past weekend and it was made clear he’s a top priority in this Crimson Tide class and that they will make him both a better player and person. Haynes loved the attention from the coaching staff and thought the atmosphere was “amazing.”
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Georgia is going to make a serious run at the four-star linebacker from Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Riverdale who loved his trip to Athens this past weekend as the facility, staff, players, practice, “everything” stood out. The message from the Georgia coaches was that they like Herring as a player but also a person and that’s why they’re going to recruit him so hard. It had an impact. Other than the Bulldogs, Herring likes Auburn, Tennessee, Miami and USC and is still waiting to see if Alabama, LSU or Florida offers before he narrows his list.
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Texas, Auburn and Georgia stand out most early on for the 2025 running back from Elba, Ala., and the Tigers made a big impression during his visit over the weekend. The love and attention from the coaching staff stood out for sure and Auburn’s facilities impressed him as well. Those three programs have an early edge for Henderson now but he’s planning more trips this month that could change things.
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Florida State has the early edge for the 2025 receiver from Pensacola (Fla.) Pensacola Catholic and one of the biggest reasons is because coach Mike Norvell always finds one-on-one time for Howard when he’s on campus and is selling him on the idea that players like him can make the Seminoles a national contender again.
“I was ready to put the pads on, coach had me so hyped,” Howard said.
His relationship with Ron Dugans and Marcus Woodson especially is making Florida State a legitimate contender along with Georgia and Tennessee up top.
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Notre Dame and Penn State are battling it out for the 2024 four-star offensive guard from Malvern (Pa.) Malvern Prep and his trip to South Bend this past weekend went really well. The focus on Jones’ future both on the football field and setting him up for life was a big draw. What also stood out is Jones heard great things from Quenton Nelson and Sam Mustipher about the program and he really likes position coach Harry Hiestand a lot. Northwestern, Boston College, Michigan and Michigan State cannot be counted out yet, either.
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The Raleigh, Miss., four-star linebacker has been committed to Ole Miss since November but a recent visit to Alabama piqued some interest and the Crimson Tide continue to come after the top prospect in the state of Mississippi. The rumor is that some of Perkins’ family members are big Alabama fans and that might have an influence down the road but his commitment to Ole Miss still stands and a visit could be happening soon after he canceled last week because of an illness.
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Florida left a major impression on the four-star offensive guard from Tampa (Fla.) Catholic during a recent visit and over the weekend he was at Florida State and the Seminoles are high up there as well. What Pierre-Louis liked the most was that the coaching staff was focused on the small details, worked with the players well and expected greatness from their players during practice. Florida and FSU could duke it out here but the four-star also wants to see Georgia, USC and North Carolina soon.
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Alabama did not offer Pringle during his weekend visit but the message from coach Nick Saban was that he needs to attend camp to offer a kid as young as Pringle but that he looks great and hasn’t seen a sophomore like him in a long time. That was taken as a huge compliment and the Dorchester (S.C.) Woodland 2024 four-star also hit it off with position coach Eric Wolford. Pringle plans to be back in Tuscaloosa in June.
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The 2024 four-star cornerback from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and his family got a great feel from coach Billy Napier, position coach Corey Raymond and defensive analyst Jamar Chaney over the weekend that could keep Florida very high on the list moving forward. Robinson is confident Raymond can develop him into an NFL-caliber cornerback and that’s why Florida along with Georgia and Alabama will definitely remain in Robinson’s top five.
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The four-star linebacker from Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic had an excellent visit to Notre Dame and that could further push the Irish to the top in his recruitment. The 2024 prospect loves that new coach Marcus Freeman has a player-focused instead of program-focused system and that’s a huge selling point along with bringing Al Golden on the staff. Notre Dame could be the leader but Speca said there is no frontrunner as Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Pitt and others are still in the running.
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Alabama remains the frontrunner for the five-star defensive end from Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln and the feeling is this weekend’s visit only reinforced Wayne’s thoughts on the Crimson Tide. He got to spend time getting to know five-star QB Arch Manning, he watched Alabama’s workout and according to a source, Wayne “can definitely see himself there.” Distance will not be a factor, either, so Alabama has to like its position right now.
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An early Florida commit who also was on Oklahoma’s pledge list for a while, the Gators are very much back in the picture for Webb after another great visit to Gainesville. There was a rumor that Webb considered a Florida pledge during a recent visit and now the Gators are right back at - or near - the top for the Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian standout. His older cousin, Dee Webb, is an influence here and things are looking very much up for Florida. Webb will visit Tennessee this weekend.
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The four-star receiver from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Stranahan standout felt like a major priority from the Alabama coaching staff this weekend and the Crimson Tide definitely remain one of the top teams in his recruitment. Williams especially liked the campus in Tuscaloosa and that could be another draw for him to consider. As it stands now, Alabama, Georgia, Pitt, Texas A&M and Florida State are standing out most.