Recruiting Rumor Mill: Prospect take in key games over the weekend
It’s Monday which means another edition of the Recruiting Rumor Mill is here. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney breaks down what he’s hearing here:
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After a multi-month commitment to Wake Forest, Barnes backed off his pledge to the Demon Deacons earlier this month but they might not be out of it. Wake Forest and Clemson are showing the most love for the Bogart (Ga.) North Oconee three-star athlete. Barnes was at Georgia on Saturday and loved the interaction from the fans and the message from the coaches there is to be patient since an offer hasn’t come yet.
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The 2024 four-star linebacker from Destrehan, La., loved the atmosphere at Alabama on Saturday night and was told the coaches are looking for more players at his position so the Crimson Tide will continue to be a top team in his early recruitment. Texas, Ole Miss, LSU, Oregon, Florida State, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame are also high on the list.
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Baylor recently hosted the 2024 four-star quarterback from Midland (Texas) Legacy and he’s loved getting to know the coaching staff in Waco and has hit it off with those guys a lot. That could be a major factor as Davila looks at his recruitment with Texas Tech, West Virginia, Pitt, Houston, TCU and NC State also seriously involved.
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A Notre Dame commit since late May, the four-star running back from Lake Stevens, Wash., traveled to Las Vegas this past weekend to see the Irish take down BYU. His pledge still stands but things could get interesting later this month because Limar is planning to visit Oregon in a couple weeks when the Ducks host UCLA.
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Arkansas is going to play a huge role in Lindsey’s recruitment especially after another recent visit to Fayetteville but Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas Tech and others have also been involved in his recruitment. The high three-star 2024 defensive end does like what the Razorbacks have going on and loved a recent trip there but it’s still a little too early to name any team a front-runner.
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After a three-month commitment to Virginia, Lora is back on the market and recently took a visit to Penn State which went really well. The three-star defensive tackle from Woodberry Forest (Va.) Woodberry Forest School has a connection with the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff and it’s “getting stronger.” He also hit it off with assistant Anthony Poindexter, who coached with his high school head coach so that’s something to watch. No visits are finalized yet but Lora wants to see Tennessee and Michigan before a final decision.
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A former Troy commitment, Mississippi State has emerged as the front-runner for the Louisville, Miss., defensive end but he might not be ready yet to make another pledge. The Bulldogs definitely look best but USC, Florida State and Georgia Tech have been trying to get involved as well.
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For months, there have been rumors that the Ole Miss commit would flip to Alabama so it got really interesting when he visited with the Crimson Tide over the weekend. It feels like the four-star outside linebacker from Raleigh, Miss., could be even closer to changing his pledge although this feeling has been had before. Still, Perkins had a phenomenal visit and loved the environment in Tuscaloosa and his recruitment should be closely watched - especially after this weekend.
“It was definitely my best night of SEC football,” Perkins said.
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The four-star running back from Benton, Ark., was committed to Arkansas for nearly a year but in recent days Russell backed off that pledge. The word is he will likely stay in the SEC, though, as Tennessee is pushing really hard for his services and Ole Miss is definitely in the picture as well.
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A commitment to Northern Illinois lasted about two months but now the West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling has his eye especially on Iowa. The Hawkeyes are the top team of interest now for Thompson but the 6-foot-5, 220-pound prospect has said his recruitment remains wide open as well.
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Ohio State looks to have the edge in Uiagalelei’s recruitment with Oregon also very much in the picture for the high four-star defensive end from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. USC coach Lincoln Riley was at Uiagalelei’s game on Friday and made sure to stand on the Bosco sideline for a while so the Trojans aren’t going to give up easily, either.