Things are heating up once again as top prospects are about to hit the road and top lists are coming together. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
FACT OR FICTION: Texas is the clear front-runner for Jaime Ffrench
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More games will be coming on the visit schedule for Anderson but so far he’s planning to see Auburn for its season opener against Alabama A&M and then head to Florida State the following weekend for the Boston College matchup.
Notre Dame, Penn State and Michigan are definitely three early standouts and the Irish could have the big edge for the 2026 four-star tight end from Mt. Zion, Ill., but these other visits will be crucial.
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Ole Miss was an early front-runner for the 2026 four-star quarterback from Mission Viejo, Calif., and he plans to be back in Oxford for the season opener this weekend against Furman.
Oregon has been the other main contender but things might be slipping a little bit with four-star QB Jonas Williams committed there as Washington, Cal, SMU, Auburn and others are involved.
The Rebels do look very strong here but the word is Fahey is not ready to commit anywhere yet.
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Over the last few weeks there have been some leaks that Texas is by far the leader for the new five-star receiver and another source said this week that the Longhorns definitely look good.
The Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin standout still is very serious about Miami, LSU and Tennessee but Texas has been mentioned a lot by Ffrench and it still looks very strong here.
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The massive 2026 four-star offensive lineman from McCormick, S.C., will be at Georgia’s neutral-site season opener against Clemson this weekend as the Bulldogs are one of two main teams that have offered so far.
Gaston’s hometown in rural South Carolina is only 90 minutes away from Athens and that could be a massive draw.
Gaston will also visit Coastal Carolina soon and he’s looking for home games at Georgia and Florida State, which is showing him more interest recently.
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The new No. 1 defensive tackle in the 2026 class has 15 planned game-day visits this season which hardly narrows things down for the Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill but there are definitely a group of programs coming after him the hardest.
The word is that Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State have been making the biggest impression at this point.
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The 2026 four-star offensive tackle from Washington Court House (Ohio) Miami Trace has a healthy group of top programs and a bunch of visits coming up as he works toward narrowing his choices. Guthrie will have an especially busy October and November as he plans to see Louisville in late September and then go to Ohio State, West Virginia, Texas, Penn State, Missouri and USC to close out the season. Those programs along with Florida, Oregon and NC State are standing out most.
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The 2026 four-star running back from Marked Tree, Ark., does not have his visit schedule figured out yet but Arkansas, Ole Miss, Kansas, USC and Florida State are the five programs that are showing the most involvement now.
Will the Razorbacks let him out of the state? Well, it could be a challenge since Fayetteville is nearly five hours from home and Ole Miss is less than two. An SEC battle could be shaping up.
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In the end, this could be a battle between Florida State and Miami for the 2026 four-star linebacker from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna. One visit is already set to Tallahassee when the Seminoles host Boston College this weekend.
Miami, Texas A&M, Louisville and USF are the other main contenders.
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After an early and quick commitment to Missouri, Marks backed off that pledge and then decided to be a “hometown hero” as the four-star offensive tackle from Olathe (Kan.) South committed to Kansas in June.
Even though Marks doesn’t have any other visits planned, Auburn and Nebraska continue to reach out and try to flip him. It’s unlikely anything happens.
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There is no visit schedule yet for Peterson but Penn State, Pitt, Georgia and Syracuse are the four programs standing out most in his recruitment. The 2026 four-star cornerback from Atco (N.J.) Winslow Township could have his eyes on the Nittany Lions the most especially with his coach, Bill Belton, having played in Happy Valley.
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A long list still remains for Petit but many of the same programs are at the top of the list with Miami leading the way for the 2026 four-star tight end. The Hurricanes could be tough to beat but Louisville, UCF, Florida, Indiana and Purdue are all standing out. No visits have been worked out yet.
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The four-star tight end from Fullerton (Calif.) Troy committed to Washington in June and it looked like his recruitment was wrapped up but in recent days Oregon became the newest offer for Ploog and that’s been a program of high interest for some time.
Things could change down the road but the word now is that he “loves the situation” at Washington and plans to remain committed to the Huskies.
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The 2026 four-star receiver from Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School still has to figure out where he’s going to visit this season but Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Clemson and Missouri are the priorities.
Some of those programs have already offered and some haven’t, as Schneider has seen his recruitment pick up through the summer.
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Penn State has to like where it stands with Sieg since he will see the Nittany Lions in the season opener as he’ll be on a visit to West Virginia (another top program on his list) and then he’ll be in Happy Valley for the home opener against Bowling Green.
The 2026 four-star athlete from McDonald, Pa., will also be at Pitt in Week 3 with more visits being worked on later in the season.
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A long list of visits are coming up for Sims but they could help inform the 2026 four-star cornerback on which programs are looking best.
The Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn standout would love to see Indiana, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Michigan and Georgia this season before making any top list.
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As a sophomore, Weis threw for more than 1,800 yards and 21 touchdowns, and also added 11 rushing scores so he’s seen his recruitment take off in recent months.
Two programs are standing out most, though, as Houston and Oklahoma State have emerged as the front-runners as Wise loves what both schools have to offer.
