Recruiting Rumor Mill: Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning, more
National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney is back with his weekly Recruiting Rumor Mill, with recruiting chatter and news from around the country with visits now underway.
Woody Wommack contributed to this story.
*****
MORE: Rumor Mill - Transfer Tracker | Transfer portal message board | Tuesday's with Gorney: What to expect from a historic June
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals100
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
*****
*****
The word sent back when asked what stood out about his Clemson visit was, “Everything!!” Coach Dabo Swinney and all of the defensive line staff spent a lot of time with Alexander and it would not be a surprise if Clemson held the edge in his recruitment right now. The former Alabama commitment will take his visits - and the Crimson Tide, among others, can’t be counted out - but the Tigers are apparently “way up there” on his list now.
*****
The four-star quarterback from Memphis (Tenn.) Pure threw at Memphis on Tuesday and he loved the experience there and likes the new indoor facility, but it’s still a stretch to believe the Tigers are the frontrunner in his recruitment. Texas A&M would be the team to watch the most, followed by Auburn and some others.
*****
Coleman was at Florida State’s Midnight Madness event. He stayed multiple days, he’s a big Deion Sanders fan and his parents came with him on an unofficial visit. Those are all good signs for the Seminoles, and the rumor is that they could be the team to beat now because of just how great his visit was to Tallahassee. While FSU is clearly in the mix, Coleman loves the Alabama WR tradition there, including what the Crimson Tide did with Jaylen Waddle. Texas, Oregon and others are in the mix.
*****
The chatter on Delp is that even after his Alabama visit Georgia has a slight advantage in his recruitment, and that’s great news for the Bulldogs that things did not drastically flip. But the four-star tight end loved his stop in Tuscaloosa. From the coaches to the facilities to the practice it seemed like everything wowed Delp, and a visit back to Alabama is expected as well. He’s going to take his round of visits, but this could come down to a Georgia/Alabama battle.
*****
Getting to Florida on June 1 was important to the Gators quarterback commit because the Flower Mound, Texas, QB was able to talk with all the coaches but also because he wanted to recruit - and there were definitely some big targets. The focus for Evers was on Jayden Gibson, CJ Smith, Isaiah Horton, Terrance Gibbs, Damari Alston and Ashton Cozart, who plays 7on7 with Evers.
*****
The five-star quarterback and No. 1 prospect in the 2022 class is taking his official visit to Ohio State this weekend, and his focus now is to load up with the remainder of this Buckeyes class. Two prospects he’s especially high on - and he thinks could be coming to Ohio State with him - are five-star OL Zach Rice from Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian Academy and four-star DE Omari Abor out of Duncanville, Texas.
*****
The Boise State quarterback commit threw at UCLA on Tuesday, but the Bruins still have not offered as they work through other players at that position to figure out what’s best for their situation. There is interest, though, but Houser is going to be busy with other visits as well as the three-star quarterback is at Boise State for a few days and then goes to Duke and North Carolina before ending the month at Michigan State.
*****
Teams are trying to flip Hunter, one of the top prospects in the nation, but he remains completely locked in with Florida State and shrugs off every attempt for other schools to recruit him. He went all the way to California last weekend to throw with FSU QB commit A.J. Duffy, and he was constantly hanging out with FSU commit Sam McCall there, too. Then over the last few days, Hunter has been in Tallahassee with a bunch of commits and top prospects. It’s looking great for the Seminoles.
*****
The chatter is that Jones is leaning toward staying closer to home for college, at least looking a little more at the Pac-12 schools, and he might not be going very far at all. The 2023 four-star defensive back visited USC on Tuesday and it went great, especially as he continues to build that relationship with DB coach Donte Williams. But it’s not just Williams that Jones has hit it off with, but also fellow staff members Armond Hawkins and Gavin Morris, along with Craig Naivar. The Trojans should be considered the frontrunner right now.
*****
Clemson is definitely high on Kanak’s list after he visited there Tuesday, and it was a dream school so the Tigers could be tough to beat in the end. But Kanak’s going to go through all his trips and then figure out where things stand in his recruitment. It could be tough to beat what Kanak felt at Clemson, though, since the genuineness of the coaching staff, players and the people around the program stood out. He waited for the Clemson offer for a long time and now that it’s a reality the Tigers could be the school to beat.
*****
Georgia has emerged as a top team for the massive 2023 offensive lineman after he visited there on Tuesday. The Pike Road, Ala., standout had never met coach Kirby Smart or position coach Matt Luke before, but once they started talking all of them hit it off and Lang said it felt like family. Others are pursuing him hard but the chatter is now that the Bulldogs could have an edge for him.
*****
It is going to be an interesting weekend for 2023 quarterbacks at Clemson, with Manning expected to be there along with Eli Holstein, Nico Iamaleava and others. The Tigers are a very real contender for Manning, along with Alabama and then Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss also seem to be in that upper echelon of early schools. Things could have been even more interesting, but fellow 2023 five-star QB Malachi Nelson said he won’t be visiting Clemson now, and Oklahoma and USC look like the frontrunners for him.
*****
Alabama offered McClellan on Tuesday and that could throw his entire recruitment into upheaval as things get changed to accommodate a visit to Tuscaloosa. Florida, USC, Ohio State and others are definitely in the running with Oklahoma, Texas and others, but Alabama really needs to be watched here. His last visit will be to Alabama and when that offer came in it felt like something he will definitely pursue in the coming weeks as he goes through his other visits as well.
*****
Florida could hold an advantage in Prichard’s recruitment, but the 2023 quarterback has a whole list of visits and workouts coming up over the next few weeks. The Loxahatchee (Fla.) King’s Academy standout will see NC State, Duke, Louisville, Florida, Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Coastal Carolina, and others might happen as well. The Gators have not offered yet with the camp season ahead.
*****
There are some who feel Ole Miss is still the team to beat because of Rogers’ relationship with position coach Terrell Buckley, but Miami is squarely in this race after his visit there on June 1. What stood out to Rogers most was just how coach Manny Diaz and assistants DeMarcus Van Dyke and Travaris Robinson made him feel like a big-time priority. The Lexington (Miss.) Holmes County standout also hit it off with the players and recruits, and that has propelled the Hurricanes much higher right now.
*****
The 2023 four-star offensive lineman from Odessa (Texas) Permian is not rushing a top list yet, but some visits could provide insight into his thinking. The month of June starts at Auburn, followed by trips to SMU, TCU, Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Notre Dame and Oklahoma to wrap things up. A TCU legacy, this feels like a regional battle with the Oklahoma and Texas schools in the mix, but Notre Dame could be a surprise.
*****
Simpkins committed to Georgia Tech in late February, but his recruitment has taken off since then and he has visits planned this summer. The 2023 running back from Miami (Fla.) Norland will be taking visits to Georgia Tech and Clemson for sure, and he’s thinking about one to Texas A&M since the Aggies offered in recent days and he will camp at Miami, Florida State and FIU for starters. The pledge stands with the Yellow Jackets, but there are lots of new suitors. If he takes that A&M visit then things could get really interesting.
*****
Skinner was also at the QB Retreat in California this past weekend and he interested a lot of people. The rumor is Texas quarterback commit Maalik Murphy called coach Steve Sarkisian to get after Skinner even more (and the four-star tight end will take a visit to Austin in the coming weeks). The Florida State commits were spending lots of time with him and he flew directly from California to FSU for its event over the last few days. Clemson feels like it still has an edge - and DJ Uiagalelei’s dad, Dave, was talking him up at the retreat - but many others are giving serious chase, including Florida.
*****
The 2023 quarterback from Springfield, Mass., has an extensive and diverse group of visits, with Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon, Arizona, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Pitt, Duke, Princeton and Yale planned, but that might not be the whole list. Nebraska is trying to get him on campus and he’s trying to work his schedule to get a trip to Lincoln this summer.
*****
A few weeks ago, the former Georgia commit said he would consider some visits over the summer. Well, June has quickly filled up. The four-star athlete from Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian started at Florida, and that trip was phenomenal. Webb talked with Dan Mullen for a long time, along with assistant coach Greg Knox and others, and he feels the Gators love everything about him. His cousin, Dee Webb, also played at Florida and that is enticing. But Webb will take the remainder of his June visits to Florida State, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma and Miami and then figure out his top list from there.