Recruiting Rumor Mill: Summer camps on the horizon

The news and rumors does not stop as the summer camp and visit schedule gets going in June so here is National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney with all that he’s hearing in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill:

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Michigan offered the 2025 quarterback from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard during a recent visit and now the Wolverines are a serious contender in his recruitment because of how the coaches treated him, his feeling that it’s a special place and how friendly the offense is for players at his position. Belfort loved the feel of Ann Arbor but there are other major contenders early on including Alabama, Penn State, Tennessee and Georgia.

Georgia is going to be a main contender through Brown’s recruitment and one thing that especially stood out about his recent visit to Athens is the “total genuineness” of the entire staff but especially position coach Glenn Schumann. The No. 1 linebacker in the 2024 class from Jefferson, Ga., likes the Bulldogs a lot but is being patient and scheduling summer visits with Notre Dame and Michigan State planned. A new offer from Texas could make things interesting.

It was important for the four-star linebacker from Many, La., to visit LSU recently and he loves position coach Matt House - plus the new coaching staff in Baton Rouge said they aren’t giving up on getting even more involved in Curtis’ recruitment - but the feeling is that Ohio State, USC and Wisconsin remain the front-runners. The Buckeyes have the edge but USC is battling incredibly hard from Lincoln Riley to Alex Grinch on down and a visit back to Los Angeles in June could be huge. A July decision is expected.

The three-star offensive tackle from Katy (Texas) Tompkins remains wide open in his recruitment but a bunch of visits this summer should clear things up a lot. Texas Tech was his first offer and that could play a role but Texas A&M, Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State and Baylor have all made an early impression.

Trips to Georgia and Oregon are being worked on but the 2024 four-star running back from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy is sure of trips to Texas and Ohio State as those two programs have really emerged in his recruitment. The former Florida commit also wants to get to Texas A&M as the Aggies have already offered and getting to College Station is important to him.

A few weeks ago it looked like Auburn, Mississippi State or Missouri for the Memphis (Tenn.) Lausanne Collegiate standout who shined at the Rivals Camp Series in Dallas. The list is now expanding. A visit to TCU went really well as Glenn liked the town, the coaches, the offense and the school. A loaded wide receiver class for the Horned Frogs could also help. Big visits are coming up soon as Glenn visits Auburn, Texas A&M and Virginia soon and possibly Florida State as well.

The high four-star offensive tackle loved the genuineness of the Nebraska coaching staff during a recent visit and Green appreciated that they were just good people and didn’t try to recruit him with the flashing lights, the loud music and all the glitz and glamor. The message was that he’d do really well in their offense and if he delivers then playing early could happen. Still, it feels like Oklahoma has the edge and he’s visiting with the Sooners along with LSU soon. A decision is expected in early July.

There is some debate whether Alabama or TCU is the team to beat for the Denton (Texas) Ryan all-purpose back but it’s now clear a new offer from Oklahoma might have “changed (Hicks’) perspective” on his top schools. The high three-star has already visited Norman and so he’s getting more familiar with the program as the Sooners try to dip back into Texas for one of its top running backs.

North Carolina is doing everything possible to keep Jarrett from going elsewhere - mainly Georgia - and a recent visit back to Chapel Hill went well. The main goal during this trip was for the family of the Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley defensive tackle to feel at home and that was accomplished. But the Bulldogs do loom large in Jarrett’s recruitment and should be considered the front-runner at this point. A visit to Auburn is coming up in early June as those three stand out most. The Tar Heels did a good job and are in this but Georgia might be tough to beat.

There is still an extensive list of top schools for the 2024 four-star quarterback and understandably so since he’s so talented with Texas A&M possibly having an edge over Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Baylor and others. A recent visit to LSU really piqued Lagway’s interest as well because the coaching staff made it clear to him he’s their No. 1 target in the 2024 class. The high four-star is also looking forward to building his relationship more with position coach Joe Sloan which could help the Tigers as well.

Michigan and Notre Dame could be in a dead heat for the St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers standout and it still might be too close to call with a very interesting June ahead. Love just returned from a trip to Georgia where he loved the facility and hit it off big-time with position coach Dell McGee. A visit to Texas A&M should kick off June followed by back-to-back trips to Ann Arbor and South Bend and then Alabama the last weekend of the month. Trips to Missouri and Arkansas are going to be squeezed in soon as well. The SEC programs could make things tougher but right now it’s a battle between the Wolverines and Irish.

An unofficial visit to Florida is coming up along with an official to Michigan State as the four-star defensive tackle from Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett figures out his recruitment. His mother is thinking about a trip to Oklahoma which could be big and then Michigan and NC State will get trips in June. Georgia looms in his recruitment and then a surprise offer to Clemson that came from Nick Eason could change things up dramatically on his top list.

The people. The players. The coaches. “Everything” stood out to the four-star defensive end from Indianapolis (Ind.) Lawrence Central during his recent visit to North Carolina and the Tar Heels have now clearly emerged as the front-runner in his recruitment. Some Big Ten programs are definitely involved but if Mickens doesn’t end up in Chapel Hill at this point it would be a big surprise.

Georgia is “somewhere (Mitchell) could” see himself in the future, he feels comfortable with the Georgia staff and players, he likes the defensive scheme and the four-star defensive tackle from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic spent time with current players and recruits and hit it off with them as well. The Bulldogs have a significant edge right now in his recruitment but two big visits are planned to Texas and Auburn in June that could sway things.

Although his recruitment remains “100 percent open,” the three-star defensive end from Visalia (Calif.) Central Valley Christian does have a Pac-12-focused official visit schedule coming up. Moore has a busy June with stops at Washington, Washington State, Arizona and Cal before the end of the month. The Golden Bears figure to have the slight edge right now but a big month is coming up.

What Wayne liked most about his recent trip to Georgia was the family vibes and the feeling that the coaches are always real with him and that his family had another great time in Athens. A scavenger hunt and axe throwing gave the five-star defensive end from Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln the feel of what life would be like at Georgia away from football if he ended up there. He’s “still looking at others” but the Bulldogs continue to impress as Wayne released a top seven late last week.

A visit to Ole Miss especially stood out to the 2024 four-star quarterback because it was all football talk and he “loved every second of it,” so the Rebels will definitely play a big role in his recruitment moving forward. White’s brother used to play at Arkansas (he’s now at Central Arkansas) so the Razorbacks are playing a role but not as outsized anymore. Camp stops at Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, LSU, Arkansas and Louisville will be crucial this summer.