Recruiting Rumor Mill: Summer visits winding down
The Recruiting Rumor Mill has been cranked back up for the final weekend of visits before the football season and fall camps get underway. Here is the latest on what we’re hearing from a busy weekend:
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The atmosphere at Florida’s Friday Night Lights “felt unreal” to the 2025 safety from Fort Pierce (Fla.) John Carroll as the Gators have definitely left an early impression on him. Alford had a talk with coach Billy Napier and others in Gainesville as Florida is definitely one of the early standouts along with Penn State, Western Kentucky and Auburn, where Fort Pierce Carroll teammate Wilky Denaud just committed.
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Georgia is already considered a major front-runner for the 2024 high four-star athlete from Buford, Ga., and he’s already taken numerous visits to Athens with a return trip on Saturday. The message this time from the coaches was one of appreciation that he chose to come back when he could’ve been anywhere else in the country. What stood out most to Bolden was not the hard sell on football but the coaches participating in water games with all the visitors as it drew everybody closer. On Sunday, Bolden took a visit to Michigan for his final trip of the summer as the Wolverines have always intrigued him.
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It’s not an official top two but Concepcion was at NC State on Friday and North Carolina on Saturday as the four-star receiver tries to figure out which one is best suited for him. The Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers standout loves that the Wolfpack got on him earliest and has not let up in their recruitment but North Carolina was always his dream school and since getting that offer the Tar Heels have been very involved as well.
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A new Florida State offer for the Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest four-star offensive lineman is intriguing since it’s less than three hours to the East but after his summer visits, Georgia could be the team to watch for Daniels. After many strong showings this offseason including at the Rivals Camp Series in New Orleans, Daniels has seen his recruitment take off and the feeling is more offers could come early in the season but the Bulldogs would be the team to watch right now.
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Alabama, LSU and Auburn have emerged as the early favorites for the 2024 four-star linebacker from Mobile (Ala.) Mobile Christian and he recently visited all three schools. Dixon has a great bond with Pete Golding at Alabama, at LSU the coaches told Dixon he could be a game-changer within that program and his relationships stand out with Patrick Hill and Jamar Cain leading the way. Auburn is definitely interesting to watch though because Dixon feels at home there and he gets “chills” when he goes inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
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A new offer from Oklahoma was “really big” for the 2024 cornerback from Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal especially since he’s seen the Sooners produce so many college and NFL stars but others have made an impression as well since they’ve been involved longer in his recruitment. Colorado and Maryland would be those programs and Virginia Tech has left a big, early impression as well.
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Miami and Florida had jumped out early in Gaskin’s recruitment and South Carolina appealed to him as well but a new offer from Alabama could change everything. The Crimson Tide offer “definitely made me do a lot of thinking” but the 2024 four-star safety from Ocala (Fla.) Vanguard also wants to wait until Sept. 1 to see which schools start making a serious push in his recruitment. The four-star also landed an offer from Florida State over the weekend.
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His dad played for a short while at Oklahoma and now the 2024 four-star dual-threat quarterback has an offer from the Sooners after visiting Norman in recent days. It’s definitely a big deal to Hawkins since he considers Oklahoma his dream school and “their staff has always stood out to me.” The Allen, Texas standout visited Arkansas over the weekend as the Razorbacks appeal to him and he has some other major offers to consider early on as well.
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“Everything,” at Alabama stood out to the 2025 running back from Elba, Ala., as Henderson was once again impressed by everything the Crimson Tide has to offer. Henderson “enjoyed every second of being with everyone,” Saturday as it’s still early but the Crimson Tide definitely sit very high on his list. Oregon, USC, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Miami are some other early contenders to watch.
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Miami and Ole Miss have emerged as the two most serious contenders for the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard running back. The Hurricanes seem to have an edge in his recruitment especially after a recent visit but the high three-star who had been committed to Rutgers was in Oxford this past weekend and had a good trip so he wouldn’t have gone to see the Rebels if he wasn’t serious.
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The 2024 high four-star quarterback visited Florida this past weekend - he considered getting back to Texas A&M but will have to figure out another time for that - and his time in Gainesville went really well. It was made clear to the Willis, Texas standout that he’s Florida’s top choice in the 2024 class and he especially liked how “kind-hearted and genuine” the coaching staff was during his time there with his family. Can the Aggies be overtaken by another SEC program? Florida gave it a good run.
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The 2024 four-star running back from Tyler (Texas) John Tyler was supposed to visit Oklahoma this past weekend but was back at Texas A&M instead and is just another sign that the Aggies are in very good shape in his recruitment. This visit to College Station was the same as the others with a “great vibe” and while getting to Oklahoma is a probability and the 2024 standout wants to visit the schools showing interest in him, the Aggies have to like their situation in McFall’s recruitment right now.
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The three-star running back from Middleburg, Fla., is about a month into his Utah commitment but since that time he has taken a couple interesting trips. Mitchell was recently at Florida State and over the weekend, he worked out at Florida’s Friday Night Lights camp. The Seminoles and Gators are both trying to flip him but the word is while he had a “great experience” in Gainesville, Mitchell remains committed to the Utes.
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The 2025 offensive lineman from Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day already has more than a dozen offers and should be a national recruit but NC State has jumped out early and it’s because of the “family atmosphere” Sanders experiences every time he’s in Raleigh. Working with position coach John Garrison was another memorable experience from this trip and the Wolfpack could have the early edge although pretty much every top team should be recruiting the talented 2025 offensive lineman soon.
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The standout 2025 quarterback from Frisco (Texas) Rock Hill loves how the Ole Miss coaches develop players at his position and their attention to detail and what also stood out was just how much time they spent with him during his trip to Oxford. Because of Matt Corral’s success and coach Lane Kiffin’s resume with quarterbacks, the Rebels are going to be a contender early in his recruitment along with Oklahoma, Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama. Tennessee could make a run as well especially after Sperry visited Sunday, liked it a lot and landed an offer from the Vols.
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A new offer from Tennessee makes things even more interesting for the 2024 tight end from McCalla (Ala.) McAdory with offers already in from Auburn, Michigan State and Mississippi State but his recruitment could just be starting. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound prospect is clearly an impressive physical presence and he recently has been hearing more from Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia Tech.
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With the commitment of No. 1 running back Justice Haynes to Alabama and now especially with No. 2 RB Richard Young going to the Crimson Tide as well, the word is Georgia is stepping it up majorly with Wilcox recently. The Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding standout has been in regular communication with position coach Dell McGee and the Georgia running backs coach called recently to talk with him. It would not be a shock if an offer was close.