Rivals Five-Star: ACC programs paying close attention
The Rivals Five-Star, the marquee football event of the offseason, is just days away. We continue a conference-by-conference look at which programs should be paying the closest attention to the results from Jacksonville next week.
Next up is the ACC.
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MORE RIVALS FIVE-STAR: SEC teams in spotlight | Big Ten teams in spotlight | Five QBs storylines | RB storylines | WR storylines | Roster | TE storylines | OL storylines | DL storylines | LB storylines | Rivals Five-Star set for Jacksonville
PROSPECTS THAT COULD BOOST THEIR STOCK: Southeast | Florida prospects | Mid-South | Midwest | Northeast | West
BEST OF THE RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Top 10 quarterbacks | Top 10 running backs | Top 10 receivers | Top 10 tight ends | Top 10 defensive linemen | Top 10 linebackers | Top 10 defensive backs
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CLEMSON
There is just one Clemson commitment expected to compete in Jacksonville, but other targets will make noise in the process. One of top running backs in the country is a Tiger pledge in Gideon Davidson. Already tabbed as the No. 4 back in the Rivals250, he could push higher on the list with a strong dual-threat showing in this setting filled with gifted defenders.
Dabo Swinney and company are somewhat selective on the recruiting trail, but there are a handful of 2025 targets still on the Tigers' board worth tracking next week. Wide receiver Cortez Mills has drummed up the most buzz among them, cancelling a Miami visit this weekend in favor of LSU. Clemson and Oklahoma are now viewed as two of his top options. Offensive lineman Max Buchanan is high on the program among his top options after a June stop in Death Valley, similar to linebacker Logan Anderson. Safety projection Gregory Thomas is down to Clemson and Florida State ahead of his expected decision next Sunday.
In the 2026 class, the Tigers are already in on a select group of defensive prospects in particular, including defensive linemen Daverin Geralds and Jake Kreul along with defensive backs Zelus Hicks and J'Zavien Currence, among others.
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FLORIDA STATE
If anyone is curious about the future of Mike Norvell's program, the Rivals Five-Star is a must-watch as both the class of 2025 and 2026 quarterback commitments for the Seminoles are expected to compete with and against one another. Tramell Jones, the rising-senior, has had as strong an offseason as any passer nationally, leading his club 7-on-7 team to four tournament titles, including the OT7 Finals earlier this month. He followed it up with some banner performance days at the Elite 11 Finals, stamping his place among the elite passers in the 2025 Rivals250.
In 2026, the Seminoles have a five-star on board in Brady Smigel, who just verbally committed to Norvell and company on Saturday. A big, prototypical pocket passer from Newbury Park, Calif., the rising-junior should offer a counter to Jones' game as the future of the position in Tallahassee seems relatively set.
The Seminoles' defensive commitment on the Rivals Five-Star roster, Javion Hilson, is the highest-ranked four-star in the Rivals250. The in-state pass rusher, who was back in Tallahassee this weekend, is gunning for five star status against the elite competition the offensive line will provide.
Florida State will likely add to the commitment list from within the undeclared group of competitors slated in Jacksonville, too. Big cover corner Gregory Thomas is down to the Seminoles and Clemson Tigers ahead of a June 30 commitment date. His Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage teammate, running back Byron Louis, has Florida State contending with Miami, Georgia and Wisconsin at this time. Offensive lineman Max Buchanan, defensive linemen Jarquez Hunter, Jake Kreul and JaReylan McCoy are additional targets as are Hylton Stubbs, Shamar Arnoux and Bryce Fitzgerald in the secondary.
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MIAMI
The Hurricanes will have plenty of top targets in town to compete, with the event just a few hours north of campus, but it will enter the Rivals Five-Star with one commitment expected in Jordan Campbell. The Miami (Fla.) Carol City standout has dominated events on both sides of the ball this offseason, nearly winning Running Back MVP honors at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Miami while contending at other events as a shut-down cover linebacker thanks to great length, range and ball skills. Michigan just hosted the four-star and will work, among others, so this recruitment may be far from over in the end.
Several local targets dot the list of participants, of course, with Rivals250 cornerback Chris Ewald Jr. among those next to come off the board. Planning a June 27 decision to celebrate his birthday, the experienced prospect is down to Miami and Georgia.
Even closer to Coral Gables, Miami has worked to stay in the race for do-it-all secondary prospect Bryce Fitzgerald, who is also high on Florida and Florida State down the stretch.
Broward County running back Byron Louis has Miami, Florida State, Georgia and Wisconsin as his top group with official visit season wrapping up.
Elsewhere in the state, prospects like wide receiver Jaime Ffrench, offensive lineman Max Buchanan, defensive linemen Jarquez Carter and Jake Kreul, linebacker Tony Williams and safety Hylton Stubbs all have Miami among their top programs.
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NOTRE DAME
Cue the eye roll from traditional Irish fans, but Notre Dame will have a large impact at the event and if not in this conference breakdown, where would Marcus Freeman's program get highlighted?
The program has one of the larger group of verbal commitments slated to participate next week, with four, led by the face of the class and potential future face of the program in Deuce Knight. The quarterback is hitting his stride this offseason after head-turning efforts at the OT7 Finals and Elite 11 Finals earlier this month. He already checks in as America's top-ranked dual-threat quarterback.
One of Knight's future protectors is signed up to compete, too, in Rivals250 offensive lineman Owen Strebig. He may match up with a South Bend teammate in the trenches as pass rusher Christopher Burgess Jr. is also signed up, gunning to close the gap on a few peers considering he is tabbed as the No. 2 strongside defensive end nationally.
Another with a chance to make a move up the ranks is Notre Dame secondary commitment Dallas Golden, who has not been seen much since he led Tampa (Fla.) Berkley Prep to a state championship in the fall.
Plenty of uncommitted Irish targets will be working out in the class of 2025 and beyond, led by legacy linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Rivals250 rising-junior safety Bralan Womack.
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SMU
The Mustangs are ACC-bound, remember? As college football is reshaped heading into the 2024 season, these events can provide reminders of how much the moves have helped programs bump up in the recruiting realm a bit.
SMU was slated to have a pair of participants in Jacksonville before local quarterback Keelon Russell flipped his pledge to Alabama ahead of his Elite 11 MVP run. Still, Rhett Lashlee's program will be represented by a pledge in blue-chip wide receiver Daylon Singleton.
The DeSoto (Texas) standout is a champion sprinter with plenty of Friday night production to his name at one of the top programs in the Lone Star State, hauling in 17 scores as a junior last fall en route to a state championship.
There are seven undeclared Texans coming to compete in Jacksonville, so perhaps a strong effort from Singleton could push SMU in the conversation more and more as the week wears on.