Rivals250 WR Rodney Gallagher narrows his focus to eight schools

Rivals250 receiver Rodney Gallagher released a top eight on Sunday and has a handful of visits coming up as he works towards a summer decision. The Uniontown (Pa.) Laurel Highlands star broke it all down with Rivals.com.

"I plan on taking visits to Oklahoma State, Oregon, and Texas in June," Gallagher said. "Those will probably be official visits since they're the farther schools. Oklahoma State is the 15th of June. The other ones aren't set yet. I'm hoping to commit maybe in July but it's no rush. At Oklahoma State, the receivers coach and coach Gundy have been on me. All the coaches have been hitting me up recently. The Oregon coaches are coming up here in May. I'm really close with coach Marion at Texas.

"I love Pittsburgh's new receivers coach, coach Underwood," he said. "He's a great guy. I'm building a relationship with him and he's recruiting me pretty hard. I can tell he cares about his players and he wants everybody to be great. He wants to be the best receivers coach in the country. They've been building receivers for the last couple years. They have a great one there now in Jordan Addison so they've been doing really well with him. I'm excited to see what coach Underwood can do with this group this year.

"Penn State has been showing love since my freshman year," said Gallagher. "Coach Terry and coach Franklin have been on me pretty hard. I'm about to go up there on the 30th. Hopefully I get to see the school and campus a little bit more. I've only gone up there for games. They did a great job with Jahan Dotson this past year so I'm excited to see what they can do this year without him on the roster. They got him involved a lot last year and that really stood out to me.

"I really like West Virginia head coach Neal Brown," he said. "Their staff has been showing lots of love since my freshman year. They've been trying to build that relationship. The new receivers coach, coach Washington, and the safeties coach, coach Wright, have been on me very hard. It's a great program that's been recruiting me hard. When I was there last, I was able to see their practice for the first time. I liked how coach Washington pushes the receivers.

"I'm taking a visit to Virginia Tech on the 17th," Gallagher said. "They sold out their spring game, which is nuts. I'm ready to see the stadium and all the coaches. I've never been down there before. I'm ready to see everything. I really like their coaches, that's the main reason they made my top eight and I can't wait to visit.

"Notre Dame is definitely high on my list also," he said. "Their staff has shown crazy amounts of love with the coaches coming up to my school multiple times. They came up for a basketball game too and that means a lot."

Gallagher‘s recruitment may be narrowed down to eight schools but really they’re just a handful of top contenders at this point. That could change based on how the visits go but the main players for him or Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia, and Notre Dame. There’s been a lot of buzz around the Mountaineers lately and his tight bonds with the coaching staff are clearly paying dividends. Pittsburgh just had him on campus and the Panthers are a very familiar program to Gallagher but it will be interesting to see how his relationship with the new receivers coach plays out. Seeing the success of Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison is a big factor for him. Penn State is in a good position as well. The Nittany Lions have worked hard to recruit Gallagher for years and have already had success in western Pennsylvania this cycle with a commitment from Gallagher's close friend Lamont Payne. Notre Dame just hosted Gallagher for the first time and the Fighting Irish continue to impress. It will be interesting to see how far the experience of this visit to South Bend carries Notre Dame in Gallagher's recruitment. Oklahoma State is an unusual contender for a player from western Pennsylvania but the high-powered Big 12 offense has obvious appeal for a dynamic receiver like Gallagher. The Hokies are eagerly awaiting Gallagher's visit to campus in a few weeks and the Hokies could make some waves if they continue to hit all the right buttons. Texas receivers coach Brennan Marion built a great relationship with Gallagher while coaching at Pittsburgh and the two remain close. He is the driving force behind Gallagher's interest in the Longhorns. Oregon and new head coach Dan Lanning have made it clear they want Gallagher but that staff will need to get closer with Gallagher and his family before they should be a considered a legitimate landing spot for him.