Commitment season is winding down but several elite recruits remain undeclared in the nation's most fertile region. From IMG Academy stars to a certain Buford (Ga.) High School duo, Rivals takes a late-summer stab at where the best available talent in the Southeast may be trending to play at the next level.
MORE FROM THE SOUTHEAST: Superlatives for the region's top WRs | Comparing top 2024 standouts to NFL players
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The highest-ranked recruit on this list, Bolden's recruitment may be the toughest to track ahead of his Aug. 5 verbal commitment date. On one hand, we know this recruitment likely won't be over when he announces for one school this Saturday. We would imagine all four of the teams that don't hear their name called will remain in pursuit (something Bolden is already anticipating). On the other hand, Georgia has been a longtime favorite but recent visits to Auburn and Florida State may have truly shaken up the race. Confidence may be highest at Auburn with Hugh Freeze landing the last visit before a decision, as he requested from Bolden this summer, but the buzz when Rivals spent time in the state last week was between FSU and UGA. I'll go with the 'dream school' pick for now, but don't count out the champs.
Prediction: Florida State
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We have a group of finalists and a decision date for Stone, which is big because of the wide array of programs on his trail for years. Should this recruitment have lingered into the college football season, or closer to the Early Signing Period, the tilt would have been felt toward one of the newer programs on the list. Since it's going down Aug. 26, the core trio of programs Stone has been considering - Oklahoma, Michigan State and Miami - have to feel best at the moment. OU is the hometown program and has been able to get Stone back on campus for key recruiting events all offseason - from the spring game to teammate and Sooner commitment Jayden Jackson's official visit weekend - which seems like a lot for him to pass up.
Prediction: Oklahoma
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There is no official top group for Houston just yet, but he is set to come off the board Aug. 22. Naturally, the five programs that got him on campus for summer official visits - Georgia, Alabama, USC, Ohio State and Clemson - are in the best position to contend at this time. The dead period likely won't allow for any new visits for Houston before a public commitment is to be made, either. Houston says communication is most frequent with OSU and Clemson, while the Buckeyes and Bulldogs are the most creative in how they recruit him. The common denominator in both answers is Ryan Day's program, so that's where the prediction drifts toward, just like the buzz did when he was in Columbus for the June official visit.
Prediction: Ohio State
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Patterson has been busy of late, seeing a trio of campuses in Miami, Michigan and Auburn to wrap up his summer. Interestingly, none of those experiences were official visits, so this recruitment could be quite far from over from an optical perspective. Programs like Florida State and Ohio State are also still in the race, but we see Miami as the local program that could be tough to upset in the end, especially if Patterson comes off the board sooner than expected. Should it be the opposite and game weekend official visits come to pass elsewhere, this could project as a wide-open race through the Early Signing Period.
Prediction: Miami
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This recruitment may be the furthest from completion compared to all others on this list, but it's not for a lack of effort for the new IMG Academy standout. Seaton has plenty of Big Ten and SEC interest to his name dating back to his days in Washington, D.C., where early opinion centered this recruitment between Ohio State and Michigan. The move south has enabled Seaton to hit the road throughout SEC country, where programs like Alabama and Florida have been able to host him for multiple trips. The senior said any summer official visit would be a slight tell on the program doing the most consistent work, however, and the only trip he took in this capacity in June was to Tuscaloosa.
Prediction: Alabama
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Another ebb-and-flow of a recruitment lies with the versatile interior talent from Tampa. Pierre-Louis is fresh off of a trip to Miami over the weekend, where he is plenty comfortable with the in-state program, just like he is at UCF. Oregon, Oklahoma and Tennessee are programs he talks about more and more these days, while Texas A&M and Georgia have made it clear they're not out of the picture just yet. Throw in an undefined timeline and the desire to take multiple official visits once the college football season starts, and Pierre-Louis won't be easy to project. We'll make an early call for UCF based on the coaching staff being most familiar with him and his family at this time.
Prediction: UCF
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This has long been billed as an SEC East battle between three schools: Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. The Gators had early summer momentum and Ross was publicly teasing an early verbal commitment, likely good news for Billy Napier's bunch. Since, however, the top two teams in the division have prodded the momentum in what may still be a relatively early decision in the end. Tennessee hosted Ross for his final official visit in the month of June and it may be the slight difference over a loaded UGA roster and commitment list at this time. Should the recruitment linger longer Ross' recruitment could be among the most interesting in the state of Alabama.
Prediction: Tennessee
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The former Georgia commitment has been linked to programs closer to home since he and the champs parted ways in July. Miami had recently hosted the versatile defensive back before the decommitment, and UCF sandwiched multiple visits around the news. Heyward says he is interested in programs out of the region he would like to visit during the season, but some don't see his reset recruitment lasting very long. Should it end sooner than most, we would give a slight edge to UCF over Miami for one of the state of Florida's very best.
Prediction: UCF
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Speaking of wide-open Florida recruitments, Richardson has been quiet since announcing a final four of Michigan, Michigan State, LSU and Oregon just before official visit season kicked off. Then, he did not take any of his planned trips in June, meaning the early-season game weekend slate could be a key factor as to where Richardson ultimately lands. Michigan State may be the most consistent program with Richardson, but his longest-standing relationship goes to the LSU Tigers. Notre Dame recently got back involved in the recruitment, and UCF - the program closest to his Tampa home - has increased momentum on the trail as well. If he can get all the visits in, who knows? But if he elects to come off the board sooner perhaps it's Michigan State sitting as a trendy pick given the need for wideouts and Richardson having multiple teammates on campus, or planning to be next year.
Prediction: Michigan State
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Another decision slated to go down on Aug. 5, this is a regional SEC and ACC battle between South Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn and Florida State. Each program has had reason for some confidence of late, with Auburn getting Solomon on campus over the weekend for its key unofficial recruiting event and the other three hosting the two-way talent for June official visits. Shane Beamer's program was likely the favorite in June, but Auburn has seemingly closed that gap. The recent trip - and Solomon's older brother on the AU roster - make it seem timely for maybe the nation's hottest recruiting program to add another key piece.
Prediction: Auburn
