Tuesdays with Gorney: 10 programs that stood out in July
June is the busiest recruiting month of the summer but there were many teams in July that also loaded up with top commits. Here is a look at 10 standouts from this past month.
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ALABAMA
Coach Nick Saban and his staff had a nice run in July after a muted June during which the Crimson Tide landed only two commitments.
Leading the way for Alabama in July were four-star OL Casey Poe from Lindale, Texas, and four-star defensive back Zabien Brown from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, which is essentially the Alabama of high school football.
Poe and Brown were the top commits, but four-star tight end Caleb Odom was also a huge addition and could push even higher up the position rankings soon.
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AUBURN
Maybe no team in the country had a better - or more interesting - July than Auburn as the Tigers flipped high four-star linebacker Demarcus Riddick from Georgia and staved off Alabama to land him. Then, over the weekend Auburn flipped four-star WR Perry Thompson from the Crimson Tide.
Those were the two headliner pledges for Auburn, but the Tigers also loaded up with four-star defensive end Malik Blocton, four-star defensive back Jalyn Crawford, a longtime Auburn lean, and four-star ATH Malcolm Simmons, who committed during the Big Cat Weekend as well.
After the doldrums of the Bryan Harsin era, coach Hugh Freeze has injected excitement and vibrancy back into the program before even coaching a game.
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FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles strangely had no commitments in the month of June as others loaded up, but July was great to them with 10 commitments, more than any other Power Five school.
High four-star cornerback Charles Lester was the top dog in Florida State’s July haul, but four other four-stars joined the list as well with defensive end DD Holmes, cornerback Ricky Knight, receiver Elijah Moore and offensive tackle Jonathan Daniels jumping on board as well.
Coach Mike Norvell has FSU trending way up. The program has a lot of momentum on the recruiting trail and the Noles are sitting ninth in the overall team rankings.
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GEORGIA
What a surprise: Georgia had a good month on the recruiting trail. July was another good time for the Bulldogs, who have the top-rated recruiting class again and just continue loading up with some of the best players in the country. And Georgia might not be done this summer as five-stars KJ Bolden, Williams Nwaneri and others still have to make their decisions.
In July, Georgia came from behind to land five-star linebacker Justin Williams along with his four-star defensive end teammate Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, massive four-star OL Daniel Calhoun, four-star OL Marques Easley and four-star LB Kristopher Jones, among others.
Things really couldn’t be going much better in Athens.
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MIAMI
Coach Mario Cristobal and his staff only landed four commitments in the month of July, but getting five-star athlete Joshisa Trader on board was absolutely huge. Ohio State, Florida State and others were working on the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna standout (also the home of five-stars Jeremiah Smith and Zaquan Patterson), but the Hurricanes won out.
Miami didn’t stop there, either, going to Chicago Kenwood for four-star defensive end Marquise Lightfoot, who had plenty of options in the Midwest and beyond but loved his visits to South Florida and joined the class.
The Cares are sitting at No. 17 in the overall team rankings.
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OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are not putting together their entire recruiting class over the summer, but the end of June was very strong for Ohio State as it landed four-star TE Damarion Witten and high four-star CB Bryce West, and while July only brought three pledges they were all super important.
Ohio State beat out Michigan, Notre Dame, Georgia, Miami and others for five-star defensive tackle Justin Scott out of Chicago St. Ignatius, which was definitely a massive victory for the Buckeyes. The national power also closed on four-star corner Miles Lockhart from Chandler (Ariz.) Basha and beat Michigan and others for Springfield, Ohio, four-star corner Aaron Scott over the weekend.
Sitting at second overall in the team rankings, only Georgia has a higher-rated recruiting class.
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OKLAHOMA
The Sooners had only a handful of commitments in July, but there is quality over quantity among the group. All five of the players Oklahoma landed are four-star prospects, led by Longview, Texas, four-star RB Taylor Tatum, who chose the Sooners over USC and many others.
Four-star tight end Davon Mitchell from Los Alamitos, Calif., reclassified from the 2025 class to join Oklahoma’s class, and he’s joined by four-star receiver Zion Ragins, offensive lineman Eugene Brooks and defensive tackle Jayden Jackson.
It’s been a good summer for coach Brent Venables and his staff as Oklahoma looks to rebound from its first losing season since 1998.
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TENNESSEE
Only four prospects committed to Tennessee during July, but it was still such a phenomenal month for the Volunteers because all four are elite players.
Let’s start with five-star athlete Mike Matthews, who always had the Vols high on his list and finally closed out his recruitment in July.
The Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview standout is definitely a huge addition - and more ammo for coach Josh Heupel on offense - but four-star OLs William Satterwhite and Bennett Warren are literally big pickups, and LB Edwin Spillman will join his brother in Knoxville.
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TEXAS
Thirteen of 15 Texas commits have pledged since June 17, so it’s been a rollercoaster ride these last six weeks or so as the Longhorns have loaded up in their 2024 recruiting class and July was hectic as well with seven commitments.
Four-star receiver Parker Livingstone, four-star athlete Aeryn Hampton and four-star defensive back Jordon Johnson-Rubell led the way for the Longhorns, but landing four-star DT D’Antre Robinson from Orlando (Fla.) Jones shouldn’t be overlooked, either.
Texas is currently sitting with a top 20 class heading into a season that could be very advantageous for the Longhorns on the recruiting trail.
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TEXAS A&M
Only four players committed to Texas A&M in July after a busy June saw the Aggies load up as well, but they made this list because landing high four-star receiver Cam Coleman was a massive victory over Auburn and others.
Coleman, who has drastically pushed up the rankings (and who might not be done yet), could have gone less than an hour away to The Plains (and the Tigers did finish second in his recruitment) but coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff stayed on the elite receiver and landed him.
Texas A&M also added four-star receivers Jaylan Hornsby and Ernest Campbell in July, along with high three-star DB Myles Davis.