Recruiting never stops - and neither do recruiting predictions. In today’s Tuesdays with Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney makes a pick for the remaining uncommitted players in the Rivals250:
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Over the last few weeks, especially as Missouri has been winning games and playing much better football, the Tigers have been trending for the five-star receiver. Texas cannot be counted out but Missouri looks like the team to beat heading into the latter part of the season.
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Seaton’s recruitment continues to be a little zig-zagged with new schools popping up all the time and surprises in store. Colorado is an interesting one, he could visit Oregon this weekend so that could change things up, Tennessee has been mentioned a lot recently but this could still come down to Alabama and Ohio State. His official visit to Columbus looms large but right now the Crimson Tide have a slight edge.
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A top five of UCF, Oklahoma, Miami, Oregon and Texas A&M has emerged for the high-level four-star offensive lineman but Pierre-Louis has been most serious about the Knights, the Ducks and the Sooners in recent weeks. As decision day gets closer, it sure sounds like Oklahoma is making the biggest push for the Tampa (Fla.) Catholic star who is an elite athlete.
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Texas has long been considered the favorite here but the four-star cornerback from Waco (Texas) Connally has still not pulled the trigger on a commitment. Texas A&M keeps trying and has gotten him to campus which is something to watch but eventually the Longhorns should be the pick.
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After committing to hometown Arizona it looked like the Wildcats got a major steal in the Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe standout but recently he backed off that pledge. There could be one reason: Oregon. The Ducks are considered the heavy favorite now to land the long, athletic and rangy four-star defensive end.
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After a stint at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, Willor is back in the Mid-Atlantic at Towson (Md.) Concordia Prep and the overwhelming feeling is that he stays regionally with his decision. Penn State and Maryland have emerged as the front-runners and the Nittany Lions - just based off status - have a slight edge at this point.
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Kansas State, Nebraska and Oklahoma are the three front-runners for the four-star offensive tackle out of Logan (Iowa) Logan Magnolia but the Sooners are now emerging as the team to beat in his recruitment. There was a time where Brix had a ton of interest in the Wildcats and then the Huskers looked to have an edge but it sounds like OU is at the front of the pack now.
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Johnson’s recruitment is interesting because Oregon and Washington are the front-runners and this past weekend he was at the game where the Huskies beat the Ducks but the latter caused a lot of their own problems and probably should’ve won the game. Washington was the early standout for the Northern California DT but the Ducks had the edge after a recent visit. If I had to pick today, I’d take Oregon.
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For such a long time, Ohio State looked like the team to beat for Pickett and the four-star defensive end from Tampa (Fla.) Wharton was not hiding those thoughts. But after a recent visit to Miami and more interest coming in from the coaching staff, the in-state Hurricanes now have the edge in Pickett’s recruitment.
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Before the Mel Tucker fiasco at Michigan State, the Spartans held the lead in Brown’s recruitment but that has disintegrated with so much uncertainty about what’s next in East Lansing. Oregon now looks like the team to beat over Washington for the Seattle (Wash.) O’Dea standout as the Ducks have always been a top school as well.
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There have been a lot of moving parts in the recruitment of Ross but Nebraska has been the mainstay and probably the team to beat right now for the Kansas City (Mo.) Liberty North standout. The four-star defensive end could still be looking at Oklahoma, Tennessee and others but the Huskers have made him a priority.
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Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina are the three finalists for Hill and while the Crimson Tide and the Vols have shown decent interest, the Gamecocks have made him a top priority and that has not gone unnoticed by Hill. The big four-star running back from Meridian, Miss., could be closing in on a decision and South Carolina has the edge.
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Mitchell had a commitment date in mind but postponed it as he had to sit out the first half of the season at Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco because of transfer rules. It’s also what could have delayed his pledge as USC, Oregon and LSU have been around the longest in his recruitment but a recent visit to Texas A&M also makes things interesting. It’s still very much up in the air with his recruitment.
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The recruitment of Edwards remains up in the air as he takes visits, hears from new coaches and then will probably make a decision later on. The four-star defensive end from Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek has said Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama stand out most but others are lurking. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Edwards end up with the Vols or Gamecocks right now.
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After decommitting from Mississippi State in recent days, things might already be taking shape for the four-star cornerback from Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove. If Oregon offers then the Ducks would be the team to beat because Woodland has always had interest in that program. If that doesn’t come to fruition then this could end up being a battle between LSU and Ole Miss.
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With a commitment date planned for Oct. 21, this looks like a battle between Florida and Georgia and there seems to be guarded optimism on both sides. The sense from the Gainesville side might be a little stronger for the four-star defensive end from Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland but the Dawgs can never be counted out of any recruitment. Florida State is also very much worth mentioning as well. What makes this tougher to predict is that McCray says very little about favorites.