Tuesdays with Gorney: Latest recruiting chatter about top QB prospects
Quarterbacks are always in the recruiting spotlight and that continues to be true during a very busy spring visit season. Here’s the latest on what Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing in this week’s Tuesdays With Gorney:
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After a snap decision to commit to Colorado after a visit to Boulder, Hill backed off that pledge a month later and his list continues to expand. The four-star quarterback from Warner Robins (Ga.) Houston County will be at Memphis this weekend as the Tigers are making a serious push for the talented pocket passer.
But Louisville, Florida State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida, Colorado, Alabama, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech all remain very involved in Hill’s recruitment and he’s telling teams that he’s open to everybody at this point.
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UCLA and Nebraska are the two front-runners for the four-star quarterback from Downey (Calif.) Warren who completed 63 percent of his passes for 3,626 yards with 43 touchdowns and four interceptions last season and has now firmly established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the 2025 class.
The Bruins feel like the front-runner here especially after a recent visit over to Westwood where coach DeShaun Foster and especially Eric Bieniemy and Ted White really made an impressive pitch. All that NFL experience could be playing a big role in Iamaleava’s recruitment but the Huskers are definitely right there as well.
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The talented four-star lefty quarterback committed to Notre Dame in early September during a turbulent junior season that saw him transfer from Mississippi to Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy and then back to Lucedale (Miss.) George County where he will finish out his high school career.
That move back was particularly interesting because it kept the window open for Ole Miss and coach Lane Kiffin to put the full-court press on Knight and the Rebels are definitely trying to make that move. Knight was in Oxford over the weekend for the Elite 11 regionals and there is considerable interest on the Ole Miss side.
Now it just comes down to the question of whether Knight wants to stick with his Notre Dame commitment for reasons both on and off the field or if staying closer to home, playing in the SEC and playing in Kiffin’s offense is what he wants to do.
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Nebraska has been considered a front-runner for some time with Lateef but a recent visit to Colorado really muddled this recruitment because the Buffaloes impressed him greatly.
It’s a long shot that Colorado can flip five-star Julian Lewis from USC and so the Orange (Calif.) Lutheran four-star quarterback who was arguably tops at the position during the recent Rivals Camp Series event in Los Angeles could see a really big opportunity ahead - and on a big stage playing for coach Deion Sanders - in Boulder. A decision is expected sometime later in the spring and it could be a two-team battle now.
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The No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class has been committed to USC since August but Georgia is not giving up and has hosted him numerous times as coach Kirby Smart has made him a top priority, the new Alabama offense (and the historical success there) makes the Crimson Tide very intriguing and then Colorado and Auburn would allow Lewis very possible immediate playing time which will be a draw.
His recent visit to USC went great because Lewis spent more time with coach Lincoln Riley and the staff looking at how the offense would be designed to play to his strengths. There is a ton of respect for Riley’s history with quarterbacks and while distance is not great it’s not a deal breaker.
Georgia’s offensive line success over time is appealing as Lewis would always be throwing from a clean pocket. Winning national championships is a real consideration as well which could help the Bulldogs. There are still a lot of moving pieces here but Lewis’ commitment remains.
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For months, Texas A&M was considered the front-runner for the four-star quarterback from Corona (Calif.) Centennial and even at the recent Rivals Camp in Los Angeles, Longstreet talked the most about the Aggies. It looked like Texas A&M was going to land his pledge when he commits on April 14.
But Auburn has made a real and serious push for Longstreet and if I had to pick right now, I’d go with the Tigers. Ole Miss and Oregon are also in there but long shots at this point. Auburn’s offense could be more suited to Longstreet’s strengths, at least that’s the feeling around his recruitment, and after numerous visits there recently, it’s looking more likely that coach Hugh Freeze and his staff land the talented four-star.
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Florida, South Carolina and Georgia are the three front-runners for the four-star quarterback from Findlay, Ohio and the certainty ends there. A commitment is expected in early May followed by only an official visit to that school and then a visit there in June to help build out the class.
Really, an argument could be made for all three. Florida had Montgomery back over the weekend and by all accounts everything went great. The Gators and the Gamecocks have been showing Montgomery by far the most attention and being somewhere he’s really wanted is important in this recruitment.
But Georgia intrigues the family for sure and there’s clearly so much to like. The Bulldogs missed out on four-star Matt Zollers to Missouri and they’re still trying to flip Lewis from USC so Montgomery will have to weigh all that in his recruitment, too.
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SMU got a major steal when the four-star quarterback from Duncanville, Texas committed to the Mustangs in late September and he’s stuck with his pledge despite renewed interest from Ole Miss, Florida, Houston, Baylor and many others.
Things could get more interesting, though, if four-star QB Husan Longstreet does not pick Texas A&M later this month. Russell visited College Station over the weekend and the word from that coaching staff is he becomes the top priority if Longstreet goes elsewhere. Then things could really start heating up as Russell will have to make a final decision.
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Texas A&M, Missouri, Alabama, Ole Miss and Auburn have all been involved with the Mississippi State four-star quarterback commit but the biggest threat to the Bulldogs at this point could be UCF.
The Knights have been pushing hard for the Macon (Miss.) Noxubee County standout but playing in coach Jeff Lebby’s offense and with some elite receivers that the Bulldogs are getting plus staying closer to home makes some close to Taylor think he sticks with Mississippi State.
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Penn State was the early leader for Washington but the Nittany Lions took a commitment from four-star QB Bekkem Kritza and now many others are involved although Kritza’s recruitment should be watched in the coming months as well. Virginia Tech has become a key player for the Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding standout.
UCF, Syracuse and Maryland will also get official visits and Colorado is working to get the four-star quarterback on campus as well.