The upcoming weekend will signal the start of the homestretch to the Early Signing Period, with colleges jockeying for position with top uncommitted prospects now that the finish line is in sight. With only seven official visit weekends left before the early period opens, home teams are taking advantage of their opportunities in Week 10 of the college football season.
MORE HELMHOLDT: Best two-team recruiting battles in the Midwest | Weekend Visit Preview, Week 9 | Twitter mailbag
1. LSU
The showdown between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 LSU in Death Valley on Saturday night has huge playoff implications, but it will also be a big recruiting opportunity for the home Tigers. Whether by design or coincidence – the former being most likely, considering the coaching staff will be consumed with stopping the Crimson Tide – none of this weekend’s visitors are expected to be official. There will, however, be a long and distinguished list of unofficial visitors in the stands Saturday night.
Let’s start with the five-stars, because there are several. Cornerback Derek Stingley, wide receiver Trey Palmer and offensive guard Kardell Thomas are already on-board as commitments, though the latter has been taking official visits to other programs in recent weeks.
Other five-star visitors expected include defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher and 2020 running back Zachary Evans. Then, there is the developing storyline of Ed Orgeron trying to sway four-star quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa away from the team his brother will lead from the opposite sideline on Saturday. Tagovailoa is one of five 2019 prospects committed to Alabama expected to be guests of LSU this weekend.
2. OREGON
In terms of official visitor numbers, Oregon likely ends up with the biggest group on-campus this weekend. At last count six prospects were expected to officially visit Eugene in conjunction with the Ducks' home contest against UCLA, including four ranked among the top 150 prospects in the 2019 class. Those prospects are California wide receiver Kyle Ford, Arizona defensive end Ty Robinson, Salt Lake City defensive tackle Siaki Ika and Los Angeles defensive end Stephon Wright.
Oregon has appeared in this preview section multiple times already this season, showing that Mario Cristobal and Co. are not afraid to utilize that Autzen Stadium atmosphere as a recruiting tool. And, let’s face it, Eugene is not the easiest or cheapest campus to get to for recruits, so official visits are necessary in many cases to expose top targets to that atmosphere. That was key in landing four-star linebacker Jared Casey earlier this fall, and something is obviously working because Oregon has the No. 2 recruiting class in 2019.
>>For a full list of official visitors see DuckSportsAuthority.com<<
3. AUBURN
Auburn has ground to make up on the top 2019 classes in the Southeastern Conference, as it currently sits in eighth and just inside the top 20 nationally. The Tigers, however, have room to make a run at the top programs in their conference with just 15 current commitments, three of whom are five-stars. They get another shot at a five-star this weekend when wide receiver Jadon Haselwood, formerly a Georgia commit, takes his official visit. He will be accompanied by his teammate, recent Alabama de-commit Rashad Cheney, who will be an unofficial visitor.
Another pair of teammates from Horn Lake (Miss.) High School will also be taking official visits this weekend with Auburn taking on Texas A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium in a noon kickoff. Linebacker Nakobe Dean is sitting right on the cusp of five-star territory as the No. 32 prospect in the 2019 class. His teammate Raydarious Jones, meanwhile, is a three-star athlete that SEC programs such as LSU and Ole Miss are also trying to lock down. If Auburn is going to make a darkhorse run at the SEC recruiting title, this is a weekend that matters.
>>For more on this recruiting weekend see AuburnSports.com<<
4. OHIO STATE
The biggest recruiting weekend in Columbus will take place later this month when Michigan visits for what should be one of the most anticipated matchups in the rivalry since the turn of the century. This Saturday, which sees Nebraska coming to town, is a sneaky big one for recruiting purposes, though. Although two official visitors will be in town this weekend, it is five-star defensive end Zach Harrison, for whom Ohio State is locked in an intense battle with the aforementioned “team up north,” and Rivals100 wide receiver commit Garrett Wilson coming in at a particularly delicate time in recruiting that adds importance to the weekend.
The official visitors list consists of a pair of running backs in four-star Deondrick Glass and Miami commit Marcus Crowley. Both prospects became higher priorities when four-star running back Sampson James flipped from the Buckeyes to Indiana last month. After winning eight straight Big Ten team recruiting titles, the prospects of Ohio State making it nine straight with this 2019 class are looking less likely. Nebraska recently overtook OSU for third place in the standings, and the path back to the top perch is full of obstacles.
>>For more on Ohio State’s recruiting visitors see BuckeyeGrove.com<<
5. PURDUE
There may be other schools hosting more, or even higher-ranked prospects, but when it comes to importance of this upcoming recruiting weekend, Purdue’s is top five. A huge win over previously undefeated Ohio State was followed by a loss to Michigan State, proving that the Boilermakers are close, but not quite there yet. Two potential pieces to the puzzle that could push Purdue closer to the upper tier of the Big Ten are coming in this weekend for official visits as the Boilers host Iowa.
Four-star wide receiver David Bell is the top-ranked in-state prospect and I listed Purdue as the team with the best shot at signing him in a recent mailbag article. However, if you offered me the field versus the Boilermakers, I would opt for the field. This is a close one and it’s coming down to the wire. So, too, is the battle for Louisville wide receiver Milton Wright, with a red-hot Kentucky program and the hometown Cardinals in-play. Both are four-star prospects and both will officially visit West Lafayette this weekend. Purdue already has four four-star commitments in a top 25-ranked 2019 class. Adding Bell, Wright or both would be another big step forward.
>>For more on Purdue’s recruiting weekend check out GoldandBlack.com<<
