Advertisement
football Edit

Weekend Visit Preview: Where the biggest visits are happening

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels
Advertisement

The Utah Utes have just seven commitments in this 2019 class, but could kickstart a stretch recruiting run with some big official visitors headed to Salt Lake City this weekend. That leads off our look at the top recruiting visit destinations in college football this weekend.

MORE: Five prospects on the rise in the West | Southeast | Florida | Mid-Atlantic | Midwest

UTAH  

Kyle Whittingham signed Utah’s highest-ranked Rivals.com passer in history during the 2018 recruiting cycle. The Utes beat out the likes of Alabama, LSU and USC for California native Jack Tuttle, the No. 5 pro-style passer and No. 104 player overall in the 2018 class. But, earlier this week Ute Nation’s hopes for a future with Tuttle under center were dashed when he announced plans to transfer just over halfway through his freshman season.

Whittingham is going to attempt to strike again with a top-ranked quarterback in this 2019 class. Four-star Jayden Daniels, the No. 3-ranked dual-threat quarterback and highest-ranked uncommitted prospect left at the position in 2019, will be taking his official visit with Utah this upcoming weekend for the Utes' big home showdown with USC.

There are several more prospects expected to join Daniels in Salt Lake City this weekend for official visits, including Texas cornerback Aaron Lowe and high three-star athlete Jalen Cropper. This weekend is also crucial for a class that has just seven commitments and ranks last in the Pac-12. The Utes have a small senior class departing after the 2018 season, but there still should be room for about 20 prospects in 2019, and Utah cannot wait to jump-start its recruiting momentum to rally a strong finish.

>>For more on Utah’s big weekend check out UteNation.com<<

CLEMSON  

There are no official visitors expected at Clemson’s undefeated match-up against NC State on Saturday, but the list of prospects who will be unofficial visitors is a long and distinguished one, headlined by the No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2020 class, California quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. No team has recruited the quarterback position like Clemson has in recent years. A few of those top signings have since transferred, but that only opens the door for Dabo Swinney and Co. to attract more top talent, such as Uiagalelei.

There should also be five-star representation from the 2019 class at Clemson this weekend. Quavaris Crouch has an official visit planned to Clemson for the Nov. 16 weekend, but could get an unofficial preview this upcoming weekend. Five-star offensive center Clay Webb is more of a sure thing to make Saturday’s game. Webb has yet to start taking official visits, but has made several unofficial visits to his top schools this fall.

The visit of Webb underscores an important recruiting question Clemson fans hope to get answered in the final months of the 2019 class, and that is offensive line recruiting. The Tigers have had some one-off successes at the position, signing prospects such as five-star Jackson Carman in 2018, but they are having trouble attracting numbers at the position and have just one offensive lineman currently committed for 2019.

>>Head to TigerIllustrated.com for more on Clemson’s recruiting weekend<<

NEBRASKA  

The inaugural season of the Scott Frost era in Lincoln has not started like Nebraska fans would have hoped, but there is a silver lining here and that is recruiting prospects are seeing that there is opportunity to come in and contribute early for the Cornhuskers. With Minnesota coming to town in a showdown of young, energetic Big Ten coaches, Nebraska has lined up an impressive group of visitors to see those opportunities first-hand.

The highest-ranked of five official visitors headed to Lincoln for the weekend is Phoenix-area four-star Noa Pola-Gates, for whom Nebraska will be the second Big Ten official visit in the last four weeks. What’s interesting about the group of Nebraska official visitors is they will be coming in from Arizona, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia and Washington, which attests to the Cornhuskers’ need to be a national recruiting team. With few major talent centers located within comfortable driving distance, the number of unofficial visitors will not be extensive, but a big name on that list is class of 2020 Rivals100 offensive tackle Turner Corcoran.

>>For more on Nebraska’s recruiting weekend check out HuskerOnline.com<<

MICHIGAN STATE 

The annual rivalry of Michigan-based Big Ten programs has been a recruiting bonanza for the home team seemingly every year. The Spartans play host this year, and are capitalizing on the opportunity with a healthy list of visitors that is heavy on top underclass talent, considering the Spartans have just a few spots left to fill in 2019.

However, 2019 will be represented, most notably by three-star Ohio tight end Justin Stephens, who will be on an official visit. Another interesting visitor from that 2019 class is defensive end Darius Robinson. This was supposed to be Robinson’s official visit weekend with the Spartans, but he will reschedule and attend this weekend unofficially.

The state of Michigan’s 2020 class will be well-represented in East Lansing on Saturday, including four of the top 10 players. Top prospects from other states will also be driving in, however, including Ohio four-stars Darrion Henry, Jaheim Thomas and Michael Drennen II. Four-star 2020 prospects Darius Snow and Muhsin Muhammad are legacy prospects for the Spartans and are expected in from farther afield.

>>For a full list of Michigan State recruiting visitors see SpartanMag.com<<

KENTUCKY 

After a 5-0 start and plenty of national attention, Kentucky emerges from its bye week following their lone loss of the season to Texas A&M on Oct. 6. A 3-4 Vanderbilt team is coming to Lexington on Saturday, though, giving the Wildcats an opportunity to rebuild momentum for a strong second half of the season. Big seasons usually have the most impact on the junior class, but it can help be a nudge for senior prospects already considering your program. If Kentucky can finish the season as well as it started, the benefits will likely be seen even in this 2019 class.

Among the biggest official visits for any schools this weekend is Louisville four-star JJ Weaver checking out the home-state school. Where Weaver is leaning is a hot topic right now, with Purdue, Kentucky, Miami and Louisville all possibilities. A big weekend in Lexington, though, could be the key for the Wildcats to pull away from the pack. He’ll be joined as an official visitor by another Louisville native in wide receiver Demontae Crumes, who is already committed to Kentucky. Baton Rouge three-star offensive tackle Dylan Rathcke is also expected in, but as an unofficial visitor.

>>For more on Kentucky’s recruiting weekend see CatsIllustrated.com<<

Advertisement