The Early Signing Period is less than a week away and there are a lot of rumors flying around. Committed players are taking visits to other schools and coaches are making their final pitches.
Here are five prospects from the West that should be on Flip Watch as National Signing Day nears.
MORE FLIP WATCH: East Coast prospects | Mid-South | Southeast | Midwest
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LSU won out for the four-star cornerback from Long Beach (Calif.) Poly in May and his commitment has stood throughout his senior season, but things have gotten much more interesting in recent weeks.
Oregon has made a serious run at Austin and he seems very open to that being a contingency. This weekend the four-star is visiting Louisville with a bunch of other top California prospects. There are rumors Austin won’t sign next week, which means things could go in many different directions. One could be sticking with LSU, but another possibility is flipping somewhere else.
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There is a good chance the Louisville commit does not sign during the Early Signing Period as he gets to know the new Cardinals staff with Jeff Brohm in charge. That’s a very good hire for the Inglewood, Calif., four-star prospect who is a massive pass-catching option and could be used wisely by Brohm in Louisville’s offense. But Johnson visited Pittsburgh last weekend and he could be at Oregon this weekend. A trip to Cincinnati could happen in January as well.
It looks very likely that a bunch of the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco commits will stick with Louisville and that familiarity – many of them play on the Premium 7v7 team – could help Johnson make his final decision, but other options are available.
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The Lake Stevens, Wash., four-star and fellow Notre Dame commit Jeremiyah Love could provide a devastating one-two punch for the Irish backfield in the coming years – but Oregon is trying its hardest to flip Limar to the Ducks. According to Limar, who has been committed to Notre Dame since late May, “nothing is set” with the Ducks, but he did visit and that coaching staff is working on flipping him.
It’s essentially a win-win for the Lake Stevens standout whether he plays with Love in South Bend or with punishing and talented four-star running back Dante Dowdell in Eugene. Both offensive lines know how to move people out of the way.
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New Louisville coach Jeff Brohm and some assistants traveled to Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco’s state title game last weekend and it was a big - and intelligent - move by Brohm to solidify the commitments of numerous Bosco players, including four-star quarterback Pierce Clarkson.
Having those teammates locked in with the Cardinals could absolutely help keep Moore in the class as well, but Georgia and Texas continue to make a push for the four-star receiver. Moore has visited those other schools, knows them well, has connections at both and has shown significant interest. But the standout Bosco receiver remains committed to Louisville as numerous Bosco players will be back at Louisville this weekend.
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The four-star cornerback from Seattle Rainier Beach committed to Oregon in July and he has stuck with the Ducks. But Presley recently took an official visit to Washington and he has been on record as saying he loves the new staff for the Huskies, much more than the old one.
But days after Presley’s trip to Washington, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and position coach Demetrice Martin were with Presley for an in-home visit as the Ducks brought out the big guns. UCLA has tried to make a late run, but this is going to be a two-team race to the end with the word being Oregon should still feel confident in keeping his pledge.
