West Spotlight: Five prospects on flip watch
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney takes a look at a handful of prospects in the West region that could be at risk to flip their commitments down the stretch of the 2024 recruiting cycle.
THIS SERIES: Five Mid-South prospects on flip watch | Midwest | Southeast | East
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This is one to watch not because Ahfua is rethinking his commitment to Texas A&M which he made over Utah and Miami in mid-August but because there seems to be some coaching turmoil hitting College Station after dropping another SEC game last weekend.
The offensive line has been a major issue this season for the 4-3 Aggies and if coach Jimbo Fisher is on a decently hot seat pending a massive buyout then offensive line coach Steve Addazio has to be looking over his shoulder as well.
If Addazio gets fired - or even Fisher - does Ahfua start to think about a safer pick at Utah or Miami or even closer to home as Washington and Oregon were involved since early in his recruitment?
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Auburn scored a big win - literally - in early September when the massive 6-foot-5, 340-pound offensive lineman committed to the Tigers. He had taken an important summer visit to Auburn for Big Cat Weekend and absolutely loved the place and his interactions with the coaching staff. His father is from the Birmingham area and he still has family there and in Mobile so there are some connections to the state.
But Texas is not backing down. The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei left tackle who could easily move inside at the next level, recently took another visit to Austin. Coach Steve Sarkisian and position coach Kyle Flood were at his big matchup against Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco last weekend. Teammate Brandon Baker, the top-ranked offensive tackle in the 2024 class, is already committed to the Longhorns.
The word is that Carter wants to stick with Auburn but the Longhorns are working very hard to flip him.
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The four-star offensive tackle from Fort Collins (Colo.) Fossil Ridge committed to Tennessee over Nebraska, Oregon, Colorado and USC in the spring and he liked “literally everything” about the Vols during an offseason visit to Knoxville. It could be tough to pull the state’s top player away from playing in the SEC and for an up-and-coming program under coach Josh Heupel.
But Ginther is also from the state of Colorado and he’s had a front-row seat to see what first-year coach Deion Sanders is doing in Boulder. It was so tempting that Ginther visited with the Buffaloes a few weeks ago. There is nothing solid yet about a flip but Colorado is making a run at him so it’s something to watch.
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Stanford and USC were the main contenders for the four-star offensive tackle from Huntington Beach, Calif., and the Cardinal won out this summer. But Stanford is 2-4 right now with a bad loss to Sacramento State and there seems to be at least some trepidation from Tauanuu since he recently took a visit to USC.
The Trojans are right down the road, other than the Notre Dame game they’re playing championship-level football and USC is making a run at the four-star offensive tackle. There are a million reasons to choose Stanford both athletically and academically but this is one to watch as signing day gets closer.
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Kansas scored a huge win in July when the high three-star defensive end from Goodyear (Ariz.) Desert Edge chose the upstart Jayhawks over more established powers Washington and Texas with Oregon State among the favorites as well. It was a major recruiting victory for coach Lance Leipold and his staff as Warner said he loved the culture in Lawrence and the feeling that he was wanted and needed there.
There have been no serious indications yet that Kansas is in any real danger of losing Warner in this class but with Ohio State and Michigan offering in recent weeks, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the high three-star defensive end have some interest in the Buckeyes or the Wolverines. Warner has turned down higher-profile programs before. Can he do it a second time?