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Where things stand with top five uncommitted TEs in 2023 class

Duce Robinson
Duce Robinson

Top prospects are coming off the board all the time but it’s only April, which means a lot of elite recruits are still uncommitted. In this two-week series, we break down the top five uncommitted players at each position, moving today to tight ends.

THIS SERIES: Top five uncommitted QBs in 2023 | RBs | WRs

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MORE GORNEY: Ranking weekend commitments | QB dominoes yet to fall | Recruiting Rumor Mill | Fact of Fiction: Mario Cristobal has underwhelmed so far at Miami

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State

TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board

RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info for 2022 series

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1. Duce Robinson

Duce Robinson
Duce Robinson (Ralph Amsden)

The nation’s top tight end does not do many interviews so an accurate read could be tough. It looks as if USC could be the team to beat, especially since coach Lincoln Riley has made Robinson a big priority and there is a lot of reciprocal interest in the Trojans. Georgia has definitely done a good job with him as well, especially after a recent visit and the use of tight ends in the offense.

Robinson is a Florida and Florida State legacy but that doesn’t seem to be playing a huge role in his recruitment. Alabama, Clemson and Virginia have also been mentioned throughout his recruitment but USC and Georgia look best now.

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2. Walker Lyons

Walker Lyons
Walker Lyons (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

There are still a lot of ways Lyons’ recruitment could go. He is coming off a phenomenal visit to Ohio State in which the Buckeyes made him feel like a huge priority and the four-star from Folsom, Calif., got a real feel for how important football is to the Columbus community.

But Stanford has a tremendous mix of academics and athletics just a few hours away, USC has definitely intrigued him and Utah and BYU are also being seriously considered as well because of Lyons' Latter Day Saints faith. A lot could still happen but after summer official visits more could be cleared up.

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3. Jaxon Howard

Jaxon Howard
Jaxon Howard

There was an idea that Howard could have a clear list of front-runners by now but because of a crazy coaching carousel this offseason, the family is taking a slower approach to recruiting and will figure things out through the summer and possibly into the fall.

A Stanford legacy, Howard has also mentioned LSU, Alabama, Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Minnesota and of course the Cardinal throughout his recruitment.

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4. Riley Williams

In early April, Williams released a top eight of Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Michigan State, Miami, LSU and Ole Miss and while the Portland (Ore.) Central Catholic standout does not do many interviews, there are some programs that could stand out more than others. The four-star grew up a Ducks fan his entire life and the school is less than two hours down the road. He will also be at the spring game this weekend. Williams has already developed a good relationship with the new coaching staff so Oregon has to be watched closely.

He also likes Miami a lot and recently visited since he’s already familiar with that staff coming from Oregon and the tight end tradition there stands out. Michigan might be another one to watch closely as Williams works through his favorites.

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5. William Randle

William Randle
William Randle (Rivals.com)

A recent visit to Virginia put the Cavaliers in serious contention for the four-star tight end from New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman, especially since they were the first team to offer under a previous coaching staff.

Still, Alabama, Texas, LSU, SMU and others remain under serious consideration as well for Randle, who is five-star quarterback Arch Manning’s teammate and favorite target. But I’ve been told Randle will be making his own school choice.

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