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 wide receivers.
THIS SERIES: Top five uncommitted QBs in 2023 | RBs
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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. Brandon Inniss
What looked like a three-way battle among Alabama, Ohio State and USC for the five-star receiver has expanded in recent months with a lot of other programs – and some surprising ones – getting in the picture. Those three programs could still be steering the ship for Innis, but LSU has gotten more involved, and if Dante Moore and/or Carnell Tate end up in Baton Rouge that should definitely help with Inniss.
He is also expected to visit Georgia and Tennessee soon. Miami is the hometown team and Florida State is also in the picture.
The Volunteers have already landed five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava and have become a serious contender for Tate, another five-star who plays with Inniss on the South Florida Express team. If Inniss visits and it goes well then Tennessee could move up for him as well, but that would be a perfect scenario.
Inniss has already committed to Lincoln Riley once at Oklahoma, so USC remains a serious player, although distance is still being considered. Alabama and Ohio State look strongest, but there are still a ton of moving pieces here. The rumor is the Buckeyes could lead, but things still have to play out.
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2. Shelton Sampson
LSU, Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M and Florida State made the top six for the five-star receiver from Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic, so there is a much clearer focus on where things stand in his recruitment.
Kind of.
A Baton Rouge kid with an LSU offer usually means a lock for the Tigers, and that could be the case with Sampson, especially as he gets more familiar with first-year coach Brian Kelly and position coach Cortez Hankton. The word for months is that this would be a battle between LSU and Alabama, and that could remain the case.
Recently, there has been some talk about serious interest in Michigan and the others are definitely in the picture as well, but until we hear otherwise this could shape up to be another classic SEC West contest for the five-star receiver.
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3. Carnell Tate
Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame and Tennessee round out the top five for the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy playmaker who had the Irish and the Buckeyes toward the top. But things could be changing in dramatic fashion.
Ohio State is still very much at or near the top for so many reasons. Tate is originally from the Midwest, he has a great relationship with coach Ryan Day and position coach Brian Hartline and the Buckeyes have developed receivers as well as any other team.
And Notre Dame is definitely still right there, but Tennessee is emerging as not only a serious contender but maybe as the frontrunner. Things have been changing quickly here for arguably the nation’s top receiver.
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4. Hykeem Williams
If official visits are a window into Williams’ recruitment and where things are headed then Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama should be battling it out for his services because he’s expected to visit those three schools. Pittsburgh cannot be counted out either because another official visit is expected after a great recent visit.
One of the best-looking receivers in the class, Williams has a huge catch radius and long arms to win jump balls and looks like the receivers those SEC programs have pumped out in recent years. Florida, Miami and USC are all in contention for an official as well and the Hurricanes are doing everything possible to keep him home.
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5. Jalen Brown
The list for the four-star receiver from Miami Gulliver Prep remains quite extensive, and it’s difficult to really ascertain which programs are standing out at the top.
LSU definitely intrigues Brown a lot and he will be on campus this weekend as he thinks coach Brian Kelly will get things back on track.
Miami and Florida State are schools right there as well, and then Brown has a list of others including Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M that are within striking distance. Brown plays it close to the vest, though, so he’s hard to read.
