Recruiting Rumor Mill: Feeding frenzy as signing day inches closer
National Signing Day is less than two weeks away. Here is the latest Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing as things ramped up over the weekend.
An Ohio State commit since late March, Alford has remained with the Buckeyes through numerous rumors about a decommitment but the sense is now that Miami is a major threat heading to signing day.
The Vero Beach, Fla., four-star linebacker is “not too sure” if a flip to the Hurricanes is imminent and while Ohio State still has his pledge it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see him change to Miami at some point.
Everything is still “status quo” in Carroll’s recruitment as the five-star offensive tackle remains committed to Alabama but is still seriously considering Colorado after a great visit out there.
There are some close to Carroll who definitely like the Crimson Tide a lot but this will be Carroll’s decision to make and he definitely had an excellent visit to Boulder recently. A big factor here could be Jordan Seaton’s early success on Colorado’s offensive line as well.
The four-star tight end from Goodland, Kan., has been committed to Kansas State since July 1 and maybe nothing can change that but Cure is still planning to visit Oregon before National Signing Day.
Cure was looking at a visit back to Eugene in recent weeks but a snowstorm kept him away. Oregon has since added a tight end pledge in four-star Vander Ploog but the Ducks are still going after another one and Cure is at the top of the list.
After a quick pledge to Arkansas didn’t work out, the four-star offensive guard from Marion, Ark., committed to LSU in June but another SEC foe is making this an interesting recruitment down the stretch.
The word is Missouri is making a very solid pitch to Curne and the four-star is definitely listening to the Tigers as he’s developed a great relationship position coach Al Davis.
Notre Dame continues to be the front-runner for the four-star linebacker from San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic but there is a little hesitation here because he was expected to commit multiple times to the Irish and he still hasn’t done it.
Faraimo is expected to visit USC this weekend right before signing day as – unsurprisingly – Notre Dame comes to town. The Trojans are really battling here to keep him home but the word is there’s still high confidence on the Irish.
The prevailing notion especially since Fasusi visited Texas over the weekend was that if the five-star offensive tackle flips from Oklahoma it would be to the Longhorns but the word is to not discount Texas A&M, either.
The Aggies will get him on campus for the Texas showdown on Saturday and while Fasusi had a great time at Texas over the weekend, the Aggies are definitely very much in this if the Lewisville, Texas, standout does flip from Oklahoma, which is far from a guarantee.
Penn State has been pushing hard and Michigan has been poking around although a visit to Ann Arbor didn’t happen in recent weeks as Finney remains committed to Oregon. The four-star DB from Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh was back in Eugene over the weekend and a source said he’s “locked in” with the Ducks despite rumors that he was looking to stay closer to home.
It would be a major shocker if the five-star Georgia defensive end commit flipped anywhere else but a new offer from Michigan could be one to watch.
When asked if there was any serious interest in the Wolverines, the Warner Robins, Ga., standout said, “can’t say too much” which is far from a denial.
It’s a long shot but with a renewed NIL focus, Michigan could be one to watch.
Pinning the five-star defensive end down has been difficult as Hilson was expected at Florida this weekend only to show up at Michigan as the Wolverines are riding the wave after flipping five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood last weekend.
The early returns are that Hilson liked Michigan a lot – his Cocoa, Fla., QB teammate Brady Hart is committed there – and the word is that the Wolverines are definitely a major player now.
Texas, Texas A&M, Syracuse and Pitt are the others involved and he’s expected at the Texas A&M-Texas showdown in College Station this weekend.
Ole Miss made a serious run at Knight and things seemed to be trending that way especially after a recent visit where four-star receiver Caleb Cunningham flipped to the Rebels.
But after being at Auburn again over the weekend it feels now that the high four-star quarterback is locked in with the Tigers. It would be a stunner if he flips to Ole Miss now.
The Lucedale (Miss.) George County is talking in a different way, talking about being there soon and what’s to come instead of still weighing both programs.
The four-star Georgia running back commit stayed the night in Auburn so there is some significant interest there and sometimes that momentum can carry over to a decision but the word is that Georgia remains confident in keeping the Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County standout.
It’s still more than a week to signing day so Auburn could flip him for sure but the Bulldogs look strong in Kromah’s recruitment.
Amid all the flips last week, there was a lot of stuff going around social media that the new five-star Alabama cornerback commit would flip to USC but that rumor has been squashed completely.
The Mission Viejo, Calif., standout is “not at all” looking at the Trojans and has now changed his final visit from Texas A&M back to Alabama for the Iron Bowl.
Lee remains completely locked in with the Crimson Tide.
“As of right now” Mallory remains committed to West Virginia but Penn State is making a run at the three-star athlete from Cheshire (Conn.) Cheshire Academy and Florida State is pushing for him to take an official visit as well.
The Nittany Lions just reached out to the West Virginia commit in recent days and they’ve stayed very involved as well.
Alabama could be trying to make a move with the four-star LSU receiver commit – especially because playing with Keelon Russell is tempting and Meadows has been infatuated with the SEC – but the word I’m hearing is that Michigan is the team to watch now.
The Wolverines (and Notre Dame) were heavily involved with the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star and now with Bryce Underwood on board and plenty of opportunity to play early, the Wolverines are in the driver’s seat.
Another source added over the weekend that a flip is more than likely and that Michigan and Notre Dame are battling it out.
Mills’ commitment might be on a little shakier ground than it has been because of Oklahoma’s struggles at quarterback this season and the flip of four-star Kevin Sperry from the Sooners to Florida State.
Nebraska has been the long-time second place school here but Auburn, Florida State, Penn State and Colorado are others that have been involved as well if the four-star receiver from Homestead, Fla., plans to flip.
A final decision on signing day is expected from Offord, who has been committed to Ohio State since February, as the Buckeyes try to hang on while Auburn and Oregon try to flip him.
Some Ohio State commits are not sure what Offord will end up doing while some Auburn pledges are growing more confident the Birmingham (Ala.) Parker standout flips to the Tigers. Offord visited Auburn again this past weekend for the thrilling win over Texas A&M and he brought his mom and dad as things seem to be trending to Auburn now.
If Offord shows up at Ohio State next weekend then the Buckeyes could take the lead again but we’ll see how it plays out.
This could be reading the tea leaves but the four-star safety, who’s been committed to Oklahoma since July, could have Oregon make a run at him. The Ducks have been involved for some time with the Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview standout and there’s been some social media pictures supportive of Oregon as well.
Arkansas could also be in this one but if Robinson flips, watch the Ducks late.
If the five-star offensive tackle was not serious about Ohio State, it’s doubtful that coach Ryan Day would let him visit over the weekend. The trip to Columbus was a surprise to many as the Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day standout has been committed to Tennessee since August.
Part of the Ohio State pitch could be about Josh Simmons being a potential first-round pick, Donovan Jackson being in the same boat and Paris Johnson going in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and whether Tennessee can make that level of success.
The five-star defensive lineman took a late visit to Auburn over the weekend and while things went well it still feels like a very long shot for the Manchester, Ga., to end up on The Plains.
The rumor for a long while now is that Georgia is the front-runner for the former Georgia and USC commit and that he’s just waiting until signing day to announce for the Bulldogs.
An Arizona commit since July, Tounkara visited Florida over the weekend and absolutely loved everything about it so a flip is certainly very possible.
The three-star receiver from League City (Texas) Clear Springs said the visit “definitely exposed him to different experiences” and now as the Gators have some momentum on the recruiting trail, Tounkara should be on flip watch.
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