Recruiting Rumor Mill: Another busy weekend in the books
Another busy week is in the books and a weekend filled with big visits is also finished. It’s time for another Recruiting Rumor Mill as Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing a ton from across the country:
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A new offer from Georgia is definitely going to “be a factor” for the speedy four-star receiver from Burley, Idaho but others have definitely jumped out ahead because they’ve been involved longer in his recruitment.
Nebraska, Michigan, Oregon and Boise State would be the schools to watch and now Texas could very much be in the mix after a weekend visit while he was in town for a track meet.
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A visit to Oklahoma really stood out for the 2025 safety from San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic especially since the Sooners have so many former players and alumni on staff and Christensen got a real family feel in Norman.
That could go a long way with Christensen also being impressed by Arizona early in his recruitment and he’s interested in visiting Michigan, Boston College and Texas A&M soon.
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Auburn rolled out the red carpet for the very talented receiver from Phenix City (Ala.) Central as Coleman met with coach Hugh Freeze, offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery and receivers coach Marcus Davis during his recent visit there and it was “awesome.”
The message from Freeze was that he wants Coleman to be a big part of the rebuilding process on The Plains and the word is now Auburn definitely joins Florida State and LSU up top.
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If LSU can flop Debose from Georgia - and that’s a big if - then it’s going to be because of his relationship with offensive line coach Brad Davis. Alabama is also not giving up on the 2025 four-star from Prichard (Ala.) Vigor and the Crimson Tide will be in this until the end but a recent visit to Baton Rouge intrigued Debose because of Davis, who he sees as someone who wants to help him on and off the field.
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The pitch from Oklahoma was not only about football but academics and how they’d help build Fasusi off the field as well and it definitely resonated with the 2025 four-star offensive tackle from Lewisville, Texas.
What Fasusi also liked at Oklahoma was watching coach Brent Venables in action as that will go a long way in his decision-making process as Auburn, Penn State and Vanderbilt are also high on his list.
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His quarterback, Tramell Jones, committed to Florida State over the weekend and the Seminoles are also a top team for Ffrench so it’s definitely something to watch moving forward in his recruitment.
It cannot hurt to have Jones in the mix when it comes to the decision-making process for Ffrench, who recently came back from Notre Dame and the word is the Irish will be one of his top programs for sure. Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia and others are high as well.
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Clemson was a dream school growing up for the 2025 four-star interior offensive lineman from Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy and so his visit there over the weekend definitely left a huge impression as the Tigers have become one of his favorites.
He has not landed an offer yet but Clemson would definitely be a big one as the Tigers, South Carolina, Miami and Georgia have emerged as the early frontrunners.
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Alabama coach Nick Saban brought out all the championship rings for Grady to see during a recent visit to Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide is definitely one of the top teams early for the 2025 four-star defensive end from Troy (Ala.) Henderson.
A visit to Tuscaloosa for a recent practice also helped as Grady loved to see the team working and didn’t see a lot of standing around on the practice field. Florida State is the other top team right now in Grady’s recruitment as the Seminoles have also left a big impression.
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A Tennessee baseball commit, Jefferson definitely likes the Vols a whole lot in football as well and a recent visit back to Knoxville only solidified his feelings on the program. The four-star receiver from Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School was told he can be a difference-maker in the class and everything was “first class” by the coaching staff to Jefferson and his family.
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Clemson stand out most for him and he just set up officials to Tuscaloosa and Athens.
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Oklahoma could be moving up Jimcoily’s list even more as a recent visit to Norman thoroughly impressed the 2025 four-star safety from Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy.
From the coaches, to his talks with coach Brent Venables and position coach Jay Valai to the “genuine vibe” he felt from the players, Oklahoma has now emerged as a real contender along with Auburn, Michigan, Kentucky, Miami and Tennessee.
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USC is going to be a major contender for the four-star linebacker from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco and so is Alabama as Lockhart is coming off his de-commitment from Ole Miss but his recent visit to Oklahoma definitely left a major impression.
The people there stood out the most to Lockhart from coach Brent Venables to defensive coordinator/linebacker coach Ted Roof and others and a visit back for an official is already being planned.
“OU is Linebacker U.,” Lockhart said.
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The 2025 four-star quarterback from Brentwood (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy is a Vanderbilt legacy (his grandfather was the coach of the Commodores) and Alabama and Tennessee are absolutely big-time contenders for his recruitment especially after he met again with coach Nick Saban in recent days.
But LSU might be joining that top group as well. A recent visit to Baton Rouge was “amazing”, he spent two days there and “they made it feel like home.”
“Their message was LSU is the place for me,” MacIntyre said.
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Oklahoma is one of three early standouts for the 2025 four-star receiver from Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy especially after spending time in Norman recently.
McCutcheon loved the pointers he got from position coach Emmett Jones and also appreciated all the talk about non-football things within the program. The Sooners definitely have impressed him but Miami and Notre Dame are right on top as well.
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A new - and long-awaited - offer from Alabama could be very big in Mikell’s recruitment especially since he loved the Crimson Tide growing up and he was “very happy” when Alabama offered but the feeling is still that Georgia is the team to beat in his recruitment.
Kirby Smart and his staff have made the Statesboro, Ga., four-star athlete a top priority and while Alabama is now in the picture there is some ground to make up. A whole host of other SEC teams remain among the top teams as well along with Michigan, Colorado, Florida State and others.
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Oklahoma State has become more familiar with Nickens but a recent visit to Oklahoma definitely has the Sooners right in this recruitment as the 2025 four-star receiver loved the coaching staff in Norman, how the program is run and the brotherhood he saw on the team.
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Arkansas have made the biggest impressions. There are some rumors Nickens could move to California for his final two seasons but nothing firm there yet.
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Early on, Auburn, Florida State and Mississippi State made the biggest impressions but then Alabama offered and the Crimson Tide will be a contender and now Georgia is also very much in the mix.
The Bulldogs offered in recent days and the word from assistant coach Fran Brown is that he sees the Birmingham (Ala.) Parker as the second-best corner nationally behind UGA commit Ellis Robinson. That high praise should keep the Dawgs high on the list through Offord’s recruitment.
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There is still a long time to go for the 2026 offensive tackle from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy who’s originally from California but a recent visit to Miami has stood out most. Pepe has also been to Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State but it’s the Hurricanes who have made the biggest move so far for Pepe, who is weighing whether to stay in Florida for his college career or head back West as USC and many others are pursuing him.
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The four-star quarterback from Cheshire (Conn.) Cheshire Academy has been happily committed to South Carolina since July but other teams are still not giving up on flipping him. Nebraska has been especially involved recently (could it be a hint the Huskers aren’t thrilled with their position on five-star Dylan Raiola?) along with Miami and North Carolina. This past weekend Reno was back in Columbia and has no other visits planned yet.
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A recent visit to Florida State definitely moved the Seminoles up his list because he continues to build relationships with coach Mike Norvell and position coach Randy Shannon and Weedon likes both of those coaches very much. The three-star linebacker from Washington (D.C.) St. John’s College High “loved everything about it” but Texas, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, Maryland, Tennessee and a few others remain very involved.