Recruiting Rumor Mill: Top prospects mapping out visits

There has been a lot of early chatter that Texas is the team to beat for Ball and that Texas A&M could be its biggest competition but there will be many others involved here. Miami, Oregon, Florida State, USC, Tennessee and LSU are also being watched closely by the 2026 four-star running back from Texarkana (Texas) Texas and Ball will visit with the Ducks later this month.

Three programs are pushing the hardest right now for the 2026 four-star defensive end from Thomasville (Ga.) Thomas County Central with Ohio State, Texas A&M and Florida State leading the way. The Seminoles should be watched here since Tallahassee is less than an hour from home but there has also been a ton of Ohio State chatter early on.

LSU, Texas and many others are pursuing the 2026 four-star receiver from Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County among many others as the former Florida State pledge (whose father is Dexter Carter) looks at a bunch of top programs. One to watch that’s a darkhorse is Louisville as the Cardinals have made him a priority in the passing game and Carter will at least give them a look.

After a brief commitment to Georgia that lasted only days, the high four-star athlete from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna has been pegged to Miami early on and spent a lot of time with Miami commits at the Rivals Five-Star. But Ohio State, Florida State and the Bulldogs remain very much in contention for the two-way standout.

The plan is for Edwards to visit Oregon at the end of July and the Ducks have been one of the teams that has consistently been showing a lot of attention to the 2026 four-star safety from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances along with Georgia and Tennessee. While Edwards does not have a clear top list yet the word is a new offer from Missouri is definitely big and “shook up” things at the top.

Many programs have emerged as potential front-runners for Geralds with Oklahoma, Ohio State, LSU and Texas definitely ones to watch but Miami has shot up the list very quickly and a visit is coming up. The 2026 four-star defensive tackle from Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill will visit Coral Gables at the end of the month and the Hurricanes could be the team that emerges as the leader by the end of summer.

South Carolina, Auburn, NC State, Ole Miss and Florida State are in the most contact with Gidron and he has two major visits coming up at the end of the month. The 2026 four-star receiver from Columbia (S.C.) Ridge View will be at South Carolina and Auburn as those two are definitely battling it out toward the top in his recruitment.

Florida State has been making a “big push” in Gregory’s recruitment so the Seminoles will definitely be one to watch for the four-star receiver from Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County in the coming months but he doesn’t plan to visit Tallahassee at the end of July. Gregory will take trips to Texas A&M and Auburn as those two SEC programs among many others have been in heavy contact as well.

The 2026 four-star tight end from St. George (Utah) Pine View recently released a top 20 which really isn’t narrowing it down much at all even though Harris said it was “a hard list” to get to since so many schools have been recruiting him. Oregon has been a front-runner since the beginning and the Ducks remain one of the programs to watch especially as Harris plans to be back in Eugene later this month and he’s originally from that state.

Hicks still plans to make his decision later in July with Auburn surging to the top of his list along with Ohio State, Clemson, Miami, Texas and others involved. The 2026 four-star safety from Carrollton, Ga., is planning trips to Texas and Oregon by the end of the month and before his decision - his second time to Austin in recent weeks - but the Tigers still feel like the team to beat.

Georgia could be the team to beat in Hiter’s recruitment but the word is that two Big Ten programs are the biggest threats in his recruitment now. If the 2026 four-star running back from Woodberry (Va.) Woodberry Forest standout doesn’t end up in Athens then Ohio State and Michigan are making the biggest push for him now. Hiter will be back in Ann Arbor at the end of July.

Alabama and Auburn remain the mainstays in Jones’ recruitment and while Georgia has slipped out two other SEC programs are very much in the mix now. LSU and Mississippi State are the other two schools to watch for the 2026 four-star edge rusher from Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s but this could end up as an in-state battle as Jones plans to visit with Alabama and Auburn later this month.

The feeling has been that Texas has a wide lead for the 2026 four-star receiver from Frisco (Texas) Panther Creek but Oregon was the first school mentioned recently and then LSU, USC, Texas A&M and Oklahoma are all battling it out as well. Maybe the Longhorns will be tough to beat but many other elite schools remain in the mix.

In the end, this could be a battle between USC and Oregon to land the five-star quarterback but before Lyons makes his decision he’s going to tour the SEC later this month. The Folsom, Calif., standout and No. 1 quarterback in the 2026 class will see Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M before the end of July.

The top list for Matthews has gone through some significant changes in recent months as this once felt like a battle between the Carolina schools but that has now changed up for the 2026 four-star cornerback from Cornelius (N.C.) Hough. Florida State, Clemson, Oregon, Penn State, Virginia Tech and South Carolina are the ones to watch at this point and Matthews will visit with the Gamecocks and the Tigers by the end of the month.

Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State and USC is the dream offer list for McCoy and while the Buckeyes and the Trojans haven’t offered yet those would be huge in his recruitment. As it stands now, LSU and Mississippi State have been the most consistent coming after the 2026 four-star defensive end from Tupelo, Miss., although some of those others have made a big impression.

The 2026 four-star receiver from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco has formulated a top list but is still working on figuring out where he will visit later this month. Odom has Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Washington and Tennessee leading the way and it’s not clear if there’s a favorite yet.

Georgia has offered recently but the Bulldogs are not among the early favorites for the 2026 four-star defensive tackle from Buford, Ga. Right now, Ohio State, USC, Auburn, Alabama, Florida State and Clemson are some of the front-runners as Perry-Wright will be at USC later this month. The feeling at this point is that the Southeast programs - and Ohio State - remain the strongest.

There are some who believe Ohio State could be a near lock to land the 2026 four-star offensive lineman from Avon Lake, Ohio but Clemson and Alabama have really made an impression over this offseason. The Buckeyes are still in good shape but there is more competition now as Riley plans to be at Missouri later this month.

Four programs are standing out most to Russell with Syracuse, Florida State, Georgia and LSU making the biggest impression on him over this offseason. The four-star receiver from Miami (Fla.) Northwestern is also a Hurricanes legacy so they might not have been mentioned intentionally to throw us off the scent as Russell will visit Oregon at the end of July.

After taking his official visits, Iowa and Minnesota have emerged as the two front-runners for the high three-star receiver from Aurora (Ill.) West Aurora. A decision could be coming soon as the Hawkeyes still have no receiver commits and Minnesota has three.

Georgia is still considered the favorite to get the five-star defensive tackle back in the fold after a spring that saw him flip from the Bulldogs to USC and then back off his pledge to the Trojans. But Alabama and Florida State are making a serious run at the Manchester, Ga., standout and we’re told those programs are not just going through the motions. All three have been very active in recruiting Terry as he’s about an hour closer to Athens than the two other programs.

A three-team race has emerged for the high three-star tight end from Columbia (S.C.) Hammond School. West Virginia, LSU and Duke are the front-runners now for Tyler who has been picking up some LSU buzz but the Mountaineers and the Blue Devils are definitely right there among his top choices.