Recruiting Rumor Mill: Big visits taking place across the country

There were so many important visitors on the road this past weekend that a second Recruiting Rumor Mill was needed this week. Here’s more from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney with the latest.

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Missouri was the front-runner leading into Alfred’s weekend visit to Columbia and the Tigers remain the team to beat following his trip there. The four-star receiver from Saraland, Ala., standout got to see Missouri practice and spent a ton of time with coach Eli Drinkwitz and position coach Jacob Peeler as Alfred will commit on May 17. While he is considering others, Missouri still looks very strong.

The message to Anderson and the other recruits from Arkansas’ coaches was that they will graduate and play high-end football but also make them better men and that was a big pitch to the three-star all-purpose back from Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton. The Razorbacks are a top contender but so are Kansas State and Ole Miss and then Florida State is in the mix as well.

In the early going it was rumored that Penn State would be a team to watch with the Princeton (N.J.) Hun School four-star linebacker but the Nittany Lions didn’t make his top six. Clemson, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Rutgers made the cut for Archie, who was at Clemson over the weekend and he loved how much the coaching staff showed care toward their players’ success. That could be a huge consideration as he moves forward.

With more than 20 offers and his recruitment taking off recently, the four programs that are standing out most to Barney are Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and Colorado. The Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge 2026 four-star cornerback loved coach Dabo Swinney’s presentation to the recruits and the coaches’ pitch about being a man in life after football. The Tigers will definitely be one to watch.

The pitch from LSU’s coaching staff over the weekend was that the Tigers need defensive tackles so he would have a chance to play as a freshman which could be a huge consideration for the high three-star from Mansfield (Texas) Timberview. LSU definitely looks good but there is still a long list with Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, TCU and USC standing out as well.

Kansas State has been pegged as the huge front-runner for the four-star tight end from Goodland, Kan., but on Tuesday, Cure landed his newest offer from Alabama. Cure and the Crimson Tide coaches have been talking for a while but there was a “miscommunication” about the offer. Now that it’s cleared up Cure is interested in the Tide especially if the relationships continue to grow quickly but the Wildcats could still be tough to beat.

In recent days, Ohio State had emerged as the front-runner in Davison’s recruitment but that could be flipped on its head now that position coach Tony Alford has left the Buckeyes to coach at Michigan. A visit to Ann Arbor could be in the works for the five-star running back from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei along with Texas, Colorado and others. Michigan was never a major contender for Davison but with Alford there now, it’s emerging in a big way.

The consistency from Oklahoma coach Brent Venables has been huge for the Sooners in Evers’ recruitment and it could help them land the 2026 offensive tackle from Flower Mound, Texas. His relationship with Venables and position coach Bill Bedenbaugh will be important moving forward and his growth has impressed the coaches as they’ve told him they believe he’s one of the best offensive linemen in the country. Texas A&M has tons of family connections so that will be something to watch but Oklahoma is right there.

A good first impression of the new Alabama coaching staff could really help the Crimson Tide with Fegans, who thinks coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff are “very relatable” and the message from them to the Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson standout is that he’s a top priority in 2025. There is still a a long list for the former USC commit with Clemson, LSU, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Oregon, Ole Miss, Tennessee and USC the other teams still to watch.

Alabama has not offered Fuller but he loved his visit to Tuscaloosa, especially the message from the coaching staff that they’re new to town but the standard is still the same. That resonated with the Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star defensive end but he cannot get too serious about the Crimson Tide without an offer. Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt are the two standing out most at this point.

Maybe one of the best cornerbacks in the 2026 class, Gordon has LSU, Georgia, UCF and Florida as his early standouts. The Jackson, Ala., standout had an especially great visit to Baton Rouge over the weekend especially when new defensive coordinator Blake Baker told him that he’d be a perfect fit in the defense.

Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Florida State have stood out the most early on for the standout 2026 four-star receiver but a weekend visit to LSU could move the Tigers up a lot. From watching film with offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and position coach Cortez Hankton to seeing LSU’s fast-paced practice, the Tigers definitely impressed the Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County standout a lot. Visits to Auburn, Colorado and Tennessee are coming up this month.

What Hicks loved the most about his visit to Clemson over the weekend was he got to see how many freshman defensive backs start or get playing time and that could be a major draw to the Tigers. Ohio State has been pegged as the frontrunner for the 2026 four-star athlete from Carrollton, Ga., along with Auburn, Miami, Georgia and others but the Tigers made a big impression in recent days. Will it be enough, though, to overtake the Buckeyes and others?

Oklahoma and Nebraska have made the biggest impression on the 2026 defensive end from Wichita (Kan.) Maize South with Kansas State right in the mix as well. Higgins’ weekend visit to Norman went really well as he didn’t feel all that far from home, the coaching staff felt “real” to him and the message about the program being intentional in everything they do really struck a chord.

The feeling McCoy got at Alabama over the weekend is that it’s still Alabama - a top program with elite coaches and players all around it - but the Crimson Tide have still not offered the 2026 four-star defensive end from Tupelo, Miss., even after this visit. That means LSU and Mississippi State are still the two to watch for McCoy since those programs have shown so much love but an Alabama offer could make it way more interesting.

The 2026 four-star running back from Forney, Texas did not make it to Oklahoma over the weekend not because of a lack of interest but because position coach DeMarco Murray wanted more personal time with him so he will be on campus Thursday. Even with another 2026 running back commitment in Jonathan Hatton Jr., the Sooners are coming out in front for Osborne as Louisville, Oregon, Tennessee, Michigan and few others have made an impression.

A weekend visit to Clemson went so well especially as Riley clicked with the coaching staff over their emphasis on faith and life after football. Riley, his brother and his father had a phenomenal day at Clemson and building relationships with coach Dabo Swinney, position coach Matt Luke and others will be big as the Tigers remain a main contender for the high four-star offensive tackle from Avon Lake, Ohio. The only real question is whether any team can beat Ohio State here.

Over the last few days, the four-star safety from Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview visited Arkansas and Oklahoma and going into those trips the Sooners had the edge. The word is Oklahoma is still the team to beat in Robinson’s recruitment. The love the Razorbacks showed was great and he loved the intensity of the practice but it was a “different type” of love in Norman as the Sooners still have the edge.

More visits have to take place and things could change in big ways but a weekend visit to Alabama went really well, the new coaching staff loved Scruggs’ film and he hit it off with those new coaches in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide, Notre Dame, Michigan and Penn State are standing out early for the 2026 offensive lineman from Leesburg (Va.) Loudoun County.

Missouri and Tennessee had been the two early frontrunners for the four-star receiver from St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers but the Vols are slipping a little bit and many others are joining the top group. USC, Georgia, Nebraska, Michigan and Penn State are now high on Simms’ list but the Tigers should still feel good about where they sit especially after another visit to Columbia where the coaches expressed he’s a “top priority” in the class.

Oklahoma has been the program most mentioned when it comes to the five-star safety from Galveston (Texas) Ball but things could be getting more interesting with Williams and LSU after his trip there. Williams had a great sit-down talk with coach Brian Kelly and the five-star especially hit it off with position coach Jake Olsen. LSU will also let Williams play baseball and football so that’s a major consideration as well.