Recruiting Rumor Mill: June shaping up to be a big month
The Recruiting Rumor Mill has cranked up once again as a big June is right around the corner. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney on some of the biggest news around the country:
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Nebraska, Michigan, TCU, Boise State and Oregon remain the favorites for the four-star speedster from Burley, Idaho and some recent interactions with at least two assistant coaches stood out a ton.
The four-star receiver was blown away by interacting with Michigan assistant Jay Harbaugh and one source said Nebraska assistant Garret McGuire, who’s just 24 years old, is on the “Kenny Dillingham path” to success so that’s a big boon for the Huskers in the recruitment of Bair as well. Nebraska is believed to have the edge in his recruitment at this point.
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Florida State, Arkansas and Auburn have been the three programs that have stood out most to the 2025 high three-star cornerback from Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall but now a new team has entered the race. Texas has jumped into that top group after the Longhorns offered as Chester said it was “very long-awaited.”
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There’s some chatter Auburn is moving to the top for the elite receiver from Phenix City (Ala.) Central and that could definitely be the case but heading into the summer Florida State, Florida and Texas A&M are also very high on the list. A recent visit to Georgia could definitely move the Dawgs up as well since Coleman hit it off with coach Kirby Smart and assistants Mike Bobo, Bryan McClendon and others in Athens.
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Georgia was already one of the early contenders for the top 2025 receiver but now with five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola committed the Bulldogs could move up even higher. Still, the list is very long for the Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County standout as Miami, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M, Florida State and Oregon have been mentioned along with Alabama.
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The four-star safety from Forney, Texas committed to Oregon in early April and his official visit to Eugene will happen the weekend of June 16-18. That’s great news for the Ducks but Flowers is also planning official trips to Oklahoma and USC as those two teams continue to pursue the four-star pledge.
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The 2025 defensive end from Cocoa, Fla., has seen his recruitment take off in recent weeks as college coaches have stopped by his school as he’s approaching the double-digit offer mark. Three are standing out early on with Tennessee and Florida State looking best right now and now Ohio State has joined the group after the Buckeyes offered in recent days.
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In the spring when Howard was still committed to Michigan State, Florida, Florida State and Miami were working to flip him - and that remains the case now that the high three-star defensive back has backed off his pledge to the Spartans. The three in-state programs definitely look best and are staying aggressive with Hialeah (Fla.) Westland Hialeah along with Rutgers and others.
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One of the best 2026 linebackers nationally could be Ili so it was inevitable that his recruitment would take off once more college programs saw him during spring practice. The Orange (Calif.) Lutheran standout is now up to a dozen offers with more on the way but USC and Notre Dame have made the biggest impact so far.
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Tennessee and Notre Dame are believed to be the front-runners for the 2025 four-star quarterback from Lucedale (Miss.) George County and the whispers are that the Vols probably have the edge at this point. Ole Miss, Washington and TCU are three others to watch as all those programs are coming hard after him.
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The 2025 safety from Rabun Gap (Ga.) Rabun Gap Nacoochee still has a long list of programs that he’s interested in but it starts with Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Florida State and Tennessee. But Konanbanny has nearly 20 offers and is not counting out any program yet but those seven programs have made an early jump in his recruitment.
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One major SEC team believes Lang could end up being one of the best defensive backs in the state of Florida so he could be considered a sleeper right now as visits to West Virginia and Pitt are expected in June. Already with more than 30 offers, the Palmetto, Fla., standout has Texas A&M and South Carolina high in his recruitment but things could still go a bunch of different ways.
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A recent visit to Miami was definitely important for the four-star defensive end from Bryant, Ark., especially because he hit it off big-time with coach Mario Cristobal and position coach Jason Taylor. The message Lindsey received is that they could develop him to play on Sundays and that was big to him but Texas A&M according to a source is still the school to watch with Notre Dame, Arkansas and others involved.
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The 2025 four-star offensive tackle from Toms River (N.J.) North has been committed to Penn State since January and there’s no reason to believe that he’s backing off that pledge but the Nittany Lions will have to navigate through some upcoming big-time SEC visits. Matthews will soon visit Georgia and there are plans being made to see Alabama and Auburn soon as well as more than 20 programs continue to pursue the four-star offensive lineman.
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After being committed to Maryland for about two months, McCant backed off his pledge to the Terrapins and reopened his recruitment earlier this month. Since that time, the Tampa (Fla.) Wharton standout has seen Ole Miss, South Florida and UCF emerge in his recruitment with Rutgers rounding out a new top four.
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The four-star all-purpose back from Gulf Shores, Ala., had a huge junior season with 1,147 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns along with 61 catches for 876 yards and eight more scores but teams in the Southeast aren’t making the biggest moves for him yet. Boston College and NC State are the most involved in his recruitment now and it would be a huge commitment for either ACC program.
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There is no smoking gun to think the five-star receiver is slowly backing away from his Ohio State pledge and there are people close to Smith who believe he will stick with the Buckeyes especially if position coach Brian Hartline stays and especially if former 7-on-7 teammates Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss shine early in Columbus.
But Smith has asked some close to him to ask USC coach Lincoln Riley why the Trojans slowed down on him and his weekend visit to Georgia went really well as he and five-star QB commit Dylan Raiola now talk often.
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Florida State is believed to be the front-runner for the four-star receiver from Ellaville (Ga.) Schley County but two other programs are planning to get him on campus this summer - and both are from the SEC. South Carolina and Florida are working on getting Solomon to Columbia and Gainesville, respectively, although the Seminoles could be tough to beat here.
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Auburn and Texas A&M are the two newest offers for the 2026 wide receiver from La Grange, Ga., but the chatter is that LSU is the program to watch. The great wide receiver history in Baton Rouge from Justin Jefferson to Odell Beckham Jr. and beyond stands out to Stringer and he could see himself continuing that streak.
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A new offer from Georgia is definitely one that cannot be ignored by the 2025 four-star from Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola but his commitment to UCF remains strong. Swint remains pledged to coach Gus Malzahn “and the UCF family” but the four-star is going to take a closer look at Georgia and is not ignoring other programs that are staying involved in his recruitment.
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If Alabama can get Woods to commit it’s because he has a lot of respect for defensive line coach Freddie Roach and that relationship could start blossoming even more soon. So far, Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa and Oregon stand out most to the 2025 high three-star defensive end from Shawnee (Kan.) Mill Valley but the Crimson Tide could definitely move up quickly if the two sides keep talking.