The busy month of June is now in the rearview mirror but there are still significant recruiting implications that have carried over into July.
In today’s Tuesdays With Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney takes a look at where each five-star in the 2025 class stands heading into the dog days of summer.
RUMOR MILL: Key decisions on deck as summer hits midpoint
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Committed to USC since last August, there was real smoke for a while that Lewis would end up flipping somewhere. First, it was Georgia and once that didn’t happen now it’s Auburn or Colorado.
Some dismiss the Buffaloes as an outlier with the Tigers being the biggest threat to USC but we’re now into July and nothing has changed with his commitment. There have been some rumors that Auburn has actually slowed down on Lewis but other chatter that the Tigers are circling the wagons to go get him.
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The Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day five-star offensive tackle released his top four over the weekend with Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State and Nebraska making the list. It was a little surprising that Clemson didn’t make the cut but that could be an NIL issue as the Tigers have faded in his recruitment.
The Buckeyes look to have an edge here with Tennessee very close and then followed by Georgia and Nebraska. This sort of feels like a two-team race now for Sanders between Ohio State and the Volunteers as he will announce Aug. 17.
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Underwood committed to LSU over Michigan and others on Jan. 6. Since that time there have been no significant rumors about flips or Underwood looking at other programs.
It remains the same and as long as the coaching staff in Baton Rouge stays the same - mainly Joe Sloan staying as offensive coordinator - there should be no surprises.
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After backing off his pledge to LSU, Moore took the month of June for visits around the country as Ohio State, Texas, Oregon and the Tigers rounded out his favorites. Many expected him to pick the Longhorns since it’s the in-state power, he has family in and around Austin and they made him a top priority.
But Moore, his mother and his family were blown away by Oregon and he just committed to the Ducks in recent days.
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The five-star cornerback from Houston (Texas) North Shore took a very business-like approach to recruiting. Sanchez took his visits, found Ohio State suited him best and he committed there in January.
According to his father, he’s locked in with the Buckeyes and not looking anywhere else at all.
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As many expected, after an interlude with USC where Terry visited in the spring and fell in love with it flipping his commitment from Georgia to the Trojans, the five-star defensive lineman returned home, settled back in Manchester, Ga., and then backed off his pledge to USC ala Mykel Williams a few years ago.
Georgia is the presumed favorite again but Alabama, Florida State and others are pursuing Terry hard as his coach said schools are equally coming after Terry again.
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The five-star defensive tackle from Savannah (Ga.) Savannah Christian put out a top 12 in March and then took visits in June to Miami, Georgia and USC along with trips to Oregon and Colorado in April.
While sources think the Trojans might have a shot to surprise here, the consensus thinking is that Griffin is a near lock to Georgia although one wonders why he’s taking so long to commit if that’s the case.
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Michigan, Nebraska, Alabama and Oregon were some other serious contenders in Utu’s recruitment as he kept things relatively quiet throughout but Tennessee emerged as the front-runner and then landed his commitment in late June.
The Las Vegas Bishop Gorman standout offensive tackle seems locked in and now the only question is whether David Sanders Jr. will join him in Knoxville, too.
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Oregon is the program to watch for the versatile five-star from Zephyrhills, Fla., and there is a feeling of guarded confidence coming from the Ducks although Miami would be the biggest concern.
In recent months, Pickett said the Hurricanes did have an edge (although Oregon has seemingly taken over the top spot) but with NIL and distance from home, the Canes are in this until the end. LSU might be slipping just a little bit.
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A three-team race continues to shape up here for the five-star offensive tackle from Lewisville, Texas as the feeling has been Texas and Texas A&M are battling it out but Oklahoma is now right there as well.
There have been some fringe players along the way with Florida, Missouri, Oregon and others involved but the Longhorns probably have an edge with the Aggies and Sooners battling.
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St. Clair has been committed to Ohio State for over a year and it would be a total shocker if he ended up anywhere else. The five-star quarterback is no-nonsense, all-business, an in-state prospect and it would probably take an entire coaching overhaul to see the Bellefontaine, Ohio, standout not in Columbus.
Former five-star Julian Sayin transferring in from Alabama does make things a little tougher to get on the field early but St. Clair seems totally locked in.
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USC and others gave it a shot but the five-star running back - who could be moved to all-purpose back in the next rankings since he’s so versatile - committed to LSU in January and has not looked back.
It would be a stunner if the Metairie (La.) St. Martin’s Episcopal standout even considered other programs in the fall.
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The top-ranked interior offensive lineman remains committed to Florida State as he picked the Seminoles three days before Christmas but two others are making a serious play.
The rumor on the Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines standout is that LSU is actually the biggest threat to flip Thomas but Florida is still right there as the chatter has been staying closer to family has been a significant draw.
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Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee were all involved with Lowe but Ohio State made Lowe a top priority and landed his commitment in January.
The Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer standout picked the Buckeyes to no one’s surprise and at the recent Rivals Five-Star, Lowe showed no hints that he was even considering another school.
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According to a source, “nothing has changed” in Offord’s recruitment which means he remains committed to Ohio State - he picked the Buckeyes in February - but that Alabama remains the biggest threat to flip him.
The Crimson Tide has been heavily pursuing the Birmingham (Ala.) Parker standout cornerback and while Auburn and others are trying as well, Alabama is the biggest threat if a flip happens.
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Williams’ recruitment has been interesting - and constantly changing. There was a time where preparations were being made to write about a commitment to Oklahoma. It looked almost inevitable.
That slowed down as then Texas A&M took the lead for the Galveston (Texas) Ball standout who could play safety or linebacker as he expressed interest in having family close by to see him play. But now there is a lot of chatter around Oregon in his recruitment as well. This feels like Williams has to make a decision: The Aggies or the Ducks.
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The new Venice, Fla., five-star receiver has a top 16 which doesn’t necessarily narrow things down much but what could be telling is where Watkins visited in June.
Ole Miss, South Carolina and Indiana got trips and while there still could be a wild card in his recruitment, this could come down to an SEC battle as the Rebels might have an edge right now.
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Everything pointed to Davison picking Ohio State but the two sides parted ways in the days before his decision and it helped Oregon out in a big way.
The Ducks continued to recruit the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei throughout the last few months and his relationship with position coach Ra’Shaad Samples was a key in landing his pledge.
