Recruiting Rumor Mill: Preseason camps right around the corner
So much is still going on in recruiting even without visits happening that a second Recruiting Rumor Mill was needed this week. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney.
MORE GORNEY: Position-by-position thoughts for the new Rivals250
SMU has emerged as the top program in Archer’s recruitment now but the 2026 four-star quarterback from Greenwood, Ark., is also closely watching where everyone is committing and decommitting and is now more focused on winning another state championship.
His recruitment will work itself out, the Mustangs look best now but Archer doesn’t seem to be in a rush.
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Kentucky surged this summer but Florida, Penn State, Florida State and Miami are the programs “feeling closest” to the 2026 four-star linebacker from North Palm Beach (Fla.) Benjamin School.
Those five programs are standing out most but Balogoun-Ali is getting serious interest from Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, LSU and Oklahoma and any of those SEC offers could be game-changers.
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LSU has offered the 2026 four-star defensive tackle from Monroe (La.) Ouachita and while the Tigers could still play a massive role in his recruitment it was not a school mentioned as one that caught his attention this summer.
Miami, Missouri, Texas and Arizona State are the four programs to watch there as Berymon gets focused on his junior season.
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Four programs have made the biggest impression on the 2026 four-star receiver from Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal but more could join that top list as well.
So far, Penn State, Auburn, Tennessee and Florida State are the top teams in Brown’s recruitment and those four could remain as the favorites as his junior season goes on.
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While this is not an official top seven, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Alabama, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Auburn are the early favorites for the 2026 four-star offensive tackle from Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech.
Michigan has offered and has landed a bunch of players from Detroit Cass Tech over the years, Canty has taken numerous visits there, but the Wolverines are not on that top list as of yet.
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At the end of July, Carlton was expected at Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor and the word is that his trip to College Station stood out most.
There are a lot of moving pieces for the 2026 four-star defensive end from Temple, Texas as USC recently offered and Ohio State and others have been involved but the Aggies definitely have his attention.
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Either Charles is going to stay in the state of Florida or LSU has a real shot at getting the 2026 four-star defensive end. The Tigers along with Florida State, Miami and Florida are the standout programs for the Venice, Fla., standout.
As many more offers could come through his junior season, those are the four to watch for Charles.
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Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Alabama, Florida and Colorado have been the programs that have really made the biggest impression on the 2026 four-star offensive guard.
The word is that the visit to Tuscaloosa stood out most to the St. Stephen (S.C.) Timberland but others are very involved here as well.
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The 2026 five-star receiver has been committed to Ohio State for more than a year and there are a million reasons why he could stay committed to the Buckeyes from their success recruiting receivers, developing them and getting them to the NFL.
But Oregon is making a significant push here and there is some chatter that people close to Henry are warming up very quickly to the Ducks in his recruitment.
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The 2026 four-star defensive end now at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy has had a phenomenal offseason including at the Rivals Five-Star and now has a list of programs that have been coming after him the most in recent months.
The next step for Kreul is to figure out game-day visits but Oklahoma, Miami, Texas, Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Miami, LSU, Clemson, Penn State and Texas A&M have been the most aggressive.
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Ole Miss, Georgia, Mississippi State, Florida and Missouri are the programs standing out most to the 2026 four-star receiver from Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest who has seen his recruitment take off in recent months.
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The four-star defensive end from Atlanta (Ga.) North Atlanta has been committed to Rutgers since early June but the word has been that Georgia is working hard to flip him. Linton could easily end up staying close to home and upgrading to the Bulldogs but the word is that Linton is trying to be “open” and “clear-headed” and that he wants to make “good, slow decisions.”
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BYU and Utah could play a larger role for Moala as his recruitment continues but the word now is that two out-of-state programs are looking best.
USC and Oregon have made the biggest in-roads with the 2026 four-star defensive tackle from South Jordan (Utah) Bingham who plans to make his decisions after his junior season.
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South Carolina could be the early program to watch for the massive 2026 four-star offensive tackle from Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School but Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss have also stood out early on.
Mississippi State, Syracuse, Louisville, Kentucky and Rutgers are others to watch but the Gamecocks could have a slight edge right now.
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The four-star offensive tackle from Highland (Utah) Lone Peak has numerous connections to BYU including two brothers on the team right now so the Cougars are absolutely going to play a huge role in his recruitment but Pay has also said he’s going to keep an open mind with other programs.
Oregon, Oklahoma, Arkansas, NC State and Auburn are all standing out as well.
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Of the programs that have offered, Florida State, Tennessee, Auburn, Missouri, Florida and Georgia Tech stand out most for the 2026 four-star safety from Jonesboro, Ga.
Redding is planning to release a top 12 soon and he’s going to commit either on his birthday – Nov. 18 – or wait until July. Georgia was the dream school growing up and an offer from the Bulldogs could certainly change everything up but it hasn’t come yet.
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Auburn remains a program that Taylor has heavy interest in but after big visits to Nebraska and Kansas State those two should definitely be watched as well.
The 2026 four-star quarterback from Thousand Oaks, Calif., seems to really be warming up to the Wildcats and the Huskers so those two should be watched closely in his recruitment through his junior season.
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Oklahoma has been a program that has thoroughly impressed Williams for a long time and the Sooners are one of the front-runners along with Texas and Ohio State as the Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall standout gets closer to a decision.
The 2026 four-star safety could finalize things with those three programs standing out most as a commitment should come sometime during his junior season.
