Recruiting Rumor Mill: Dust settles after National Signing Day
National Signing Day is behind us but there is still some news to clean up from the 2025 class and a ton of news coming out in 2026. Here’s the latest Recruiting Rumor Mill.
Texas A&M and Oklahoma were the two early favorites for the 2026 four-star athlete from Spring Valley (Calif.) Mount Miguel but that top list has been changed up over the last few months.
The Aggies are still one of the early standouts but now Oregon and USC are the other two most serious contenders at this point.
A decision should come soon. The four-star quarterback has been committed to North Carolina since June 2023 but he was also close with former coach Mack Brown, who was forced out after this season.
Baker is now waiting to see who lands the Tar Heels’ job and then he will make a final choice after that: Either stick with Carolina or flip to Penn State, where he visited recently and the Nittany Lions are definitely working on flipping him.
With the news that Gus Malzahn was leaving for Florida State, Brown backed off his pledge to the Knights and now Brown has heard from at least a dozen programs or so. Almost immediately, top programs reached out to the massive high three-star offensive tackle from Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside but one seems to have the edge.
Georgia Tech has really made a big impression on Brown recently and the Yellow Jackets have made him a big priority so that will be one to watch.
Arkansas, UCLA and Virginia Tech are the final three for the three-star cornerback from Senatobia (Miss.) Northwest Mississippi CC with a decision date set for Dec. 12.
There has been no final decision yet from Davila but the chatter in the closing days is that the Razorbacks are looking strongest at this point.
Following the news that Gus Malzahn was leaving UCF for Florida State, Gordon decommitted from the Knights (and he’s also backed off an earlier pledge to Alabama) to reset his recruitment again.
The 2026 four-star safety from Jackson, Ala., now has Tennessee, LSU, Louisville, Baylor, Georgia Tech and Liberty standing out most but he has some other high-level teammates and their decisions could influence him as well.
After being committed to Oklahoma for more than a year, Hatton backed off his pledge to the Sooners earlier this month and a bunch of programs including Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State and Michigan but there is one team standing out most.
Texas A&M is the clear leader for the 2026 four-star running back from Cibolo (Texas) Steele and it could be really tough to beat the Aggies.
Despite his commitment to Alabama which he made in July, the word is he won’t end up in Tuscaloosa and that the Crimson Tide coaching staff have been focused on other priorities.
Michigan emerged right before signing day as a very serious option even though he had never visited Ann Arbor at that point and there’s been some chatter about Texas Tech and others as well.
Alabama made a big impression on Iheanacho during a late-season visit and their message that he could be an impact player “on arrival” in Tuscaloosa definitely left a big impression.
The 2026 five-star offensive tackle from North Bethesda (Md.) Georgetown Prep is highly complimentary of every team he visits but it seems like the Crimson Tide are now very high on the list. Oregon, Georgia, Texas A&M, Penn State are as well and then it will be interesting if Maryland makes an even bigger run after 2026 four-star Zion Elee just committed, too.
USC remains the front-runner for the 2026 five-star quarterback and it could be really tough to beat the Trojans.
The academics are strong, his brother plays there, he loves the offense under coach Lincoln Riley and his development of NFL quarterbacks and there are other factors.
Ole Miss and BYU would be the other programs to watch but USC is the top program.
After backing off an Ohio State commitment that lasted nearly a year, Mathis is back on the market and Michigan looks to be primed to land his pledge.
The Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter only has a visit planned to Ann Arbor although Penn State, Oregon, Oklahoma and others have been pegged to Mathis as well.
The four-star receiver from Columbia (S.C.) Irmo didn’t sign during the early period but this could be a waiting game for very little reason.
South Carolina and Clemson remain the two favorites in his recruitment and despite a late visit to Clemson (when the Gamecocks beat them) the strong feeling is that South Carolina still looks very strong here.
A top five is expected for the 2026 four-star offensive tackle from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy right around Christmas but Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Miami, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, UCLA, Texas A&M and Ohio State are the schools standing out most.
There has been significant talk about the Hurricanes especially since they’ve had young players have success along the offensive line but if Pepe is looking to return West (he’s originally from Southern California) then Oregon would be the team to watch.
The 2026 five-star quarterback who had a great junior season has been committed to Florida State since June and despite the coaching changes he remains pledged to the Seminoles but there are many programs that have been reaching out in recent months.
Washington, UCLA, Missouri and Michigan State are four to watch and the word is LSU could be close to offering Smigiel as well.
The 2026 four-star OL from Pace, Fla., took 10 game-day visits this season as Wise saw programs all over the country but a few especially stood out.
Oregon, Tennessee, Clemson and Oklahoma were the ones that made the biggest impression and while none have been counted out yet by Wise, those four could set the standard for his recruitment.
The 2026 four-star running back made a commitment to Mississippi State in September but by early December, Yates backed off that pledge as three schools are now making the biggest impression.
Florida State, Ohio State and Nebraska are the three standouts but the Seminoles might be the one to watch as they’ve come on strong and De Kalb (Miss.) Kemper County teammate Mario Nash just signed with them.
