Recruiting Rumor Mill: Latest on Sunshine State stars
After a weekend of 7-on-7 showcases and the annual Dade vs. Broward All-Star Game, Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. drops the very latest on several Power Four prospects in the state of Florida and beyond.
The Sunshine State wideout, who has racked up offers since he was a prep freshman, is closing in on a verbal commitment. Five programs in the running for the pledge include Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas A&M.
Brady has been to each of those campuses and feels most comfortable with that handful, though he would not call the Buckeyes his overall leader compared with the Buckeye standing earlier in this recruitment. There is a chance a decision comes early in the new year, before any additional trips are added to Brady’s itinerary.
The two most recent scholarship offers in for the massive defensive back created instant contention in the process as current No. 1 Oregon and 2023 No. 1 Michigan have joined the list of options.
Calicut has been to Oregon and will work to get back to Eugene, where he has built multiple relationships. Michigan has yet to host him but a trip to Ann Arbor may soon be on the books.
Otherwise, LSU is a program that Calicut has frequented with family and the Tigers have some staying power in this recruitment. Calicut is in no rush to make a decision.
A longtime local pledge to Miami, this battle may just have begun as the top 100 talent has become a national recruit. Plenty comfortable at home right now, Campbell is not well traveled as Oregon and Nebraska look to challenge UM.
There is an urgency to see each campus officially once visit windows open this spring, as each program has been communicating with him as much as any.
Pitt has been a program pushing since the scholarship offer came in and a trip to campus for what would be a first impression looks to be in the works.
UCLA could be a new program to eye among those yet to offer as Tino Sunseri, who recruited Carlos at Indiana, takes over as the Bruins offensive coordinator. The productive wideout remains relatively open with the recruiting process otherwise.
The longtime Miami commitment remains rock solid to Mario Cristobal and company, but after leading Jones High to a state title berth and setting several passing records along the way, other programs continue to try and keep Coleman warm in the process.
Local UCF continues to try to keep him home while South Carolina has offered and increased communication with the dual-threat talent.
Fresh off of a state championship run with American Heritage, the productive wideout is beginning to look at spring official visits. Three programs on the board who look to be in position to host him include Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tulane. The trips aren’t yet set, but that is expected to change early in 2025.
The California native, sporting Alabama gloves during Saturday’s workout, dropped a national list of top programs in late October and those 10 programs are still in the thick of it. Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Alabama are perhaps shaping into the top group within the long list of options.
Of the programs not on the top schools list, Florida has commanded some attention since its scholarship offer went out about one month ago. Offseason visits will be critical as a decision timeline develops.
Still on board with his longtime pledge to Ohio State in addition to predicting the Buckeyes to win it all, Henry will take multiple official visits in the offseason. Oregon is very likely to get a return trip out of him as are several programs in SEC country such as LSU and Alabama.
One he hasn’t been to yet that will soon get set, he says, is a trip to Texas. Henry doesn’t envision closing out the refitting process until he can make an official decision next December.
The longtime Florida commitment says most programs know he “is a Gator” but some continue to communicate with him anyway. Of the group, the most consistent outside of UF include both Oregon and Auburn.
At this time, however, Griffin has no plans to be on any campus other than that of Billy Napier’s program.
Armed with P4 offers after a double-digit TD season in 2024, Kinsey had been hearing most from in-state UCF before the coaching changes went down of late. Now he hopes it carries over to where many have moved on to, Florida State, which is the dream school for the junior.
Otherwise it is a wide open recruitment at this stage, where offseason visits will shape contenders.
The 2028 passer has held scholarship offers since the seventh grade and more continue to come in for the Miami native. The Hurricanes were first in and have built a longstanding relationship with him despite the youth, but Florida State, Ohio State, Auburn and TCU are beginning to form a top group of sorts.
Of the quartet, TCU is where he is most unfamiliar, but the Lawrence camp is working to get to Fort Worth at some point this offseason if logistics can be worked out.
The Peach State standout has elite programs such as Georgia, Ohio State and Miami on his short list of programs under heavy consideration. There is a large group working to crash that party, including Auburn, Tennessee and Indiana, but the sense is that McCoy may not be very far off from making his verbal commitment.
Staff connections at UGA and UM were singled out this time around, perhaps providing a preview of the top of his options at this stage.
The electric freshman is building his national offer list and mentioned Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Florida and LSU as programs he would like to add to the group this offseason.
Florida was the last program to host him and he is working to get to events or even camps at Oregon, Tennessee, LSU and Ole Miss in the coming months.
The new four-star on Rivals continues to hear from new programs, but Miami remains the constant in this recruitment. Fellow ACC programs Syracuse and Pitt are right on the Hurricanes’ heels, potentially slowing down the decision-making process.
Miles has been to UM and SU while looking to set up an initial trip to Pitt in the New Year.
Looking to soon get back to Miami and eyeing a trip in January, the legacy recruit maintains solidity to The U. It doesn’t mean communication elsewhere has been cut off, though, as Florida, Auburn and Tennessee continue to build relationships with the junior.
The Gators are the likeliest to get Portis on campus at some point, he says, as he has been curious to see why the program has so much recruiting momentum first hand.
