Recruiting Rumor Mill: Visits keeping 2026, 2027 prospects busy
After junior days got going and a lot of trips are coming up, there is no better time for a second Recruiting Rumor Mill this week. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney.
Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Texas and of course LSU are the main players in Bradford’s recruitment and the five-star safety from Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic will also be taking a major visit to Oregon from Jan. 24-26 as the Ducks are definitely a big contender as well.
One more team has jumped in the race as Texas Tech needs to be watched after the Red Raiders hired safeties coach Rob Greene from Tulane.
There are no clear favorites yet for the 2027 cornerback from Owasso, Okla., but Arkansas made a major impression during its junior day especially because the Razorbacks gave him so much attention.
Brown had meetings with coach Sam Pittman, defensive coordinator Travis Williams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson as Arkansas left a great impression on Brown early on.
It’s still “hard to say” which team is standing out most in Edwards’ recruitment because he has such a long list but the word is that Texas A&M is definitely making a massive impression on the high four-star safety from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances.
Big visits are coming up to Auburn on Jan. 24 and Georgia on Feb. 1. Edwards will also find a date to visit Penn State as those three programs remain high.
The high four-star defensive end from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances committed to Maryland (over Oregon and others) on Dec. 7 but no teams are giving up on flipping him. Texas A&M, Alabama, Oregon, Miami, Georgia, Penn State, South Carolina and Auburn all remain involved and Elee has scheduled a trip to The Plains for Jan. 25.
A busy finish to Guthrie’s week is coming as Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson will see the four-star offensive tackle from Washington Court House (Ohio) Miami Trace in the coming days and those three schools are among the front-runners in his recruitment.
Georgia, Texas and NC State are three others to watch as well as Guthrie works through his top teams.
There is a decent chance Ili stays home and plays at either USC or UCLA. The four-star linebacker from Orange (Calif.) Lutheran has a long list of favorites and is being super patient in his recruitment.
But a big visit to Oregon is coming up on Jan. 24 as the Ducks are definitely one of the programs to watch if he leaves town, along with Alabama and potentially some others.
The 2027 offensive tackle from Hutto, Texas, is massive and so many more offers should be coming Mack’s way but one team already could be tough to beat in his recruitment.
Texas A&M thoroughly impressed Mack during his visit to College Station and while Baylor, Houston, Texas Tech and others have offered (and he lives in the Austin suburbs) the Aggies are the early team to beat.
The four-star quarterback from Kingston (Ga.) Cass backed off his pledge to West Virginia when coach Neal Brown was fired and over the last few days McWhorter visited Mississippi State.
The preparation and development plan that was laid out really impressed McWhorter and he was told that the coaches love how he plays the game and how he could make an impact in Starkville.
Visits to Auburn and Indiana are coming up and others could be planned, but the Bulldogs definitely helped themselves after this trip.
An offer from Texas A&M during his junior day visit was definitely impactful for the 2027 receiver from Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss and he loved hearing from coach Mike Elko and getting to know position coach Holmon Wiggins more as the Aggies have definitely made a big impression so far.
SMU and Ole Miss are the two others keeping really close tabs on Moore and while it’s still very early those three have been involved the most.
Redmond is a 2027 defensive tackle from Corinth (Texas) Lake Dallas but the way he was treated and how much love he was shown during his junior day visit to Texas A&M really left a big impression moving forward.
It’s early and Redmond has not been to a lot of places yet but the word is that the Aggies are “up there most definitely.”
Riordan’s time at Illinois’ junior day could not have been better as he found the coaches very personable and he loved how he was treated along with his brother, Tommy, a 2027 recruit and his whole family.
What also helps the Illini in his recruitment is that the basketball fans showed up early on a snowy day and Riordan loved that sense of fandom and community.
The Hinsdale (Ill.) Central offensive tackle is serious about Iowa, Northwestern, Oklahoma and Minnesota but Illinois definitely impressed over the weekend. Boston College, NC State and Stanford also met with Riordan recently.
The five-star quarterback from Newbury Park, Calif., has been committed to Florida State since June and he’s coming off another huge season as many other teams are working to flip him.
Smigiel recently visited Washington and he was looking at a trip to South Carolina this weekend but coach Shane Beamer is expected to visit him in Southern California.
Trips to Columbia, back to Washington, back to Florida State and to Michigan are being worked on for the spring.
