June was the busiest month, but July also remains intense with tons of scouting rumors as Rivals National Recruiting Director. Adam Gorney offers the latest in this week’s recruiting rumor mill.
Oregon continues to be a major contender for the best attacking tackle. He says he feels at home, his brother graduated from there and he loves everything about the Ducks. But he had other great visits to ohio state, Texas And state of florida because all three also remain major players.
An engagement could come in August or September for Santa Ana (California) star Mater Dei, but he is working on scheduling an official for Nebraska in the fall and if that happens, Baker will push back his promise until December.
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Now based in Miami (Fla.) Central after a tumultuous recruitment and high school experience, Cunningham now has a top five of Penn State, Oklahoma, Miami, Texas A&M And Michigan but one program “definitely recruits me the hardest of all,” he said.
The Nittany Lions are making the biggest push for Cunningham, who is originally from Georgia, transferred to a school in California and is now in Miami. A decision could also be made soon.
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There were a lot of rumors about USL And Auburn among other schools trying to knock him down — and Dixon possibly taking more visits — but four-star Mobile (Ala.) linebacker Mobile Christian is now “fully locked in” with his Alabama commitment.
No other travel is planned. The only visits on his schedule now are that Dixon plans to be at every home game for the Crimson Tide this season.
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Tennessee, Caroline from the south and Alabama are the top three favorites for the Hoschton (Ga.) four-star defensive end Mill Creek and he’s apparently “working on it now” to announce a commitment date.
There have been other favorites and top teams throughout his recruiting, but that should end an SEC East battle.
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State of Penn, Alabama, State of Florida, our Lady and Ohio State are the finalists for 2025 four-star high receiver Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin with his commitment date set for July 22. The word is that the Crimson Tide is very much in control here. They have been for a while since they were so consistent in recruiting him and targeting him as one of the best receivers in the 2025 class. Anything can still happen, but Alabama seems to have the advantage.
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The four-star receiver from Pahokee, Fla., has been busy recently since being reclassified from 2025 to 2024 and is now eyeing a potential commitment “soon.”
Kentucky and Penn State are the two favorites for Gilmore, who had more than 1,000 receiving yards last season, but the Wildcats are thought to be way ahead for Gilmore’s commitment.
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He’s a tight end in 2026, but St. George (Utah) prospect Pine View is one of the best looking players in his position, regardless of class, and already has 15 offers. Oregon is definitely one to watch since he grew up a Ducks fan and they are already recruiting him hard.
A visit to Georgia was huge and getting that offer was even more important. Utah And Arizona should definitely be watched too. Notre Dame would be a big one for Harris and he’s heading to Alabama later this month so a member of the Crimson Tide can join that roster as well.
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Tennessee, USCSouth Carolina and Alabama recruited Hill the hardest throughout the offseason as the Meridian, Miss., scheduled Aug. 23 for his engagement.
Hill wants to play running back to the next level and the feeling is that if Alabama has room in their class, the Crimson Tide could win. If that doesn’t happen, then South Carolina is the team to watch.
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The new rumor surrounding the five-star receiver as to why he hasn’t committed to Texas technology on several occasions — as expected over the past few weeks — is that Texas A&M has come into its recruiting and is at least making Hudson think again about its promise.
The Red Raiders are still the team to beat Texas try to hang on, but if the Temple (Texas) standout Lake Belton visits College Station later this month, things could get more interesting.
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There have been varying reports about Lindsey and his top teams, but now the rumor is that Auburn are increasing their recruiting and could be the team to beat. The Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy four-star defensive end from Arkansas is also watching Texas very closely.
Texas A&M has been the school to watch for a very long time, so the Aggies can’t be counted out, but there hasn’t been as much talk about them lately.
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South Carolina remains the team to beat for fast Burlington (NC) four-star receiver Cummings and Gamecocks assistant coach Pete Lembo does this recruitment well. People close to Paylor have strong ties to Lembo, who was Elon’s head coach, who is only a few miles from Paylor’s home in North Carolina.
NC statusPenn State, Maryland And North Carolina are in his top five but it would be a shock if the Gamecocks didn’t catch him.
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For months, Pickett has said Ohio State was “mostly” the favorite in his recruiting and despite being a catch for the Buckeyes, Tampa (Florida) four-star defensive end Wharton still hasn’t made his promise.
Ohio State still looks very strong for Pickett, but Florida State, Louisville and Miami are the other favorites.
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A top 14 doesn’t exactly narrow the roster significantly, but the high four-star offensive lineman who now plays at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy is recruited harder by some and not by others.
Some who have slowed down a bit are ColoradoTexas A&M, Maryland and USC, as it looks like Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama might be fighting the most for best offensive lineman right now.
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There is significant pressure for any top Louisiana prospect to choose LSU and Singleton surely feels that, along with the Tigers, are one of the best teams in his recruiting.
But there are others too. Texas A&M, TOS and Tennessee are all strong arguments for the four-star safety of Many, Louisiana, but LSU could be tough to beat.
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More than half of Miami’s recruiting class comes from Florida. More importantly, some of them, including the new five-star commit Joshisa Trader played with Smith in the youth leagues – and now with South Florida Express.
Smith even tweeted a picture of the two playing when they were young and it could be a major step in tipping Smith from Ohio State. It could be an intentional recruiting tactic in fact as the Canes, Georgia and others also try to knock him down.
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Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama and more were mentioned in Smith’s recruiting, but Oklahoma has long been the team to beat and the Sooners seem always be in the best position.
Now there’s a new development as the four-star defensive end plans to announce his engagement Sept. 8 during senior night at the new stadium in Melissa, Texas. He communicates more than regularly with the Oklahoma staff and it always looks good for the Sooners.
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Oregon State is definitely a team to watch in the recruitment of Tuataga, especially after his visit to Corvallis where he loved the atmosphere of the city and he developed a great relationship with the position coach Legi Suiaunoa.
Beavers and BYU have the edge right now for the Eagle Mountain (Utah) Cedar Valley star who loved the culture of Provo because he is LDS. But Oregon and Nebraska are also in the game.
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One of the next big prospects in Santa Ana (California) Mater Dei is the 2026 defensive tackle who is already 6-foot-3 and around 300 pounds. An Oregon-USC battle could be brewing for Topui, who grew up as a Trojans fan but also sees how well the Ducks are recruiting from Southern California.
Oklahoma also recently caught his eye if he chooses to leave the West with Michigan and Auburn two others to watch.
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The five-star receiver’s recruiting is expected to enter the early signing period, especially as the star from St. Louis University (Mo.) is now considering official visits to Texas A&M, Tennessee and Miami.
After trips to Texas, Georgia, Missouri and Michigan, Wingo (who showed up at the NIL Sports Summer Kickoff on Friday wearing Longhorns shorts), it still feels like a lot of programs are in the running. Texas made a huge impression and the Longhorns might have an advantage now, but he made some real arguments as to why the others might land his promise as well.
