Recruiting Rumor Mill: First massive visit weekend is on deck
The monumental month of June is upon us but before all the news starts flooding out from this massive first weekend of visits, there is still plenty of recruiting gossip to tackle and that’s why a second Recruiting Rumor Mill was needed this week.
RELATED: Ten programs heading into a huge recruiting weekend | Five-star WR Dakorien Moore plans visit back to LSU
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Ole Miss, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Tennessee and others are trying hard with the high four-star receiver but this continues to feel like Mississippi State is the team to beat.
The Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County standout lives only about 30 minutes from campus and doesn’t venture out much, plus coach Jeff Lebby’s offense and the receiver recruiting the Bulldogs are doing all point to Cunningham ending up in Starkville.
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A recent visit to Tennessee definitely impressed the 2026 four-star safety from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances and it was made clear he’s a top priority for the Volunteers in that class, but some others could be standing out more.
Ohio State could lead the list with Oregon, Alabama, Maryland and Georgia also high.
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There seem to be differing views on Lockett’s recruitment and it comes down to whether Texas or Texas A&M leads for the four-star receiver from Sachse, Texas. The word I’ve gotten is that the Longhorns still look best with Florida State also in there.
In recent days, Lockett, Dakorien Moore and Jaime Ffrench have all discussed teaming up in Austin.
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The feeling has been that Texas is the program to beat for Mills but the high three-star offensive lineman from San Francisco (Calif.) St. Ignatius just had a great trip down the road to Cal and he’s going to see Washington, Florida and he’ll be back with the Longhorns before the end of June.
The message from the Cal coaching staff was that he could be a catalyst for this class and he also liked the players he spent time with a lot.
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Tennessee is “one of the tops” after Mills-Knight was in Knoxville in recent days but a big June is ahead as Alabama, Michigan, Miami and Ole Miss are also very much in the running.
Those five programs stand out most for the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School standout and a big June should be telling.
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The three-star defensive tackle from Dandridge (Tenn.) Jefferson County might not have any public favorites but it would be hard to believe Tennessee isn’t at the top especially after a recent visit to Knoxville.
Moore loves the energy and the community involvement around the program. He’s received a clear message from that coaching staff that he’s a top priority and that “UT is home.”
Moore will be at West Virginia, Clemson and Vanderbilt in the coming days but the Vols look good here.
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Georgia could be a program to watch in Owens’ recruitment as he’s expected to visit with the Bulldogs on Friday and there is some chatter that if things go well then they could be the team to beat.
The 2026 three-star (for now) receiver has greatly emerged this offseason with numerous impressive performances. He is incredibly long and lean, and could be one of the better West prospects in his class.
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Alabama, Washington, Oregon, Florida State, Miami and others are involved here but the word is that another linebacker was told that UCLA could be filled at linebacker and the suggestion was that Rainey-Sale could be heavily leaning toward the Bruins here.
The four-star linebacker from Spanaway (Wash.) Bethel School recently visited and while others are still involved, UCLA is definitely one to watch now.
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The 2026 five-star quarterback has seen a lot of schools already, but one school making a major impression on the Newbury Park, Calif., standout – Florida State.
The Seminoles are showing him a ton of attention from coach Mike Norvell to position coach Tony Tokarz and others. Smigiel loves the program’s direction and how they’re recruiting him.
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With nearly 30 offers, Starr is definitely a major priority across the country but a select group of programs is really starting to make the biggest impression. A recent visit to Tennessee stood out to the Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood star. The Vols made him feel like a top priority and the coaches want him to come back for an official visit.
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In January, Sterling visited LSU and told me that if the Tigers offered it would be really tough to beat them in his recruitment. Since that time, the three-star defensive lineman from Lutcher, La., has committed to Houston.
But in recent days, the Tigers came through with an offer and while Sterling thinks highly of that one “no doubt” he remains committed to the Cougars at this point. Still, Sterling visits Baton Rouge again this weekend for camp and a flip would not be a shock at all.
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A recent visit to Cal definitely left a great impression since he loved the people in Berkeley and he could make an early impact. But LSU seems to be standing out most for the high three-star defensive tackle from Denton (Texas) Guyer right now.
Official visit season is upon us and things could change but a commitment should come late in June or early in July.
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A legacy at UCLA, Williams finally landed an offer from the Bruins and while they might have some ground to make up now it definitely meant a lot to get that one as it will seriously be considered in his top group.
Ohio State has emerged as the program to beat for the Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout but Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Florida State and now UCLA are in that group.
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
MONDAY: Who should be No. 1?
TUESDAY: Five-Star Countdown | Tavien St. Clair moved into five-star status
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THURSDAY: New offensive position rankings released | QB rankings breakdown | RB rankings breakdown | WR/TE rankings breakdown | OL rankings breakdown
FRIDAY: New defensive position rankings released | DL rankings breakdown | LB rankings breakdown | DB rankings breakdown | ATH rankings breakdown
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