Recruiting Rumor Mill: High school football kicks off across the country
The high school football season is getting underway across the country but there’s still tons of recruiting news and rumors going around in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill:
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A late summer visit to South Carolina was another positive step for the Gamecocks in the recruitment of the 2025 four-star defensive tackle from Lake City, S.C. Clemson, Tennessee and LSU are some other contenders but Adams is so comfortable in Columbia and so comfortable with the staff there plus he loves the “vibe” around the program it would be a stunner if he went elsewhere.
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Penn State is going to be a major contender for the 2025 offensive tackle from Avon (Conn.) Avon Old Farms especially after a stop in Happy Valley this summer. How the Penn State staff treated Aliciene while he was there definitely stood out and he loves the quality of people there as it could be a huge draw as the Nittany Lions, Boston College, Louisville, Duke, Pitt and Texas A&M among others have made an impression.
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The top-ranked offensive tackle nationally could be slowing things down - but not by much. The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout wants to visit Nebraska in mid-September and then he should be ready to make his commitment by the end of the month or early October. There have been rumors that Texas is now the team to beat and could have a big edge but Oregon is definitely a major contender here as well and could still land him with Ohio State, Florida State and Tennessee also involved.
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LSU is going to be difficult to beat for the standout 2026 offensive lineman from Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab since he’s in town and has always loved the Tigers but if there’s one school to watch it would be Georgia. The Bulldogs have made an early move for Brown, one of the top offensive tackles in the class, but LSU will definitely be there until the end.
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Alabama is now making a major move for the No. 1 running back in the 2025 class as Davison has talked a lot more with position coach Robert Gillespie. A visit to Tuscaloosa this season is being worked on as the Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout is well-versed in the running back tradition in Tuscaloosa as Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and others remain high on the list as well.
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It’s early for the 2026 cornerback from Jackson, Ala., but Auburn made a big impression during a recent visit as Gordon loved the facilities and the coaching staff there. The Tigers will definitely be one to watch but South Carolina and Tennessee are also two early standouts in Gordon’s recruitment.
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A new offer from Miami will definitely be one to watch but the 2025 four-star safety from Rabun Gap (Ga.) Rabun Gap Nacoochee has a long list of favorites. North Carolina tops the list with Florida State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and LSU making up that list.
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Tennessee made a major impression on Lewis during a late-summer visit and the message from the coaches that he’s high on their list for 2025 prospects was a huge impact for Lewis, who also has LSU, Clemson, North Carolina, UCF, Louisville, NC State and Kentucky up there. The Milton, Ga., standout sees Tennessee turning into a powerhouse that “teams are going to have to watch out for,” and that could play a big role in his recruitment.
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The thinking for some time was that LSU was going to be tough to beat for the four-star defensive tackle from Lafayette (La.) Acadiana but now it looks like this could be a two-horse race with Texas and Oklahoma out front. LSU isn’t eliminated but the Longhorns look like they’re the team to beat although the Sooners could be ramping up their efforts as well to land McKinley.
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Tennessee could definitely be a team to watch as “they’re definitely up there,” early on for the 2025 three-star cornerback from Milton, Ga. Redmond loved the vibe in Knoxville during a late-summer visit and the message from the coaching staff that he’s one of the best in his class at cornerback definitely stood out. So far, Missouri, Ohio State and West Virginia have also offered.
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Penn State is definitely going to be a school to watch for the 2025 high three-star athlete from Salem, N.J., especially after he visited there in the summer and saw how the coaches backed up their talk about the importance of relationships between them and the players. The Nittany Lions and Rutgers are the top two at this point but Smith is still looking to take an abundance of visits before making a decision.
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Auburn is going to be a school to watch for the 2025 receiver from Phenix City (Ala.) Central especially after a recent visit there where Upshaw got the feeling that new coach Hugh Freeze is going to turn the program around really quickly. The Tigers are definitely up there with Florida State, Florida, Penn State, Oklahoma and Cincinnati making big impressions.
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Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State are the main four battling it out for the 2025 offensive tackle from Phenix City (Ala.) Central but Auburn could have taken a slight edge after a recent visit. The “family atmosphere” on The Plains was a big deal to Waldrep plus he loved hanging out with so many other elite players that the Tigers definitely left a strong impression.
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Ever since his commitment to Michigan in February, Walker has made it no secret he was going to listen to other programs and take visits and a recent one to Miami definitely left a big impression. His relationships with position coach Derek Nicholson and many others along with the history of linebacker success there plus off-the-field considerations are all a major draw. Michigan still has him locked in but Walker hopes to visit Miami, Stanford, Penn State and Oklahoma coming up.
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If Wingo moves up his commitment date that could be great news for Missouri but according to some chatter it still looks like Texas has an edge in his recruitment especially after a summer visit to Austin. The commitment of five-star WIlliams Nwaneri to the Tigers cannot hurt in Wingo’s thinking plus the new NIL law in Missouri but the Longhorns along with Georgia and others are very much in this one.
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The 2025 high three-star running back from Southlake (Texas) Carroll had an awesome visit to Oklahoma late in the summer, said it “felt like home” and it looks like the Sooners are definitely going to be a major contender here. Texas, Tennessee and TCU are the other standouts but Wormley loved his time in Norman, got to spend time with the coaches and commits and the Sooners look strong here.