Recruiting Notes for Auburn, PSU, Notre Dame, Miami, Georgia and More
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Today’s article was all about recruiting news and trends from across America. No true order, just a lot of recruiting information.
Some of the particulars have been learned from sources, some directly from prospects, and more information was added that’s publicly known.
Bottom line, we have entered the prime recruiting time for college football and there’s much to discuss.
Penn State – The Nittany Lions have been active across the country with recruiting. They now even have three prospects committed from Jacksonville, Fla. When I was a kid, PSU never recruited Florida hard. Quite the change.
While it would seem unlikely to many, it’s not out of the question that they flip Miami commitment Chance Robinson, a player that just visited PSU. Why?
He’s a South Florida guy and picked the Canes after growing up rooting for them. The Nittany Lions offer change, however, and many of South Florida’s recruits have looked for something completely different than what they are accustomed to during recent recruiting cycles.
It's not that it's likely Robinson flips, but if he does, look for a school that's outside the Sunshine State to gain his signature. That’s probably also why the following prospect, one that was allegedly trending towards FSU, decided on PSU as well.
With the addition of Jacksonville (Fla.) Andrew Jackson offensive lineman Deryc Plazz, Penn State added one of two commitments on the weekend. He’s a high ceiling offensive tackle that could one day end up in the NFL.
James Franklin also landed safety Dejuan Lane from Baltimore (Md.) Gilman, one of the top safeties in the country. That’s par for the course for a team that’s trending towards having a national top five class.
The only question about PSU stemmed from now having six offensive line recruits. Did the Nittany Lions give up on landing coveted offensive tackle Guerby Lambert? He visited Notre Dame this past weekend and PSU was supposed to be one of the prime contenders. Same with Ohio State, but the Buckeyes should not be counted out despite the Irish being the trendy pick for Lambert at the moment.
Notre Dame – Might as well talk about the efforts of Marcus Freeman and his staff now. They had a tremendous weekend, Lambert's visit to South Bend included, and should be getting good news fairly soon. Like Penn State, Notre Dame has a shot at a top five class if a few top defensive lineman decide to head to play for Freeman and the Irish.
Notre Dame really needs a pure weak side defensive end that can come in and compete for playing time. They have set their sights on Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic edge Elijah Rushing. He’s visiting the Irish (June 9) this next weekend, as well as Oregon (June 16) and Tennessee (June 23). Several other schools like Arizona (June 2), Ohio State, and UCLA (May 26) have been involved, among others.
For the Irish to have a shot at a top five class, Rushing probably needs to be in it.
Auburn - Watch out for the Tigers with big-time safety KJ Bolden. Yes, he has family on the Ohio State staff with safety coach Perry Eliano. Bolden has also lived in the greater Atlanta area and knows all about Georgia and what Kirby Smart has built.
All of that stated, he’s enamored with Auburn as well and his prior trip to The Plains makes Auburn a unique piece to this recruiting puzzle. Bolden has just finished up his Clemson visit. No word on what he thought about that trip just yet.
As for a potential second dark horse in the Bolden sweepstakes, it could be Florida State. Bolden has been considering taking an official visit to Tallahassee.
Miami - Talented offensive lineman Joseph Ionata committed to Bama. I asked him about taking more trips, and he clarified that he was done. Congrats to him on picking the Crimson Tide. Now, onto a more overall theme with the Canes.
This will be the long game with the Canes, i.e. they have gone big game hunting for several top prospects with the June official visits. That also means waiting it out – all the way through the 2023 season – for some of the final decisions.
These 4-star and 5-star prospects have leverage because of how coveted they are so they can take their time while college coaches, Miami’s included, wait. To that end, nothing from this past weekend’s visits was shocking as Miami positioned itself well prior to trips even starting.
Watch out for Dre’lon Miller and Miami. That was predicted this past week and discussed in multiple articles on All Hurricanes and via Locked On Canes with Alex Donno. Miller should announce later this month.
There has been serious smoke with Miami getting a summer commitment from 5-star defensive tackle Justin Scott out of Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius. Like many in the recruiting business, I believe he will pledge to Miami.
That stated, I also believe he takes, at minimum, four official visits – some after his commitment – before eventually making a final decision in the fall or even on National Signing Day. Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame are all very much in play.
All of that is my opinion combined with what I have been told by multiple people. Then again, that’s the pattern with elite 5-star defensive lineman that’s been going on for over a decade, so it’s par for the course for Scott to go that route (again, that's assuming I’m correct with the timeline).
Lastly on Miami, the big recruiting weekend for the Canes will be this next weekend with a plethora of talent coming in for the June 9 weekend. Much more will be known about what Mario Cristobal and the Canes end up with in this recruiting class based on how this next weekend goes. Elite talent will be coming to Coral Gables like On3's No. 1 player in the nation, edge Dylan Stewart out of Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy.
USF – Smart move to get in on Fort Meade (Fla.) High School wide receiver Joshua Porter early. He just committed to the Bulls and I am here to say that I will be surprised if he’s not starting by his sophomore year.
Congratulations to Joshua. He’s a heck of a player and young man. https://t.co/avViwBL39J
— Brian Smith (@fbscout_florida) June 5, 2023
He’s a tremendous route runner and has a suddenness to him that allows for Porter to separate from defensive backs consistently. Great prospect that far too many schools down South – and across the country – did not give any place near enough attention to.
Georgia – The Dawgs have a shot at a truly epic recruiting class. I’m just going to leave it at that with regards to specific recruits, but look for some fireworks on UGA’s end fairly soon.
Wisconsin – It’s finally starting to happen. Wisconsin has started to get some of the outside the numbers players that have been missing for decades. In short, speed at wide receiver and cornerback. Some of these prospects that have visited and/or committed might not be household names to some fans, but they have upside that begins with athleticism.
For instance, defensive back Vernon Woodward has pledged to the Badgers. He’s a 6-foot-2 recruit from Winter Park (Fla.) High School. That’s not a location or type of athlete the Badgers usually find to play in the secondary.
He could end up as a boundary cornerback or playing safety. Either way, for Luke Fickell and his staff to compete player-for-player with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, developing these types of talented Floridians would go a long way to winning those same matchups with the Wolverines, Buckeyes and Nittany Lions.
Rutgers – How does Greg Schiano do it? The head man for the Scarlet Knights just secured the commitments of three recruits from Miami (Fla.) Norland. He was once on the Hurricanes coaching staff so perhaps his connections have been helping out?
Regardless, props to Rutgers for gaining the commitments of offensive tackle Raynor Andrews (love that young man’s upside), plus twin defensive ends Tycoolhill Luman and Tyclean Luman.
Ole Miss – Do not sleep on Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. They have quietly put together a quality recruiting class that recently included two prospects from the state of Louisiana.
When this 2024 recruiting class comes to an end, look for the Rebels to find themselves in the top five or six schools in the SEC recruiting rankings.
2024 Recruiting Rankings: Florida's Top 25 Prospects
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.
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