No. 2 College Football TE Recruit Delivers Bad News to Two Powerhouse Programs

These two college football programs received bad news following the commitment of the No. 2 tight end in the 2027 recruiting cycle.

Jaxon Dollar, 2027 tight end from East Lincoln High in Denver, N.C. in a receiver drill during the 2025 Dabo Swinney Football Camp in Clemson, S.C. Tuesday, June 3, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2027 college football recruiting cycle has strengthened as spring turns to summer in the 2026 offseason.

Many prospects in the class will take official visits to programs across the country in May and June before announcing their commitments in the following months. Another large portion of prospects in the class is knocking out their commitments prior to the official visit period.

One of the newest commitments in the cycle came from four-star tight end Jaxon Dollar, who committed to Georgia on Thursday.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder from Denver, North Carolina, ranks as the No. 2 tight end, No. 2 prospect from North Carolina and No. 34 overall prospect in the class, per Rivals.

In two seasons of varsity football at East Lincoln High School, Dollar has caught 67 passes for 1,414 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Defensively, Dollar logged 38 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, four pass breakups, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 2025. He was named the Western Foothills 4A/5A Player of the Year.

In addition to football, Dollar stars on the hardwood for East Lincoln, reaching 1,000 career points in the midst of his junior season. Dollar holds a basketball scholarship offer from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins referred to Dollar as a "modern slot tight end that should command targets in any offense with his win rate" and said that Dollar "powers through contact and can easily release from a jam" in a scouting report from February. Ivins' comparison to Dollar was former NC State tight end Justin Joly.

With his commitment to the Bulldogs, Dollar will follow a strong lineage of tight ends to come through the Georgia football program.

The Bulldogs produced a first-round NFL draft talent in Brock Bowers in 2024, a third-round NFL draft talent in Oscar Delp in 2026 and return a likely NFL draft pick at the position in Lawson Luckie for the upcoming season.

With high recruiting rankings came stiff competition to land Dollar's commitment.Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that two other programs lost out on Dollar's commitment on Thursday.

Miami

Miami Hurricanes tight end Elija Lofton (9) reaches for a pass while defended by Ohio State Buckeyes safety Jaylen McClain (18) | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The Hurricanes began their push for Dollar's commitment back in July of 2025 when they offered him a scholarship. Dollar visited Miami for its game against Florida last September.

Miami will return tight end Elija Lofton from its College Football Playoff team a season ago. The Hurricanes also bring in a pair of four-star tight ends from the 2026 recruiting cycle in Gavin Mueller and Israel Briggs, the former of which is a top-10 tight end from the class.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Eli Raridon (9) runs after a catch against the Pittsburgh Panthers | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Fighting Irish extended their scholarship offer to Dollar in March of 2025. Dollar visited Notre Dame once in the summer of 2025, again for its game against USC in October and for a third time at a spring practice in March.

Notre Dame is losing an NFL-draft talent at the tight end position in Eli Raridon in 2026, but it is bringing in a consensus five-star prospect in Ian Premer from the 2026 cycle. The Fighting Irish are also in the mix to land Malik Howard, another top-10 tight end prospect in the 2027 cycle.