Five Major College Football Programs Strongly Linked To Elite 4-Star DT

Prattville Class of 2027 defensive tackle Elijah Brown has five visits lined up this spring across three Power 4 conferences, per his X account: the hometown Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Michigan Wolverines, and Oklahoma Sooners.

In that bunch are two SEC schools with new head coaches that are outside the top 40 overall, Auburn and Kentucky, an ACC school that doesn't yet have a single 2027 recruit, Georgia Tech, a top-20 Michigan squad with a new head coach in Kyle Whittingham, and an Oklahoma program that's ranked No. 3 following Saraland quarterback Jamison Roberts' commitment on Saturday.

OU's 17-player 2027 class has an average score of 94.679, an average rating of 89.46, and an average NIL of $143K per player.

Roberts' commitment likely inflates that last number quite a bit. It's unclear if the Sooners are the favorites to land Brown because of their momentum or if Oklahoma is running out of money for other players after spending so much.

In terms of historical production at the defensive tackle position, the Miami Hurricanes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide, USC Trojans, and Texas Longhorns grade out the most favorably. Expanding to ends, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida State Seminoles have had strong recent success.

Elijah Brown's Choice Will Be Clear During 2026 College Football Season

Of course, recruiting so far in advance needs to be taken with a grain of salt in the modern era of College Football.

With Donald Trump and the current administration looking into ways to dial NIL/rev-share back, it's unclear what promises can legally be kept a year from now. Trump wants to make changes immediately, so it's possible the 2027 class is the first to arrive on campus with a reined-in landscape.

Brown still being at the visiting phase right now means his decision won't come anytime soon. Even if he commits to a school, Auburn should be seen as a flip threat anytime over the next eight months because of proximity, and any other school is an aggressive spend away from a commitment themselves.

Coaching changes will happen, further shaking things up. As things stand, though, Brown has the right kind of teams monitoring his status, which is to say, some deep-pocketed booster classes are bidding for his services as we speak, likely giving him decent payouts for his presence when he arrives on their campuses.