Nation’s No. 1 College Football Recruit Heavily Linked to Four Major Programs

The player considered by at least one service as the single-best prospect in the 2027 college football recruiting class may have already announced his commitment to one school, but that hasn’t stopped other programs from trying to change his mind.

Five-star Cedar Hill (Tex.) defensive lineman Jalen Brewster has already confirmed his pledge to the second-ranked recruiting class in the country, but three Big Ten programs and the national title runner up are still involved in trying to flip him.

Where he’s pledged right now

Currently, Brewster is on the books as a commitment to Texas Tech, where he remains the school’s highest-rated and only five-star pledge.

That was enough to propel the Red Raiders to the No. 2 position nationally in the latest industry-weighted 2027 football recruiting rankings with just four overall commitments.

And it marked another consequential success for a program that signed a flood of blue-chip defensive prospects to a historically-great group last offseason, one that helped put the school in the College Football Playoff for the first time.

But the Red Raiders have some work ahead of them keeping him onside in the future.

Who wants to flip him?

Among those other contenders is the No. 1 ranked team in the 2027 recruiting cycle.

Ohio State is firmly in play for Brewster, and assistant coach Larry Johnson has developed a relationship with the player.

“I know he puts people into the league every year. That’s where I wanna go, so that’s big for me,” Brewster said of Johnson and the Buckeyes, according to Rivals.

At the top of that elite class is national No. 1 edge rusher David Jacobs, also considered the No. 2 overall prospect in 2027, according to a national average.

Both CFP title teams are involved

Indiana and Miami faced off for the national championship this past season, and now both are in the mix to potentially flip the five-star to their sides.

Brewster’s father played at Ball State, located about 112 miles away from reigning national champion Indiana, which remains a team of interest, according to the report.

And he’s poised to meet with the Hurricanes, who rank inside the top dozen of the latest ‘27 recruiting rankings, officially on May 29-31.

Neither Miami or Indiana have earned a commitment from a defensive lineman yet in 2027.

Another B1G program in play

Oregon was in the conversation for Brewster early on, and remains so after its staff has built connections with the player and has picked up its recruiting efforts recently.

In particular, Brewster mentioned his respect for Ducks defensive line coach Tony Tuioti.

“That’s my dog,” he said of the man he refers to as “Coach T”.

Oregon sits in the No. 13 position in the national average recruiting rankings, and boast the commitment of four-star Alabaster (Ala.) defensive lineman Cam Pritchett, considered a top 30 prospect at his position.

Red Raiders aren’t forgotten

Despite the mutual interest between Brewster and other programs, his own connection with Texas Tech still appears to remain firmly in place.

But the school declining to renew the contract of defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch, who served the program throughout all four of head coach Joey McGuire’s seasons, gave Brewster the opportunity to build contacts at other schools.

The prospect is set to have another official visit to the Red Raiders from June 19-21.

“They’ve been doing well, talking to me weekly, and getting to know me,” he said of Texas Tech, which brought on Imarjaye Albury as the new DL coach this offseason.

Where Brewster rates as a prospect

No other high school football prospect in the country is more highly considered in the 2027 class, according to the latest Rivals300 rankings.

Brewster is listed as the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation by that metric and is marked down as a consensus five-star prospect.

The defensive lineman is considered the top-ranked player at his position and the No. 8 overall recruit at any position, according to an industry weighted average of all the national recruiting services.

Brewster was named the No. 1 defensive lineman and the No. 5 overall prospect, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

(Rivals)