Two College Football Powerhouses Receive Bad News From 4-Star Safety

A four-star 2027 safety prospect has delivered bad news to a pair of college football programs following his commitment.

Jenks' Kaydin Jones (2) celebrates his touchdown with Semaj Stanford next to Norman North's Reece Crandal during the high school football game between Norman North and Jenks at Harve Collins Field in Norman, Okla., Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2027 college football recruiting cycle has unlocked a new intensity in late April of the 2026 offseason.

Key prospects are trimming down their lists of schools to choose from and taking visits to their finalists. Many prospects made the decision to announce their commitments prior to taking official visits over the summer.

One of the most recent commits in the class came from four-star safety Semaj Stanford, who committed to Oregon on Thursday. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, ranks as the No. 5 safety, No. 4 prospect in Oklahoma and No. 80 overall prospect in the class of 2027, per Rivals.

Stanford transferred from Jenks High School to Broken Arrow High School prior to the 2025 season. Defensively, he logged 109 tackles, five interceptions, a pair of forced fumbles and a pair of blocked kicks. He also ran in the 60, 100 and 200-meter dashes as a member of Broken Arrow's track team in 2026.

247Sports scouting analyst Gabe Brooks called Stanford an "elite pure football player with three-phase impact and high-level production" and said that he "plays physical with wiry strength above listed size" in a scouting report from earlier this month. Brooks' NFL comparison to Stanford was current Falcons and former Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman.

Stanford is the latest addition to a very talented group of safeties the Ducks have recruited over the last year. Former Minnesota and All-Big Ten safety Koi Perich and former Baylor safety Carl Williams IV committed to Oregon in the 2026 portal cycle. Oregon landed three freshman safeties in the 2026 recruiting cycle, one of whom was a five-star recruit in Jett Washington.

The Ducks edged out stiff competition in order to land Stanford's commitment. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that Stanford chose Oregon over a pair of SEC programs on Thursday.

Texas

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian gestures after a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Geographically, Texas was the closest to Stanford of his three finalists. The Longhorns arrived later in Stanford's recruitment, offering him a scholarship at the beginning of January.

Three-star freshmen Yaheim Riley and Toray Davis are the only new safety additions to Texas' 2026 roster. Four-star cornerback Karnell James is the Longhorns' only defensive back commit in the class of 2027.

Georgia

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks toward the field during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bulldogs offered a scholarship to Stanford directly before the 2025 college football season. Stanford visited Georgia for the Bulldogs' game against Ole Miss in the middle of October.

Georgia added a pair of safety transfers to its roster in Khalil Barnes (Clemson) and Ja'Marley Riddle (East Carolina). While the Bulldogs have not landed a safety prospect in the 2027 class, they will bring in four true freshmen safeties that ranked as four-stars this season: Jordan Smith, Tyriq Green, Zech Fort and Blake Stewart.