Recruiting Rumor Mill: Latest chatter from RCS in Atlanta
The Rivals Camp Series stopped in Atlanta this past weekend and a lot of top regional prospects were in attendance. Here are the latest news and notes from analysts Adam Friedman, Ryan Wright, Jed Mays and Eric Lammers in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
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RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info for 2022 series
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Arkansas is doing a really good job recruiting Smith right now. The Razorbacks are in contact a lot and he has built a really strong relationship with the coaches. UCF, where his teammate Troy Ford is committed, wants him badly. Ohio State hasn't offered but the Buckeyes are keeping tabs on Wright. He will visit the Columbus campus this summer along with Arkansas and Miami. He's not going to commit soon.
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Michigan State (June 3-5), Arkansas (June 10-12), Louisville (June 17-19), and Miami (June 24-26) will get official visits from Sanker throughout the month of June. Georgia, Ole Miss, and North Carolina could be getting unofficial visits from him in the next month as well. He isn't claiming a favorite at this point but a commitment could be coming shortly after he finishes his visits in June. Sanker wants to be committed before this season so a July commitment is likely.
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South Carolina, Florida State, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech have been pushing all the right buttons with Shivers. Vanderbilt has done a good job building strong relationships with Shivers and they'll get him on campus for an official visit on June 17. He is looking at Florida State for an official visit during the season. South Carolina will likely get an official visit at some point as well. He doesn't want to commit until after the season.
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Clemson (June 3), Auburn (June 10), Florida (June 17) and Florida State (June 24) will host Faulk for official visits next month. This is a tough race to figure out but Faulk is looking forward to these visits to help him figure everything out. Mike Norvell at Florida State has done well with Faulk but Clemson, Auburn and Florida are ready to put their best foot forward for the talented pass rusher. Look for Faulk to possibly announce a commitment in July.
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Birdsong is working hard to get physically ready for the next level and that has impressed a lot of coaches. Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State are heavily pursuing him. Ole Miss, North Carolina, Ohio State and Georgia have already hosted him this offseason but look for him take trips to Jackson State, Clemson and Alabama this summer.
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Brown isn't in a rush to make a decision but there are a handful of programs to keep an eye on his recruitment. Georgia, Tennessee, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Oklahoma are just some of schools that have done well with him so far but Texas A&M, Michigan State, NC State and Notre Dame could join the list after he visits as some point this summer. Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma were the few schools that got Brown to visit already this spring. Brown was at Georgia again this past Saturday and he cited the "genuineness of the trip" as one of the more memorable aspects of his most recent trip. Don't expect Brown to make a decision until at least a year from now.
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The recruiting process is only just beginning to take off for Brooks, a 2025 offensive lineman. His first offer came from Georgia on Feb. 20 and has since earned offers from Ole Miss, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Auburn and LSU, with Tennessee recruiting him hard as well. The 6-foot-7, 349-pound offensive lineman also likes Ole Miss in part due to his “Blind Side” nickname stemming from his resemblance to Michael Oher. LSU is already on the visit list for this summer.
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Michigan State, Kentucky and South Carolina are the programs standing out most for Greene. He has a strong bond with defensive line coach Marco Coleman, who offered him at Notre Dame. The appeal of playing in the SEC also stands out when it comes to Kentucky and South Carolina. Greene is camping at Clemson and Ohio State this summer with the goal of earning offers there as well.
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There’s an SEC feel to Henderson’s recruitment with Texas A&M, Auburn, Arkansas and Georgia among the standouts. Georgia offered him over a year ago, a longtime bond he appreciates, and he has a very strong relationship there with Scott Cochran. Miami and Cincinnati are also in the mix. The Hurricanes and Bearcats will receive visits this summer along with North Carolina, Arkansas and LSU.
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Many programs are recruiting Matthews as a safety. That list includes Ohio State, which Matthews called “where I can make money at” given Ohio State’s tradition of sending defensive backs to the NFL. Oklahoma, Georgia, Auburn and Notre Dame are also in the mix. So is Clemson, although the Tigers haven’t extended an offer as of yet.
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The 2024 signal caller from Alabama won quarterback MVP honors at the Atlanta camp. Auburn, Georgia Tech, Oregon and Florida State have all offered and are in pursuit. Two other programs recruiting McClellan are Georgia and Alabama. Neither has offered, but they will host McClellan for camps this summer. If one or both schools offer, it stands to reason that school will likely jump to the top of McClellan’s recruitment.
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Smith has exploded on the recruiting scene this spring. He has added offers from Kentucky, UCF, Tennessee, Nebraska and Iowa State among others. The 2024 outside linebacker is a name to keep an eye on through the summer as he camps at bigger schools and potentially keeps raking in the offers.
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Hall, a future Michigan Wolverine, announced his commitment at the end of March and has remained loyal to Jim Harbaugh and his staff. Running backs coach Mike Hart played a large role in his decision to commit and Hart still emphasizes how important Hall is to their class. While Hall has no intentions of changing his commitment, he did leave the door open for a possible visit to Miami down the road. If he were to look at another school, the Hurricanes would be in a good position to get his attention quickly.
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Georgia fans may have cause for concern with their verbally committed 2023 offensive lineman. McElderry locked in with the Bulldogs on Nov. 30 but is doing what all recruits should do, and that is explore his options. McElderry has an official set with Georgia on June 17, but will first make a stop at Auburn May 27-29 and then Tennessee June 24-26.
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College teams would be wise to jump on Gentle as soon as possible. The McCallie School weakside end more than looked the part of a top FBS recruit taking on top offensive linemen on Sunday. Gentle reports seven offers and that list is sure to grow this summer with planned camps at Michigan and Tennessee. Stanford was Gentle’s most recent offer, and the three-star will visit the Cardinal this summer to return the favor.
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Teams have put some 20 offers in Gadson’s hands and now the process gets serious with official visits around the bend. The two teams jumping out early are Florida State and Minnesota. Gadson reports the coaching staff for both the Seminoles and Gophers have been doing a great job recruiting him leading to the influential summer visits. No other contenders were shared, but the Savannah area prospect has offers from Georgia, Indiana, Louisville and Tennessee that could play a factor in his final decision.
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From the outside perspective, it is easy to see Lewis is a fan of the ACC. Pushing SEC and Big Ten offers aside, for now Lewis is focusing on Pitt, North Carolina and Boston College. Official visit dates have been set with each program for the month of June. No other visits have been planned for now.
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Before taking the RCS in Atlanta by storm, the four-star defensive back dropped his top schools listing Clemson, Oregon, USC, Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas A&M. With time being a factor, the Pac-12 gets the first chance to impress Nation with official trips being planned to USC and Oregon. The Aggies may get the Roswell prospect this fall for a game-day experience.
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The 2024 Alabama lineman has four early offers but plans to be active on the camp circuit this summer. Programs have been approaching the 6-foot-4 lineman about playing defense and this year Sanders will play on both sides of the ball for the first time in his career. Auburn, Florida, UCF, Mississippi State and Alabama should all get the potentially versatile lineman on campus this summer.
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Joiner went ahead and committed to the in-state Tigers early because he wanted to be able to fully focus on his senior season and work to get his body right for the next level which has already led to him losing 30 pounds since last season. Other programs haven't backed off the Auburn pledge from trying to get him to look around. Reportedly 10-plus programs have been working Joiner to come check them out but he remains fully locked into his commitment.
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Kendall transferred to Lausanne after last football season and they don't have spring ball like other Tennessee high schools but that hasn't stopped various college programs from taking interest. Kendall who currently holds five offers has also been hearing regularly from programs like Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, SMU and Mississippi State. Kendall plans to hit the camp circuit in June and will start right out the gate with Alabama.
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Miles has double-digit offers and doesn't currently have any official visits set up, but plans to add to that list this summer. Vanderbilt, Northwestern, NC State, Mississippi State, and Nebraska have all been communicating with the Alabama defensive back extensively and while only Vanderbilt has offered thus far, Miles plans to potentially attend camps at all those programs in order to get in the mix with each.
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Boley already has six offers but that number only looks to grow for the young 6-foot-5 quarterback with a big arm. Tennessee, Alabama and Purdue all came through his high school in the last month to see him in person and Kentucky, Cincinnati and Louisville will all be by this week to check him out as well. Boley has a busy spring with visits and will have a busy summer camp schedule as he plans to throw for Clemson, Alabama, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Florida State and Florida.
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Copeland only has one offer but could see that number grow over the summer. Copeland reportedly ran a 4.4 forty recently and has been hearing from programs like Troy, UCF, West Virginia and Coastal Carolina. Copeland definitely plans to camp with those programs this summer and others as the interest continues to pick up.
