Recruiting Rumor Mill: Prospects planning spring visits

Even though signing day is over and it’s a dead period there is still a ton of news and rumors out there. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney hits on what he’s hearing in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.

Texas and Texas A&M have made the biggest impression on the 2026 running back from Texarkana, Texas so far with Ole Miss and Oklahoma State also of high interest. Georgia‘s recent offer has given Ball something new to seriously consider. Shortly after running 10.5 in the 100-meters, the Bulldogs came through with an offer. This could be a battle between the Longhorns and the Aggies but if Georgia keeps pushing it could get interesting.

LSU is always going to be a major contender for the 2026 lineman from Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab – basically a feeder school for the Tigers – but Brown is starting to seriously consider schools away from home as well. It’s not just a lock he ends up at LSU. Brown, who is still unsure whether he’s going to play offensive or defensive line in college since he’s great at both, wants to seriously check out USC, UCF, Texas, Colorado and Georgia before making any decisions.

Texas and Ohio State could be the front-runners for the five-star running back from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei and the Longhorns could have the edge but some more big visits are coming up. Davison will be at Alabama on March 23 to get a feel for that new coaching staff and its offensive scheme, will then head to Ole Miss on March 24 and then round out that trip at Ohio State on March 27. Playing in the SEC is definitely a draw but the Buckeyes would be big too since he grew up idolizing Ezekiel Elliott.

The top-ranked player in the state of Maryland, the high four-star safety has had Ohio State and Oregon as his two front-runners for some time but some other visits are coming up. Delane will visit Colorado and Texas soon and then he’s heading back to Ohio State this spring as well as the rumor is the Buckeyes are definitely the team to beat right now in his recruitment.

Through the summer, Fegans was committed to USC since his brother, Tre’Quon, transferred there from Alabama but there is a heavy Southeast flavor to Fegans’ recruitment after backing off the USC pledge in late August. Auburn was the first program mentioned by the Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson four-star safety with LSU, Clemson, Florida State, Alabama, Oregon, Ole Miss and Tennessee rounding out the group.

Oklahoma State will get Gentry’s first official visit in late April as the Cowboys could be one of the top teams to watch in his recruitment. If Oklahoma gets more involved then maybe the Sooners could surge in his recruitment but so far the McKinney, Texas high three-star cornerback has visited and there is mutual interest but other targets could be higher. SMU, TCU and others could be in the mix as well.

An Alabama commitment for two months, Grady backed off that pledge once coach Nick Saban retired as the four-star defensive end wanted to re-evaluate everything in his recruitment. The Enterprise, Ala., standout will be back in Tuscaloosa soon as Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State, Tennessee, Florida State and Miami will also get visits. If it’s not Alabama, Auburn could have a slight edge but the Crimson Tide could get him back in the fold.

Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Florida State are the programs standing out most early on for the 2026 four-star receiver from Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County but others should be watched as well especially with visits possible. Gregory really wants to visit Oregon and then get back to LSU and USC soon. There are rumors Gregory could reclass to 2025 but the word is while that’s not off the table it’s not his plan right now.

Oregon has the edge in Harris’ recruitment since he grew up in that state and closely followed the Ducks so if he ends up in Eugene it wouldn’t be a shock at all. But the St. George (Utah) Pine View four-star tight end in the 2026 class is also high on Utah and BYU basically because of his relationships at those programs. A Southeast swing could change things but Oregon is the one to watch.

Alabama has been considered the team to beat – maybe the Crimson Tide at one point were nearly impossible to beat – but others have joined the fray especially since he hasn’t heard much of anything from the new staff in Tuscaloosa. Florida State, Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee have all made a major push for the 2026 four-star defensive end from Huntsille (Fla.) Jemison but Alabama should still be watched especially with a lot of time before a decision needs to be made.

After a visit to LSU this season, the rumor was the Tigers were now the team to beat but Auburn is 100 percent not backing down for the 2026 four-star linebacker from Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s. That could be a top two but Alabama and Georgia are definitely in serious contention as well as an all-SEC battle is shaping up.

There are family connections to Texas A&M since his grandmother worked in the mathematics department but Texas is also pushing along with Ohio State and LSU but a whole bunch of visits are coming up that could sway things. The four-star receiver from Sachse, Texas will see Florida State first in March followed by trips to Penn State, Ohio State and LSU by mid-April with “more on the way.”

There is a significant Carolinas feel to Matthews’ recruitment as North Carolina and South Carolina could battle it out for the 2026 high four-star cornerback from Cornelius (N.C.) Hough. The Tar Heels and the Gamecocks will be there until the end with NC State, Tennessee, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State rounding out the early favorites.

In a good sign for LSU, the only visit planned so far for the five-star receiver commit is back to Baton Rouge on March 9 to further solidify his standing there. Texas – and others – will continue to try to flip Moore and playing the long time might be the right move for the Longhorns as former Duncanville, Texas teammate Colin Simmons isn’t going to back down on trying to flip him. But another teammate – Caden Durham – was in LSU’s 2024 class so there are connections to both.

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Originally from Southern California, Pepe is now established at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and that’s why Florida State and Miami are two of the standouts early in his recruitment. But there is also a significant pull back West for Pepe so Oregon and USC are definitely being seriously considered as well. Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma and Michigan are also on his list.

The five-star safety recently released a top five of LSU, Oregon, Georgia, Michigan and Miami but there could be a significant change coming. The word is the Zephyrhills, Fla., two-way standout will visit all of the programs in his top five but instead of going to Ann Arbor, Pickett will visit Clemson again instead. That’s a huge deal for the Tigers because Pickett absolutely loved a recent visit there so they could be moving up his list quickly.

There has been lots of chatter that Ohio State is absolutely the team to beat for the high four-star in the 2026 class from Avon Lake, Ohio so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Buckeyes landed him at some point. Clemson and Florida State are the two others that have really made the biggest impression on Riley and right now his only trip is to Clemson on March 9 and that could be telling as to where his recruitment is headed.

A Penn State legacy from Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s Prep, the Nittany Lions didn’t make the top five as Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Duke and Wisconsin are the frontrunners. A big visit to Tuscaloosa is coming up for four days in early April as Sacca wants to get to know the new coaching staff even better and see how the Crimson Tide practice as they could surge up his recruitment after it. Ohio State and Notre Dame visit dates are also being worked out.

Notre Dame has been a regular in Smigiel’s recruitment for a long time and after a recent visit back to South Bend the Irish are definitely a major contender in his recruitment. The other school to watch right now is Oregon after a trip to Eugene as well. After throwing for 4,222 yards with 52 touchdowns and 14 picks this past season, Smigiel is arguably the top QB in the 2026 class as Notre Dame, Oregon and others battle it out.

After backing off his Colorado commitment in November, the five-star receiver hit the reset button on his recruitment and teams are jumping in. Could new Syracuse coach Fran Brown pull off the stunner and land the Naples (Fla.) First Baptist Academy standout? The Orange are definitely now involved with Indiana, Ohio State, Florida, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and others.