Category: College Football Recruiting

Hurricanes bring in ACC’s top class amid coaching turnover

Miami’s strategic recruitment has set a new standard in the ACC, promising an era of dominance.

In a whirlwind of activity that encapsulates the highs and lows of college football, the Miami Hurricanes have closed national signing day with a flourish, not only by securing the top recruiting class in the ACC but also by navigating the choppy waters of coaching changes.

The departure of secondary coach Jahmile Addae to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the loss of Alonzo Highsmith to the New England Patriots mark significant transitions within the program. Amid these changes, the Hurricanes have filled an open coaching position by bringing on board Matt Merritt as the new running backs coach.

Addae, a key figure in Miami’s coaching staff, brings his expertise in developing secondary players to the Buffalo Bills after a successful tenure with the Hurricanes. Addae’s impact was profound, notably coaching All-American safety Kamren Kinchens and contributing to the development of NFL draftees Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey. His recruiting prowess, shown during his time with Georgia when he helped secure a top-three class, leaves big shoes to fill at Miami.

Amid these departures, Miami has filled a hole in the staff by hiring Matt Merritt from USF as the new running backs coach. Merritt, recognized for his role in significant team improvements and player development, brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to the Hurricanes’ offense. His recent accomplishments include elevating the performance of USF’s tailbacks, with notable achievements such as Nay’Quan Wright’s breakout season.

The Hurricanes also excelled in recruitment, finishing national signing day with the top class in the ACC. This marks a historic moment for Miami, which achieved the No. 1 spot in the conference in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the 247Sports era. The defensive line class stands out as possibly the best in the country. Among the eight prospects, four defensive linemen are ranked inside the top 150. The addition of talents such as Justin Scott, Armando Blunt and Marquise Lightfoot highlights Mario Cristobal’s commitment to building a powerhouse in the trenches.

Furthermore, Miami’s success in keeping local talent home is evident in this year’s recruiting class. With 14 players from the Sunshine State, including eight ranked in the Florida top 25, the Hurricanes are making significant strides in retaining top local talent.

Going into his third year as Miami’s head coach, Cristobal secured more five-star prospects than the rest of the ACC combined. He flipped notable blue chips Jordan Lyle and Justin Scott away from Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. He also finished strongly and came close to securing the No. 1 player in the country, Jeremiah Smith, who signed with Ohio State.

Former 4-star Arkansas wide receiver commit signs with Texas A&M

Former Arkansas commit officially signs with Texas A&M

Texas A&M picked up a new member of their 2024 class Wednesday during national signing day when Ashton Bethel-Roman announced his commitment to the Aggies. Bethel-Roman also signed with the Aggies.

A former Arkansas commit who originally signed with the Razorbacks in December, Bethel-Roman was released from his national letter of intent earlier this year and officially committed to Texas A&M on Wednesday.

An in-state prospect, Bethel-Roman is a four-star wide receiver on the 247Sports composite out of Ridge Point High School in Texas. Bethel-Roman posted an impressive high school career that included 2,000-plus receiving yards and 15-plus touchdowns across the past three seasons combined.

Bethel-Roman’s commitment continues what has been a noteworthy day for the Aggies. Five-star commit Terry Bussey announced Wednesday morning he was signing with Texas A&M.

Bethel-Roman is signee No. 17 this cycle for the Aggies, as well as the third wide receiver alongside fellow four-stars Izaiah Williams and Ernest Campbell.

5-star Alabama wide receiver commit signs with Crimson Tide

5-star Alabama commit makes it official with the Crimson Tide

The recruitment of highly-touted wide receiver Ryan Williams has now concluded officially, as one of the nation’s premier players has signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Williams, a five-star wide receiver out of in-state Saraland High School in Alabama, is ranked as the nation’s No. 4 overall player in the 2024 class according to the 247Sports Composite. The five-star, who was originally in the 2025 class prior to reclassifying to 2024, is also the No. 3 wide receiver in the nation for the cycle, as well as the No. 2 player in the state of Alabama.

The back-to-back Mr. Football winner in Alabama across the last two seasons, Williams joins the Crimson Tide coming off a stellar high school career in which he posted 4,000+ all-purpose yards and 70+ touchdowns and is likely to make an immediate impact in Tuscaloosa next fall.

Williams is the highest-ranked of three players to sign with Alabama during National Signing Day on Wednesday, joined by four-star edge rusher Noah Carter and three-star linebacker Quinton Reese.

5-star athlete sticks with Texas A&M, signs with Aggies

5-star Texas A&M sticks with commitment, signs with Aggies

One of the nation’s premier players in the 2024 class regardless of position, Terry Bussey has made a final decision as to where he will play collegiately this upcoming fall, signing with the in-state Texas A&M Aggies during National Signing Day on Wednesday.

Bussey, a five-star prospect out of Timpson High School in Texas, had been previously committed to Texas A&M since September of 2023 but made a decision Wednesday between the Aggies, Georgia, and LSU.

A highly-touted athlete, Bussey is ranked as the nation’s No. 11 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite, as well as the No. 3 player in the state of Texas. Bussey, who played multiple different positions during his high school career, is also considered the nation’s No. 1 overall athlete for the 2024 cycle.

An accomplished high school prospect, Bussey now remains the Aggies’ top recruit in their 2024 class and is a big win for new Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko to keep the five-star in-state. Bussey should be an impact player very early for the Aggies in 2024 as well, as he will be one of the most electrifying playmakers on the Texas A&M roster from day one.

Nebraska lands Arizona pass rusher Keona Wilhite

Nebraska lands recent Washington decommit.

The second and final National Signing Day was on Wednesday, seeing several big-time programs finalizing their 2024 recruiting classes. There were only a few notable recruits still set to make decisions, which included Tucson (AZ) Salpointe Catholic defensive end Keona Wilhite, who decommitted from the Washington Huskies last month.

After Kalen DeBoer left Washington to take over the head coaching position with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Wilhite opted to open things back up and consider other options on the table. On Wednesday, he signed with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, helping the program finish strong for the first full class under Matt Rhule. Before the commitment from Wilhite, Nebraska sat with the No. 18 overall ranking on the 247Sports composite ranking. 

Wilhite put together a tremendous senior season for the Salpointe Catholic Lancers. In 13 games, he led the squad with 18.5 tackles for loss and recorded 60 total tackles. Both those numbers outpaced teammate Elijah Rushing, who is considered a five-star recruit that signed with Oregon. Wilhite also recorded eight sacks, had another 27 quarterback hurries, an interception, and four pass breakups.

The majority of major recruiting platforms peg Wilhite as a three-star recruit, the exception being Rivals which has him rated as a four-star and the No. 24 edge defender in the 2024 recruiting class. They also rate him as the No. 14 player in the state of Arizona, an area that is putting out more and more talent over the last couple of years.

The 6-5, 230-pound pass rusher opted for the Cornhuskers over a very impressive offer list. Some of the top schools that have shown interest include Nebraska, Washington, Michigan State, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, and Oregon State.

Michigan State signs Chicago defensive lineman Mikeshun Beeler

Chicago defensive lineman inks his NLI with Michigan State

The second, and final National Signing Day is today. That will put the conclusion to the 2024 recruiting classes across college football, seeing several recruits finally sign on the dotted line. Standout Chicago (Ill.) Simeon defensive lineman Mikeshun Beeler officially signed with Michigan State after committing to the program two days ago. 

Beeler ended up selecting Michigan State over a pretty impressive offer list. The Chicago native held scholarship offers from the Spartans, Oregon, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Arizona State, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Purdue, and Indiana.

He also held other offers from Wyoming, Marshall, Toledo, Miami (OH), Ohio, Central Michigan, Kent State, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Akron, Buffalo, Ball State, Bowling Green, Dartmouth, Lafayette, Howard, Fordham, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Jackson State. Beeler’s offer list has especially expanded over the last couple of months. 

The 6-4, 280-pound defensive end ranked as a three-star recruit by every major recruiting platform. ESPN has Beeler pegged the highest, sitting as the No. 70 defensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting class, including being ranked as the No. 26 player in the state of Illinois. 

In ten games as a senior, Beeler led Simeon with 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He also recorded 36 total tackles and forced two fumbles. 

Beeler became the 20th signee in the 2024 recruiting class for Michigan State. He was the second defensive lineman to join the program in 2024, joining Hawaii edge defender Kekai Burnett.

Michigan State signs Texas wide receiver Jaylan Brown

Spartans added a wide receiver from the Lone Star State.

The second and final National Signing Day took place today, putting the bow on recruiting classes across college football. Although most players signed back in December, there are several who waited to officially sign on Wednesday. Standout 2024 Nacogdoches (Texas) High School wide receiver Jaylan Brown, who committed to Michigan State a couple of weeks ago, finally put pen to paper and signed with the Spartans. 

Brown opted for Michigan State over other offers from Washington State and North Texas. He is rated as a three-star recruit by On3, 247Sports and Rivals. 247Sports has him pegged as the No. 60 player in the state of Texas in the 2024 class, a state that traditionally puts out talent at an extremely high level. 

The 6-4, 185-pound pass catcher was the leading receiver for the Nacogdoches Dragons as a senior. In 10 games as a senior, Brown hauled in 55 receptions for 908 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging a healthy 16.5 yards per reception. The Texas native also recorded an interception on limited reps defensively. 

Heading into the day, Michigan State is currently ranked as the No. 37 overall team in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings. Brown becomes the 19th player to sign with the Spartans in the 2024 class. He is the third wide receiver signee in the class, including four-star Michigan star Nick Marsh and Ohio standout Austin Clay.

Auburn lands commitment from 2025 3-star tight end

Auburn picked up a commitment from a three-star tight end in the 2025 class.

Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze picked up the eighth commitment of the 2025 cycle Tuesday afternoon, as Hollis Davidson officially committed to the Tigers.

Davidson is rated as a three-star tight end in the 2025 class according to the 247Sports Composite and attends McIntosh High School in Georgia. Along with that ranking, Davidson is also rated as the nation’s No. 21 tight end for the 2025 cycle, as well as the No. 42 player in the state of Georgia.

The three-star is coming off a junior season in which he amassed 436 yards and three touchdowns on 30 receptions for a McIntosh team that reached the first round of the 2023 GHSA AAAAA state playoffs.

Davidson now joins an Auburn class that is currently among the SEC’s best for the 2025 cycle and is the second tight end in the group alongside Ryan Ghea. Ghea is also from the state of Georgia out of Milton High School, and is a three-star prospect as well.

5-star athlete to decide between three SEC programs

The nation’s top athlete will decide between three SEC schools.

The recruitment of the nation’s top athlete is set to conclude this Wednesday on National Signing Day, as Terry Bussey will reportedly make his decision between a trio of SEC programs. Georgia, LSU, and Texas A&M are all in the running for the Aggies commit.

Among the nation’s top recruits entering National Signing Day who are at the moment unsigned, Bussey is rated as a five-star athlete out of Timpson High School in Texas. The five-star is also considered the nation’s No. 11 player in the 2024 class according to the 247Sports Composite, as well as the No. 1 overall athlete nationally.

Bussey is coming off a stellar high school career in which he simply did a bit of everything, accounting for 5,000+ passing and rushing yards across from 2021-23, as well as 160+ total touchdowns. The five-star also had over 250+ tackles defensively, as well as 20+ INT’s in the state of Texas.

Currently, a Texas A&M commit, Bussey has been committed to the Aggies since September of 2023, but will now make his final decision on where he will play this Wednesday reportedly.

Will the electric playmaker be playing in Athens, Baton Rouge, or College Station this upcoming fall?

3-star Alabama commit shuts down recruitment, will sign with Tide

3-star Alabama commit to sign with Crimson Tide

A long-time Alabama commit, Quinton “QB” Reese has officially shut down his recruitment and will sign his NLI with the Crimson Tide this Wednesday on National Signing Day.

Reese, who took an official visit to Alabama this past weekend, has been a Crimson Tide commit since September of 2023 and holds offers from other collegiate programs that include Liberty, Troy, and UCF, among others. The Crimson Tide commit is also considered a three-star linebacker out of in-state Ramsay High School in Alabama according to the 247Sports Composite.

Reese is coming off a stellar senior season of high school in which he was named Alabama’s Class 5A Lineman of the Year by helping lead Ramsay to a state runner-up finish in 2023. As a senior, Reese was a tackling machine by racking up 167 tackles, 25 TFL, and four sacks across 14 games, and has over 300+ tackles and 50+ TFL combined across the past two seasons alone.

Reese is the third Alabama commit who will be signing with the Crimson Tide on Wednesday, joining five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams and four-star edge rusher Noah Carter.