Category: Recruiting

Notre Dame Football: DT Aidan Keanaaina Signs with Irish

Keanaaina chose Notre Dame over offers from the likes of Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and USC among others.

Notre Dame continued to see the signed letters of intent pour in Wednesday as Aidan Keanaaina of Denver’s was the sixth to arrive.

Keanaaina is a defensive tackle and is listed as three-star recruit on 247Sports.

Keanaaina chose Notre Dame over offers from the likes of Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and USC among others.

The 6-3, 292 pound defensive tackle will participate in the Polynesian Bowl on January 18, a game you can watch on CBS Sports Network.

Oklahoma football lands commitment from 3-star corner Kendall Dennis

2020 three-star cornerback Kendall Dennis (Lakeland High School; Lakeland, Florida) was wanted by just about every school in the south…

Oklahoma’s 2020 class just got deeper.

2020 three-star cornerback Kendall Dennis (Lakeland High School; Lakeland, Florida) was wanted by just about every school in the south including LSU, Georgia, Auburn and Clemson.

Dennis stands 5-foot-11 and 172 pounds, making him a solid sized corner to put in the Sooners secondary. He joins Houston native, Bryson Washington in the class of 2020 in the secondary.

Dennis is not signing today with the Sooners but will be waiting until the February date to make it official with Oklahoma.

The Sooners are expected to sign 20 members of the 2020 class today and have already signed 15 of the 20. Dennis would make the twenty-first recruit to sign upon his official announcement in February.

Dennis is currently ranked as the No. 56 cornerback in the 2020 class and the No. 84 overall recruit in the state of Florida according to Rivals.

For more early signing day coverage, click here. For how the Sooners are managing scholarships with the early signing period click here.

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4-star Georgia football WR target makes commitment

Four-star Georgia football wide receiver target Arian Smith picks the Dawgs

Four-star wide receiver target Arian Smith has officially committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.

The No. 72 overall player ranked No. 13 in the state of Florida per 247 Sports, Smith chose Georgia over Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Auburn and Clemson.

Though the Dawgs were thought to be the favorites in landing Smith after a visit to the Sunshine State last week and an official to Athens over the weekend, this is still a huge sigh of relief.

The Bulldogs pick up some much-needed speed at wide receiver, after losing the talented Isaiah McKenzie in 2016 and Mecole Hardman in 2018 to the NFL Draft.

Oh yeah, this goes without mentioning that Smith was on the 4×100 track team that broke U20 world records for Team USA over the summer with Georgia track signee Matthew Boling.

What a get for the Dawgs!

Wisconsin Signing Class Preview – Cam Large

Wisconsin received Cam Large’s national letter of intent as part of the early signing period on Wednesday.

With the early signing period for high school football players beginning on December 18, Badgers Insider takes a closer look at the recruits that signed with the Wisconsin football program.

In this edition, we examine Noble and Greenough (MA) High School tight end, Cam Large

Note: All notes and stats provided by uwbadgers.com

Large chose Wisconsin over other offers from: Alabama, Boston College, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, TCU, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia

Large’s High School Accolades: Three–star recruit by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals…No. 6–ranked player in Massachusetts…Two–time first–team All–New England selection…Three–time first–team All–Independent School League

Large’s Impact as a Badger: Large had a number of scholarship offers and considering how Wisconsin uses the tight end position in their offense this was clearly a big get for Wisconsin’s coaching staff.

Large will enroll early at Wisconsin and by doing so he’s setting himself up to potentially see the field as a true freshman.

Wisconsin certainly asks a lot out of their tight ends making it important that if Large does indeed play as a true freshman that he shows he’s capable of being able to do everything that is asked of the tight ends.

For starters Large who’s listed at 6’4″ and 240 pounds will need to continue to gain strength, which will allow him to hold up in the blocking game. Due to his frame, he clearly presents a big frame in the passing game as he does a good job of catching the football with his hands.

In high school, not many kids could match up with his size as he simply could overpower opposing players with his strength. Outside of continuing to gain the strength he’ll need to continue to work on his hand placement in order to be able to drive his defender back, to help open up a rushing lane, or to get off the line of scrimmage.

Wisconsin was hit hard by injuries at the tight end position during the 2019 season as they were without Luke Benzschawel, Gabe Lloyd, and Zander Neuville for the entire season. If the Badgers are once again hit by injuries at the tight end position this coming fall the Badgers could need Large to step in and play. Large certainly is capable of having success early in Wisconsin’s offense due to his physical tools. It’s a matter of him taking the coaching and applying it to his game and demonstrating he’s capable of contributing right away.

Cooper Mays signs with Tennessee

Cooper Mays signs with Tennessee.

2020 University of Tennessee football recruiting
2019 Early Signing Period — Dec. 18-20
National Signing Day — Feb. 5

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KNOXVILLE — The 2019 Early Signing Period for football is underway. Tennessee is in the process of completing its 2020 football recruiting class.

Below is the Vols’ latest signee for the 2020 recruiting class.

Cooper Mays

Knoxville Catholic High School (Knoxville, TN)

Offensive line — 6-foot-2, 275-pounds

Committed on June 21, 2019

Signed on December 18, 2019

2020 recruiting class signing dates

The 2019 Early Signing Period will take place Dec. 18-20 and National Signing Day will be held on Feb. 5.

The Vols’ 2020 commitment tracker can be followed below.

The University of Tennessee Volunteer’s 2020 football recruiting class tracker

What does 4-star QB CJ Stroud picking Ohio State over Georgia mean for UGA football?

What does 4-star QB CJ Stroud picking Ohio State over Georgia mean for UGA football?

Four-star quarterback CJ Stroud was the latest Georgia football target to announce his commitment Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t how Coach Kirby Smart and Coach James Coley had hoped the decision would go.

Stroud stuck to his original favorite in Ohio State and will join the Buckeyes in Columbus for the Class of 2020. Now, the Bulldogs must quickly find another quarterback to lead the team next season, unless junior Jake Fromm plans on returning.

With the scenario that Fromm does leave Athens and head to the NFL, the Bulldogs would be left with a shaky situation at quarterback as of right now.

Here’s how the cupboard currently looks without Fromm in it.

  • Stetson Bennett, the redshirt junior, who originally left Georgia to play one year of JUCO ball before transferring elsewhere, but is now back in Athens. Bennett re-signed with the Bulldogs during last year’s early signing period.
  • 2020 four-star quarterback Carson Beck, who signed with the program Wednesday morning.
  • 2019 four-star dual-threat Dwan Mathis, sliding under the radar after surgery to remove a brain cyst this offseason.
  • Former Nevada freshman Austin Kirksey, who will walk on next year in Athens.

Yeah, not exactly the quarterback room the Bulldogs had for a few weeks with Jake Fromm, Jacob Eason and Justin Fields at the end of 2017. But… that’s where the transfer market comes into play.

Potential Georgia targets Jordan Love of Utah State and Joey Gatewood out of Auburn already made their decisions. Love will enter the NFL Draft, while Gatewood has elected to go to Kentucky.

Meanwhile, two options seem to remain high on the lists of Bulldog fans.

  1. Sign Houston transfer D’Eriq King to come in and replace Fromm.
  2. Get former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke to flip John Rhys Plumlee out of Oxford. *(Plumlee has yet to put his name in the transfer portal, so this is beginning to look like a tall task)*

If Plumlee were serious about leaving Ole Miss and coming to Georgia, it probably would have happened already. In addition, it is well-known that coaches of other schools cannot actively recruit players not currently in the portal. With no word on Plumlee leaving Oxford or entering the portal, this is probably a long shot at this point.

Georgia’s most precise options include landing King out of Houston, bringing back Fromm for another season or flipping another unexpected commit Wednesday or in February. Of course, Beck has plenty of talent, but the task of starting the incoming freshman is far from easy.

It would be much more reasonable to bring in a transfer if Fromm leaves and platoon the remaining quarterbacks on the roster to play primarily in 2021.

Make sure to check back with UGA Wire throughout the day as we bring you all the coverage on everything happening around the country in recruiting.

Notre Dame Football: Four-Star OL Michael Carmody Signs with Irish

now they officially have a young man from Mars.

Brian Kelly has spoke often about being willing to play anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Apparently that philosophy also applies to recruiting. As you read earlier today, Kelly’s staff was able to land Alexander Ehrensberger from Germany in this recruiting class and now they officially have a young man from Mars.

Mars, Pennsylvania that is.

6-6, 285 pound offensive tackle Michael Carmody signed his NLI Wednesday and will enter Notre Dame as one of the most highly-regarded offensive tackles in the nation this year.

Carmody chose Notre Dame while holding offers and making official visits to Ohio State, Texas A&M and Penn State.

Carmody will enroll at Notre Dame this coming summer.

Georgia football’s 2020 recruiting class shaping up to be elite

Georgia football’s 2020 recruiting class is developing into a powerhouse. The Bulldog’s class is currently ranked sixth overall, but UGA has room for several more commitments. At 11:00 a.m. on signing day, fourteen of Georgia’s sixteen commits had …

Georgia football’s 2020 recruiting class is developing into a powerhouse. The Bulldog’s class is currently ranked sixth overall, but UGA has room for several more commitments.

At 11:00 a.m. on signing day, fourteen of Georgia’s sixteen commits had delivered their signed letter of intent. Two more commits, offensive linemen Broderick Jones and Sedrick Van Pran, have decided to wait until the February signing period.

Currently, Georgia’s class is ranked behind Clemson, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Texas A&M. The sixth-ranked class overall is only good for fourth in the SEC!

Taking a closer look at the rankings, Georgia is No. 2 in the nation in terms of quality of recruit. The Dawgs’ recruits average an eye-popping 93.6 rating, only .05 points behind Clemson’s 93.65 average rating.

UGA currently has 16 signees/commits, which is the lowest amount of all the teams in the Top 10. The Dawgs will sign 23 preps this cycle and will move up those rankings and have an outside chance of displacing Clemson for the top class.

With the possible addition of five-star cornerback Kelee Ringo (Scottsdale, AZ), five-star athlete Darnell Washington (Las Vegas, NV), four-star safety Eric Reed (Shreveport, LA) and four-star wideout Arian Smith (Lakeland, FL), each of whom is considered a Georgia lean, the Dawgs would finish with at least the No. 2 rated class in the country.

And as Kirby Smart has proven in the past, he always has a few last minute surprises, such as snatching Ohio State commit D’wan Mathis from the Buckeyes last year. Could he do the same with undecided five-star defensive lineman Jordan Burch (Columbia, SC) or four-star cornerback Dontae Manning (Kansas City, MO)….or possibly another under- the-radar surprise like Mathis last season? Stay tuned.

The Early Signing Period ends on Friday and National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 5, 2020. College football recruiting is dynamic and never ending, so expect a lot more maneuvering among the major programs during the next 50 days.

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Notre Dame Football: Cornerback Landon Bartleson Signs with Irish

Bartleson is listed at 6-1, 182 pounds and originally committed to Notre Dame back in June of this year.

Signee number four of Wednesday morning was three-star cornerback Landon Bartleson of Danville, Kentucky (Boyle County High School).

Bartleson chose Notre Dame over the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan and Colorado.

If you’d like to see his speed on display the best example of that would be this touchdown run early this past September.

Bartleson is listed at 6-1, 182 pounds and originally committed to Notre Dame back in June of this year.

Alabama National Signing Day: Lunch update on 2020 football class

Alabama was ranked 2nd in the nation, behind Clemson, for the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports Composite

It’s officially National Signing Day!

Coming into today, Alabama was ranked 2nd in the nation, behind Clemson, for the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports Composite.

Here are the list of signees in order of when they committed:

Safety, Brian Branch  (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia.

Branch is the No. 3 safety in the nation, top 10 prospect in Georgia, and No. 58 player in the nation.

He has the potential to be a BIG defensive playmaker in the secondary for the Crimson Tide.

Here are his highlights:

OL, Seth McLaughlin (247 Sports Composite ranking: 3-star)

High School: Buford High School in Buford, Georgia.

McLaughlin is the No. 9 center in the Nation, and a top 50 prospect in Georgia.

McLaughlin will be a very big part of the Alabama offensive line. He is versatile and can play several different positions.

Here are his highlights:

OL, Javion Cohen (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama.

Cohen is a top 20 prospect in Alabama, and the No. 27 offensive tackle in the nation.

He will add depth to Alabama’s offensive line. Cohen also made news for flipping from Auburn to Alabama.

Here are his highlights:

Running Back, Roydell Williams (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Hueytown High School in Hueytown, Alabama

Williams is the No. 3 prospect in Alabama, No. 85 overall player in the nation, and is also the No. 9 running back in the Nation.

Williams will not only add depth to the running back position, but he also has the ability to catch the ball very well, and could be used as a slot receiver.

Here are his highlights:

Running Back, Kyle Edwards (247 Sports Composite ranking: 3-star )

High School: Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana.

Edwards is a top 20 prospect in Louisiana, and the No. 27 running back in the nation.

Edwards is very quick, and has great field vision. He will also add depth to the running back position.

Here are his highlights:

Cornerback, Jahquez Robinson (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Robinson is a top 25 cornerback in the nation,

Robinson will add much needed defensive depth since Alabama is losing Diggs, Carter, and Mayden. Robinson’s speed, length, and versatility will be much needed.

Here are his highlights:

Wide Receiver, Thaiu Jones-Bell (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School:  Miami Carol City High School in Hallandale, Florida.

Bell is the No. 17 prospect in the state of Florida, top 100 in the nation and is atop 20 wide receiver in the Nation.

Bell has the ability to play in all three wide receiver positions, and has fantastic speed and field vision.

Here are his highlights:

DL, Jah-Marien Latham (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Pickens County High School in Reform, Alabama.

Latham is a top 10 prospect in the state of Alabama, top 20 defensive tackle in the nation and is also a top 200 prospect in the nation as well.

Latham has a lot of talent and speed that can help bring depth and dominance to Alabama’s defensive line unit.

Here are his highlights:

ATH, Drew Sanders (247 Sports Composite ranking: 5-star)

High School: Denton Ryan High School in Denton, Texas.

Sanders is the No. 2 athlete in the nation, No. 2 prospect in the state of Texas and No. 21 prospect in the nation.

Sanders has the ability to play LB, TE, and Edge. His versatility will be a HUGE asset to the Crimson Tide.

Here are his highlights:

LB, Jackson Bratton (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Muscle Shoals High School in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

Bratton is a top 10 prospect in the state of Alabama, as well as aa top 10 inside linebacker in the nation, and a top 200 prospect in the Nation.

Bratton brings so much talent and speed. His highlights showcase his ability to control the game, make big plays, and score off picks. A big get for Alabama.

Here are his highlights:

DL, Chris Braswell (247 Sports Composite ranking: 5-star)

 

High School: St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.

Braswell is the No. 1 defensive end in the nation, and No. 17 prospect in the nation at any position.

Braswell is hands down a HUGE pickup for Alabama, and with Jennings and possibly Lewis leaving, Braswell has a chance to have an immediate impact.

Here are his highlights:

LB, Quandarrius Robinson (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School: Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, Alabama.

Robinson is the No. 6 outside linebacker in the nation, No. 2 prospect in Alabama and No. 48 prospect in the nation at any position.

Robinson has the ability to be a huge part of Alabama’s success. His ability to add depth to the edge position for the Crimson Tide is priceless. Robinson has so much speed and raw talent.

Here are his highlights:

LB, Demouy Kennedy (247 Sports Composite ranking: 4-star)

High School:Theodore High School in Theodore, Alabama.

Kennedy is the top prospect in Alabama, as well as the No. 3 inside linebacker in the nation, and No. 35 prospect in the nation at any position.

Kennedy has so much speed, and will be a big part of making this Alabama defense dominate again. He also de-committed from Auburn before choosing the Crimson Tide.

Here are his highlights:

Roll Tide Wire will keep you up to date with an afternoon update on Alabama’s 2020 football class.

Roll Tide!

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