Tag: 2022 recruiting

Florida coaches set to visit five-star linebacker on Thursday

Florida coaches will be in Texas on Thursday to visit five-star linebacker Harold Perkins, who recently decommitted from Texas A&M.

Four Florida coaches stopped by Cypress Park High School to see five-star linebacker Harold Perkins on Thursday.

Perkins decommitted from Texas A&M on Monday and is one of the top targets left on Florida’s recruiting board. He was able to take an official visit to Gainesville on Jan. 14, and he already has a friendship with incoming safety Kamari Wilson. Although the Gators’ recruiting staff was unable to meet with him last week, they did meet with Perkins’ uncle on the road to keep the line of communication open.

Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Patrick Toney joined inside linebackers coach Jay Bateman, outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson and cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond on the trip.

Florida’s biggest competition for Perkins is LSU. The Tigers will get the last word with him this weekend on an official visit, so stopping by one last time before nationals signing day makes sense for Napier’s staff. He’s been relentless in his pursuit of Perkins, and it seems to be paying off.

“The new staff is taking better care of the players in terms of the housing situation and building up the facilities,” Perkins said to 247Sports. “I wasn’t really rocking with the old staff or how they did things but I see a lot of positive changes going down and I’m for sure going to give them a hard look.”

Florida just lost two of its top linebackers to the transfer portal. Four-star Shemar James signed with the Gators during the early period, and pairing him with Perkins would be a nice way to fill a serious hole on the depth chart.

Perkins is the No. 8 overall player on the 247Sports Composite and is tied for the No.1 linebacker spot in the country.

Update: Billy Napier is in Texas and is expected to visit Perkins in-home Thursday night, according to On3’s Corey Bender.

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Texas target, five-star LB Harold Perkins decommits from Texas A&M

The Longhorns may have one more chance at one of the nation’s top players.

Texas may have one final crack at one of the nation’s top players.

Five-star linebacker Harold Perkins, who committed to Texas A&M at the Under Armour All-American Game in Orlando, seems to have changed his mind on where he will be continuing his playing career.

On Monday, Perkins announced that he would be decommitting from the Aggies and re-opening his recruitment.

His recruitment was a very interesting process, and even when he announced his commitment to the Aggies, he publicly stated that he would not sign and still planned to take a couple more visits.

Texas might have a fighters chance to get back into his recruitment, but they will have to fight off schools like Florida, LSU, and of course Texas A&M.

Perkins would be a fantastic addition for Texas, and would likely have a real shot to start right away. Texas has swung and missed on multiple linebackers in the transfer portal, and nabbing a commitment from Perkins would surely make up for that.

The Cypress native is rated the No. 1 linebacker in the country for the 2022 class, according to 247Sports.

Ranking 2022 Pac-12 teams by commitments’ average talent rating after early signing period

The 2022 Pac-12 recruiting classes look much different based on player rating, rather than the class as a whole. Oregon and USC fans, you’ll want to read this.

The early signing period in college football recruiting is now behind us, and there are a few different ways to look at the number of recruiting classes across the country.

Over the weekend, we took a looked at how the classes stacked up in the Pac-12, where a late flip from 4-star WR Tetairoa McMillan caused the Oregon Ducks to plummet down the rankings while boosting the Arizona Wildcats. Those rankings were measured by the strength of the overall class, though, and not based on the individual recruits. For any Oregon fan who may have been disappointed by the Ducks’ No. 5 ranking in the conference, I urge you to use these new rankings instead.

We want to look at where each Pac-12 class shakes out when you look a the average rating of players, rather than the class as a whole. Unsure of what that means? Here is an example:

The Stanford Cardinal were ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 according to overall class rating, with 227 recruiting points, according to 247Sports. So far, they have 22 total commits, with four 4-stars and 17 3-stars. Is that class wildly better than the USC Trojans, who have a pair of 5-star signings already, but only 7 total commits?

It’s hard to say yes.

So when we look at these classes according to the average rating of recruits, the rankings start to look much different. For Oregon Duck fans, that may please you.

Bleacher Report names Texas the Big 12 winner of early signing period

Texas’ 2022 recruiting class is widely regarded as one of the best in the nation.

In order to turn Texas around, Steve Sarkisian needed to hit on a ton of talent in the 2022 recruiting class.

He did not disappoint, as the Longhorns were able to address major needs by bringing in 14 linemen, with six across the offensive line and eight across the defensive line.

Texas now has the No. 5 class in the country for the 2022 cycle, and it also features what could be one of the greatest quarterback prospects in college football history in Quinn Ewers, who is just the second quarterback ever to have a perfect rating by 247Sports.

Texas also found success in the flipping recruits market, as they flipped three players from schools like Michigan (again), Ohio State, and Oklahoma.

Like many in the college football realm, Bleacher Report took notice of Texas’ success and tabbed them the winner for the Big 12 in terms of early signing day performance. Here is what they had to say about Sarkisian’s first class at Texas:

It’s called “spatula season” for good reason.

Wednesday alone, the Longhorns nabbed three in-state talents who had been committed elsewhere. They swiped 4-star cornerback Terrance Brooks from Ohio State, 3-star edge-rusher Ethan Burke from Michigan and 3-star athlete Xavion Brice from Oklahoma.

Later in the day, Texas received commitments from 4-star offensive tackle Malik Agbo and 3-star receiver Savion Red. Agbo, notably, became the fourth blue-chip blocker in the class.

Suddenly, the Longhorns have a top-five haul. And after a disastrous season, they absolutely needed this off-field momentum.

Texas Football: Five biggest signings on the first day of early signing period

These five players will likely make an immediate impact for Texas next season.

Even after coming off a dreadful 5-7 season, Steve Sarkisian and his staff have done an amazing job in terms of recruiting top talent. Continue reading “Texas Football: Five biggest signings on the first day of early signing period”

Five players Texas should target after the Quinn Ewers commitment

There are quite a few talented players out there that would be a great additions to this Texas team.

Just when Texas’ offseason seemed to be at a peak already, Steve Sarkisian was able to add the top player in the transfer portal, Quinn Ewers, to the already loaded incoming class.

Many forget that before Ewers was cashing in NIL money at Ohio State, he held the highest rating possible for a high school recruit. A mark that only five other players have achieved, and just one other quarterback in former Longhorn Vince Young.

Ewers is arguably the biggest name in college football since Trevor Lawrence and will likely attract other highly touted recruits or transfers to follow him to Austin, in hopes of forming what could be the best Texas team since Colt McCoy was behind center.

There are quite a few talented players out there that would be a great additions to this Texas team and it will be interesting to see how Steve Sarkisian’s staff can close out their first full recruiting cycle down the stretch.

Here are a few players that would greatly boost Texas’ roster for next season. The Longhorns are squarely in the mix for a couple of them, while the others are more of a dream scenario.

Recruits that are trending towards LSU in the 2022 class

Could we have some good news in recruiting heading our way?

Just days away from the early signing period and the pressure is on for the LSU Tigers and head coach Brian Kelly.

The class was once a top-five group in college football. The latest rankings have seen them fall down to No. 25 following several decommitments. Kelly has plenty of work to do this week as he looks to close out this transition class for the Tigers.

There is still the February signing day but a vast majority of prospects sign in the early period. Checking in on the Crystal Ball predictions from 247Sports, there are plenty of battles that look to be going the way of the Purple and Gold.

We look at five battles that LSU needs to win.

Nations top safety recruit chooses to stay home

Xavier Nwankpa is rated as the nation’s top safety in the 2022 recruiting class and will be remaining close to home to play college football

Xavier Nwankpa is rated as the nation’s top safety recruit in the 2022 cycle and the high school senior is staying home.  Nwankpa, an Altoon, Iowa native announced on Wednesday that he’d be attending college at the University of Iowa.

Nwankpa chose the Hawkeyes out of an offer list that included over 30 programs.  Iowa was his choice after he listed Notre Dame and Ohio State as his other finalists.  He is ranked by 247Sports as the nation’s top safety recruit and the 11th overall prospect nationally.

We predicted today that Notre Dame was unlikely to win his services like anyone else, I always find myself holding out even a little hope whenever there is a Notre Dame hat on such an elite players table of finalists.

Related: Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class commitments

Florida football loses two more 2022 commits on Tuesday, another Wednesday

The Gators have lost three of their top recruits in the last two days.

Florida head coach Billy Napier is in his first week on the job at Florida, and as you would expect from a new coach and transition class, the 2022 recruiting class has seen a few shakeups.

Most notably, quarterback commit Nick Evers, a four-star prospect out of Flower Mound, Texas, announced via Twitter that he would be withdrawing his commitment to Florida. The 6-foot-3-inch passer, who is the No. 144 prospect in the nation on the 247Sports Composite, has been committed to the Gators since March 9.

The team also saw Orlando wide receiver Chandler “CJ” Smith leave the class. Smith was the No. 220 player nationally, and the four-star recruit visited Tennessee this past weekend. Smith, a 6-foot-1-inch prospect, is the No. 32 receiver in the class.

Florida’s receiver class took another hit on Wednesday when four-star Winter Garden product Jayden Gibson decommitted. Gibson, a 6-foot-5-inch burner, was ranked as the No. 176 prospect in the 247Sports Composite but was likely due for a boost as he became a top 50 prospect according to Rivals this week.

With these losses, Florida’s recruiting class ranks 40th in the nation and is dead last in the SEC. It may be tough to turn things around before Early Signing Day a week from now, but Napier will certainly look for a decent haul on National Signing Day in February.

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Texas lands commitment from four-star linebacker Kobie McKinzie

BOOM! Texas lands a huge commitment from four-star LB Kobie McKinzie.

Reinforcements are Austin bound, as Texas was able to benefit off the departure of Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, and land a huge commitment from a former Sooner pledge.

Texas’ 2022 recruiting class is welcoming another member in four-star linebacker Kobie McKinzie out of Lubbock, Texas. After committing to Oklahoma almost a year ago, McKinizie decided to re-open his recruitment after the sudden departure of Riley.

As soon as Riley left and McKinzie decommited, the Texas staff was quick to offer him and get him to Austin for an official visit. The visit clearly left a lasting impression, as just two days after he went to check out the Forty Acres, he announced his commitment to Texas.

Defense has been a major point of emphasis in recruiting for a Texas team that ranked No. 100 in the nation in total defense, giving up 456 yards per game.

Texas’ class stays at No. 7 in the 247Sports rankings, behind schools such as Penn State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

Steve Sarkisian and his staff will have ample opportunities to add even more talent to the class prior to early signing day on Dec. 15, and need to capitalize on all the coaches moving around and try to flip some high level players.