Tag: college football recruiting

Duke Blue Devils drops two spots in latest college football rankings from The Athletic

Following a bye, the Duke Blue Devils stayed within the top 40 of The Athletic’s latest college football ranking.

Duke football was on a bye in Week 12, giving the Blue Devils a much-needed rest ahead of the final stretch for the regular season. Despite not doing anything, they still moved in The Athletic’s weekly ranking of all 134 FBS teams.

Ahead of Week 13, Chris Vannini ranked Duke as the No. 39 in the country, two spots lower than the week before. The Baylor Bears and Syracuse Orange, among other teams, jumped up thanks to some big wins over the weekend.

The new ranking also left the Blue Devils eighth among the ACC teams. The SMU Mustangs (12th), Miami Hurricanes (14th), and Clemson Tigers (19th) remain in their own class as conference favorites.

Now, Duke will face Virginia Tech. The Hokies, whom Vannini ranked 52nd with a 5-5 record, will look to take advantage of Duke’s defense in the run game. The Blue Devils rack up more tackles for loss than almost any team in the country, but their overall run defense hasn’t been amazing. The Blue Devils’ strength is, instead, their secondary.

After Virginia Tech, Duke will finish the season against Wake Forest (76th). If all goes well in the two games, the Blue Devils can finish the season 9-3 and earn a spot in a strong bowl game.

Five-star quarterback backs off commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs

On Thursday, UGA received some not so good news on the recruiting front.

The Georgia Bulldogs are preparing for a massive showdown with the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns on Saturday. Before they get to the game the team learned that top 2026 commit Jared Curtis has backed off his pledge to the team.

The five-star prospect had been committed to Kirby Smart and UGA since Mar. 23. Curtis announced his decision on his social media account, X.

“This morning I spoke with Coach Smart and Coach Bobo and let them know that I still love Georgia, but would like to take some more time to explore all my options so I can make the best, most informed decision for my future. Curtis continued, “I let them know it just doesn’t seem right or fair to stay committed while checking out other programs. I want people to know where I stand and I’ve learned that making big decisions takes time.

“My focus now is taking care of business during the rest of our high school season and being a great teammate and leader. I look forward to making the most of an open recruiting process in the months ahead.”

Curtis is the No. 1 quarterback in the nation for the 2026 class and No. 6 overall prospect in the country according to 247Sports composite rankings. The Tennessee native has an impressive list of offers that any prospect would be jealous of.

Curtis should receive plenty of attention in the coming months, especially after the early signing period for the 2025 cycle ends in December.

Recruiting rankings not favorable to Big 12 conference in 2024

247 Sports did a team talent composite for the 2024 season. The Big 12 did not have a single team listed in the Top 20.

When the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners left the Big 12, the big question was whether the conference could keep up with the rest of the country. The 2024 season is the first without those two powerhouse programs, and football fans are about to find out.

247Sports did some work on a team talent composite for the 2024 season. It was a little jarring that the Big 12 did not have a single team in the top 20, or even top 25. These rankings were based on recruiting talent in college based on the number of commits, 5-star, 4-star, and 3-star athletes.

The TCU Horned Frogs were the top team in the Big 12, coming in at 28th. Arizona State and Colorado were next at 30th and 31st. Interestingly, all three – TCU, Arizona State, and Colorado are not projected at the top of the Big 12. Playing freshmen does not always lead to winning big college football games.

Central Florida and Utah came in next at 32 and 33, while Texas Tech was listed at 38th. Baylor and Kansas were also in the top 50, at 44th and 49th respectively.

Five-star receiver includes USC in top five schools

USC has a chance to land another high-end receiver.

Five-star wide receiver Jerome Myles has made the finalist list for his top schools. That list includes: Georgia, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Utah and USC football. His commitment date will also be in the fall on October 30.

Myles got off to a strong start in his senior campaign on Friday. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound receiver hauled in four receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown, an 80-yard score, in a 70-42 win over American Fork.

Over the past two seasons, Myles has had a great career with 53 catches for 1,185 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding four carries for 34 yards and another score. His quarterback at Corner Canyon this past season was 2026 four-star recruit Helaman Casuga, who also has A&M, USC and Utah among his finalists.

On3’s Scout’s Take: “Jerome Myles could have the best size and speed combination in the 2025 cycle. A full year younger than the majority of his peers, Myles has seen a spike in his physical development and athleticism. This spring, he broke a 43-year state record in the 100 meters in his first year running track, ripping off a scintillating wind-legal 10.36 mark at 215 pounds.”

Myles visited Texas A&M and Utah in June but has yet to visit the other schools on his list.

In the class of 2024, Lincoln Riley added four-star Xavier Jordan and the 2025 class includes verbal commitments from four-star receivers Tanook Hines, Corey Simms and three-star Romero Ison.

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Tennessee lands commitment from top OT in 2025 recruiting class

The Vols pick up a HUGE commitment from 2025’s top offensive tackle!

The nation’s top offensive tackle, and third overall player, in the 2025 recruiting class has committed to the Tennessee Volunteers. David Sanders Jr. is from North Carolina, but will be heading to Knoxville to play for Josh Heupel in Neyland Stadium.

Landing Sanders’s commitment is a great way to keep the ball rolling when looking ahead to the 2025 class. The Vols currently have 25 commits with Sanders being the highest-rated. In fact, Sanders is the highest-ranked Tennessee commit in the Heupel era.

While this big win deserves recognition, the Vols are still looking to add talent via the recruiting trail and transfer portal, as they go head-to-head with other college football elites and in-conference foes like the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

 

Boise State beats out Oklahoma State for quarterback to kickstart 2026 class

Boise State secured a commitment from 2026 quarterback Jackson Presley, who picked the Broncos over Oklahoma State and Arkansas.

The Boise State Broncos have long been a powerhouse at the Group of Five level in college football, and that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon.

Despite narrowly missing a preseason Top 25 nod, the Broncos are expected to compete for a spot in the CFP this season, and are already working on building competitive rosters in the future as well.

The latest addition for Boise State is quarterback Jackson Presley (Kalispell, MT) who committed to the Broncos over Oklahoma State and Arkansas on Monday.

Presley is a three-star in the 2026 recruiting class who comes in as the No. 31 ranked quarterback in the class. The 6’2 quarterback had 12 offers according to 247Sports, but chose Boise State after visiting the facilities and connecting with the coaching staff.

“The whole staff made it clear that Boise was home and the place for me,” Presley said. “I really enjoyed what Boise State has going on. They have a quarterback-friendly offense. They’ve had great quarterbacks come out of there. They have had guys who can really sling the ball. I just instantly fell in love with everything the moment I was there.”

Presley is Boise State’s first commitment in the 2026 class, and gives them a foundational piece to build around as this program looks to remain elite in the Mountain West and nationally.

Georgia Tech beats out Ohio State, Tennessee for five-star offensive lineman

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets landed five-star offensive tackle Josh Petty in a massive recruiting win for the ACC program.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets pulled off a massive win on the recruiting trail, securing a commitment from 2025 five-star offensive tackle Josh Petty.

Petty, a native of Roswell, GA, announced his commitment to the ACC program on Monday, choosing the Yellow Jackets over finalists Florida State, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Stanford – among others.

“I know it’s the right place for me,” Petty told 247Sports. “The offensive line development at Georgia Tech is unmatched. They’ve been doing great things.”

Petty is the No. 14 ranked prospect in the 2025 class, and he becomes Georgia Tech’s first five-star commitment in the modern recruiting era. In fact, the only recruit rated higher in 247’s database is wide receiver Calvin Johnson – and that turned out quite well for the Yellow Jackets.

Staying in state and playing for the hometown team is a big part of what convinced Petty to commit to GTech – and he hopes others will follow suit:

“He’s building a Georgia-based team and Georgia has some of the best high school talent in the country,” Petty continued. “If we can keep getting high priority, in-state guys, Georgia Tech will be a great program in no time.”

Petty’s commitment is a great start for coach Brent Key and his staff.

Alabama receives first 2027 commitment from in-state prospect

The Crimson Tide are on the board in 2027.

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer officially secured his first commitment of the 2027 recruiting cycle Tuesday morning, as edge rusher Ba’Roc Willis announced he would be committing to the program.

Prior to committing to Alabama, Willis had offers from 15 different college programs.

While currently unranked according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Willis is considered as one of the top 2027 prospects in the state of Alabama where he attends in-state Moody High School. There, Willis is coming off an impressive freshman season in 2023, amassing 79 tackles, 14.5 TFL, and nine sacks for the Blue Devils.

As mentioned previously, the commitment of Willis is the first for Alabama in the 2027 cycle. The Crimson Tide also have one commitment in the 2026 cycle, while their 2025 class currently ranks at No. 2 in the nation with 20 total commits.

While still years away from playing for the Crimson Tide, Willis is still a name to watch for going forward, one that could eventually be a prominent name in Alabama’s 2027 class when all is said and done.

Auburn continues recruiting success with numerous late-July commitments

It was an eventful weekend for Auburn recruiting.

When it comes to recruiting, it’s hard to picture a three-day span going better for a program than what was a reality this past weekend for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers.

Having already owned one of the SEC’s top 2025 classes, the Tigers landed a total of seven commitments from Saturday, July 27 to Monday, July 29, which brings their class up to No. 5 nationally, as well as No. 4 in the conference. In addition to that, Auburn’s 2026 class now stands as the nation’s best for that cycle.

As for those commitments, Auburn began the three-day stretch Saturday by landing five different prospects, two of which came via the 2025 cycle in Blake Woody and Antonio Coleman. Woody is a four-star cornerback out of St. Frances Academy in Maryland, while Coleman, a four-star defensive lineman who flipped from Alabama for the second time, is a four-star in-state defensive lineman out of Saraland High School in Alabama.

Also on Saturday, the Tigers added three commitments to their 2026 class, which as mentioned previously, catapulted Auburn to the No. 1 group for the cycle nationally. These names included four-star in-state defensive prospects Hezekiah Harris (Jemison), Shadarius Doodle (Cottage Hill Christian), and JaMichael Garrett (Gulf Shores).

Sunday, Auburn then added a special teams prospect to their 2025 class in in-state punter John Alan McGuire out of Thompson High School in Alabama, followed by adding two highly-touted prospects to that group Monday to finish the impressive three-day stretch.

The first of those two was highly-rated in-state four-star safety Anquon Fegans, who is a teammate of McGuire at Thompson that now becomes Auburn’s highest-rated 2025 commitment. Derick Smith, a four-star athlete, was the second of those two, as the in-state Southside-Selma High School standout flipped from Alabama where he had previously been committed since March of 2024.

As mentioned previously, these commitments certainly boosted Auburn in the recruiting rankings as well to close out July. Will they carry over this momentum into August?

Look: UTEP responds to Texas’ Lambo recruiting tactic with one of their own

They aren’t Lamborghinis but this certainly should garner some attention.

The battle lines have been drawn in the Lone Star State between the Texas Longhorns and the UTEP Miners. The Burnt Orange recently drew national headlines for their Lamborghini display during a recruiting event.

The UTEP Miners have opted to raise the bar with the help of some low riders. The featured some images of the event on their social media channels, even going as far as tagging the Longhorns on X, formerly Twitter.

When it comes to recruiting events, it seems that schools have to make them memorable to stand out. For Texas, it was the Lambos and for UTEP perhaps what they need is the low riders to level the playing field out west and among teams in the Conference USA.

This is one “rivalry” that the people in Texas could get behind.

The big question is who is next in the Lone Star State battle of vehicles at recruiting events? Will it be Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, Baylor, or even Houston? A safe bet is probably H-Town.

Current top 25 recruiting rankings per 247Sports

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes
  2. Alabama Crimson Tide
  3. Georgia Bulldogs
  4. LSU Tigers
  5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  6. Oregon Ducks
  7. Texas A&M Aggies
  8. Tennessee Volunteers
  9. Oklahoma Sooners
  10. Miami Hurricanes
  11. Auburn Tigers
  12. Clemson Tigers
  13. Michigan Wolverines
  14. Texas Longhorns
  15. Missouri Tigers
  16. Penn State Nittany Lions
  17. Florida State Seminoles
  18. Washington Huskies
  19. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
  20. SMU Mustangs
  21. Kentucky Wildcats
  22. Wisconsin Badgers
  23. TCU Horned Frogs
  24. UCF Knights
  25. USC Trojans