Tag: ESPN 300

Oklahoma offers 2023 4-star DL Johnny Bowens, a former Texas A&M commit

Oklahoma offers four-star defensive line prospect Johnny Bowens out of Converse, Texas, who recently decommitted from Texas A&M.

Oklahoma is picking up some serious momentum on the recruiting trail and they look to capitalize on it in any way they can. While they might have started slow, the Sooners have a plan and are content to let that plan manifest itself. Aside from quarterback, every position group could very well use another commitment or two in the Sooners’ 2023 recruiting class.

There is currently no defensive line commits for 2023 but Oklahoma continues to recruit and reach out to prospects almost daily. The latest defensive line prospect they issued an offer to was four-star DL Johnny Bowens. Bowens hails from Judson High School in Converse, Texas.

Bowens was previously committed to Texas A&M but backed off the commitment on June 28th. The Sooners swooped in with the offer on June 29th.

At 6-foot-2 and 265 pounds, Bowens was a Texas 27-6A first-team all-district selection at DE as a junior. He plays multiple spots along the defensive front lining up with his hand in the ground, rushing standing up, and playing in the interior as well. That versatility will serve him well in college as modern defenses love positional flexibility from their defensive linemen.

While the Sooners are getting a late start, they have a chance here. They also have the added bonus of having already seen Bowens before as they’ve scouted his high school well considering they are also recruiting his high school teammate wide receiver Anthony Evans. The Sooners are looking for a rare two recruits from one high school in the same class. It won’t be easy but the next step is getting Bowens on campus

Johnny Bowens’ Recruiting Profile

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Four-star cornerback Jasiah Wagoner earns an Oklahoma offer

The Oklahoma Sooners send offer to the Pacific Northwest for four-star cornerback Jasiah Wagoner.

Here at Sooners Wire, we’ve documented just how different the recruiting strategy has been for the Oklahoma Sooners in short order under Brent Venables.

For most of the new staff, their recruiting prowess and success have been on targeting the southeastern. They’ve maintained a similar strategy for the most part, targeting their old stomping grounds from their time at Clemson.

However, that doesn’t mean they’ll ignore other regions like the Pacific Northwest, which is where the latest Oklahoma offer is headed.

Four-star corner Jasiah Wagoner hails from Spanaway, Washington, and reeled in an offer from cornerbacks coach Jay Valai recently. Wagoner is a playmaker on the backend and showcases the ability to attack the ball in the air. He isn’t afraid at all of getting his pads on someone, making plays as a tackler. Wagoner also made plays as a receiver and on special teams as a punt returner.

The list of offers that have been sent to cornerbacks for the 2023 class has erupted to 19 and the Sooners look determined to sign multiple players considering they could lose at least two or three cornerbacks following the 2023 season and that’s not accounting for possible transfers.

Jasiah Wagoner’s Recruiting Profile

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See where Florida’s lone 2023 commit ranks in ESPN’s top 300

See where ESPN ranked Florida’s lone commit four-star athlete Aaron Gates in its newest rankings.

Florida still only holds one verbal commit from a 2023 class but that should change after coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and staff have knocked several recruiting weekend visits out of the park. The Gators’ lone commit four-star athlete [autotag]Aaron Gates[/autotag] found himself ranked 157th in the new ESPN 300 that was released recently.

Gates committed to Florida back on Aug. 26 when head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] still ran the program. Despite a coaching change, he is still locked in with the Gators.

He most recently visited Florida and Napier back on Feb. 12 and told 247Sports afterward that it eased his concerns about the coaching change.

The Gators like Gates as a defensive back and so far cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] has led the charge in his recruitment.

Even though he is still committed, Gates hasn’t stopped taking visits. He stopped by Florida State on March 18.

Napier and Raymond will need to keep recruiting him and make him feel wanted if they hope to hang on to his pledge.

Where each state’s top-ranked recruit signed during the Early Signing Period

USA Today High School Sports takes a look at where each state’s top-ranked 2021 recruit signed during the Early Signing Period.

Last month, USA Today High School Sports unveiled its top 100 football recruiting ranking for the class of 2021. With the Early Signing Period now in the books, it’s now time to take a deeper look at the crop of prospects ascending to the college ranks in the coming months and where they will be continuing their careers.

With talent spanning from the east coast to the west coast, USA Today High School Sports takes a look at where the top-ranked recruit in each state according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings signed during the Early Signing Period. With no recruits ranked in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, those states were excluded from the list.

Now, let’s get to it! Here’s where the top-ranked recruit in each state is set to play their college football.

RELATED: The Top 10 remaining unsigned 2021 recruits after the Early Signing Period

Football: The top-ranked 2021 recruit in each state

USA Today High School Sports takes a look at the top-ranked class of 2021 football recruit in each state.

Last month, USA Today High School Sports unveiled its top 100 football recruiting ranking for the class of 2021. With the beginning of the early signing period now less than a week away, it’s now time to take a deeper look at the crop of prospects ascending to the college ranks in the coming months.

With talent spanning from the east coast to the west coast, USA Today High School Sports takes a look at the top-ranked recruit in each state according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings. With no recruits ranked in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, those states were excluded from the list.

RELATED: Top 100: 2021 Recruiting Rankings

Some athletes have already made verbal commitments to specific NCAA programs, so that information is also included below — and will be updated should anything change.

Now, let’s get to it! The top-ranked 2021 recruit in each state…

Gators rank No. 7 in ESPN 2021 recruiting class rankings

The Gators have earned the commitments of 11 recruits in the ESPN 300, and their class currently ranks as the fourth-best in the SEC.

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Coach Dan Mullen’s 2021 recruiting class held firm at No. 7 in the country in the latest rankings from ESPN. Mullen has landed back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes at Florida, and it appears he’s in line to sign his third-straight class in the top 10.

The Gators have earned the commitments of 11 recruits in the ESPN 300, and their class currently ranks as the fourth-best in the SEC behind No. 1 Alabama, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 6 LSU.

This is ESPN’s full breakdown of UF’s 2021 class.

7. Florida Gators
ESPN 300 commits: 11 | Previous ranking: 7
Top offensive commit: QB Carlos Del Rio (No. 58)
Top defensive commit: CB Jason Marshall (No. 42)
Dan Mullen’s third consecutive top-10 class in Gainesville is a near lock coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons and top-10 AP poll finishes, as well as the hiring of ace recruiter Tim Brewster. Brewster immediately addressed the need at tight end with ESPN 300s Gage Wilcox and Nick Elksnis. There are two quarterbacks in the class: ESPN 300 Carlos Del Rio and four-star Texan Jalen Kitna. Two huge early August wins came from South Florida in ESPN 300 DBs and high school teammates Jason Marshall and Corey Collier. A pair of ESPN 300 WRs are in the fold in Trevonte Rucker (from an hour’s drive away) and Georgia playmaker Daejon Reynolds. A third ESPN 300 WR is Marcus Burke from Jacksonville powerhouse Trinity Christian. ESPN 300 in-state ATH Charles Montgomery could play on either side of the ball. ESPN 300 Chief Borders is a versatile jumbo athlete who projects as an OLB. A solid secondary group is made up of LSU flip Dakota Mitchell and four-star S Donovan McMillon. Four-star DE Justus Boone, a big win out of South Carolina, has a high ceiling.
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Florida Gators hold steady in latest ESPN football recruiting rankings

The ESPN released their latest 2021 recruiting class rankings on August 5 with the Florida Gators remaining in the No. 8 position.

The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) released their latest 2021 recruiting class rankings on August 5 (subscription required), with the Florida Gators remaining at No. 8.

Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes occupied the No. 1 spot, followed by Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide, Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee Volunteers, Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers, and Mack Brown’s North Carolina Tar Heels to complete the top-five.

Earning a grade of 86 from the service, Loganville, Georgia pro-style quarterback Carlos Del Rio is the highest-rated of the Gators’ 22 commits in the cycle.

Fort Lauderdale defensive end Tyreak Sapp (84) is Florida’s top defensive pledge.

Nine of the program’s commits earned ESPN 300 status, including, in addition to Del Rio and Sapp, Powder Springs, Georgia outside linebacker Chief Borders, Ocala wide receiver Trevonte Rucker, and Jacksonville tight end Nick Elksnis.

All told, seven Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools made the network’s top-25; Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers, the reigning College Football Playoff national champions, slotted in at No. 6, Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs at No. 12, Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies at No. 16, and Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers at No. 18.

Other notables include Manny Diaz’ Miami Hurricanes at No. 10, Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines at No. 11, Tom Herman’s Texas Longhorns at No. 13, and Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles at No. 20.

This No. 8 ranking from ESPN is three spots higher than 247Sports’ opinion of the Gators’ class, which lists the Gainesville-based program at No. 11.

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Florida’s Percy Harvin, Vernon Hargreaves III among the best recruits of all time

In a list ranking the best players to ever be ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN300, two former Gators received votes at their positions.

In a list ranking the best players to ever be ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN300, two former Gators — Percy Harvin and Vernon Hargreaves III — received votes at their respective positions.

The list selects the best player to be ranked at each position in the top 10 and lists several honorable mentions for each spot. Here’s what they had to say about the former UF players, who both fall into the latter category.

NEXT: Percy Harvin, 2006

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College Football Recruiting: Five Takeaways From ESPN 300

Notre Dame landed six players on the updated ESPN 300 list for 2021. What schools are impressing and who is disappointing in ’21 recruiting?

ESPN released their “ESPN 300”, their ranking of the 300 best prospects nationally in the 2021 college football recruiting class.  Here’s what we’ll do:

Here we’ll give you where the six Notre Dame commitments that checked in rank and then we’ll share a handful of observations about national recruiting beyond that.

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Where Notre Dame players ranked:

QB Tyler Buchner – 39
TE Cane Berrong – 51
OT Blake Fisher – 103
DT Gabriel Rubio – 163
WR Lorenzo Styles, Jr. – 243
DE David Abiara – 280

Safety Justin Walters and offensive guard Pat Coogan, both of Illinois didn’t make the ESPN 300 but are also commitments to Notre Dame’s 2021 class.

Next:  Oh my, Ohio State…

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