Tag: official visit

Florida remains in the mix for UCF commit after official visit

Florida is still pursuing UCF tight end commit Caden Piening, but it might be tough for the Gators to flip him from the Knights.

Florida hosted a slew of recruits from the class of 2025 on official visits over the weekend, including Anderson High (Cincinnati, Ohio) tight end and UCF commit [autotag]Caden Piening[/autotag].

While Piening had seen Florida’s campus and facilities before, an official visit showed him everything The Swamp has to offer. Highlights of the trip include spending time with coaches and players, namely tight Hayden Hansen, according to Swamp247 and Gators Online.

“I think the first time we came we saw the nuts and bolts of everything,” Piening said. “This weekend was more of a relaxing weekend. I met all the coaches and had a great time with them.”

One-on-one time with head coach Billy Napier also went a long way with the Central Florida commit. Piening has been locked in with UCF since April, but he’s still leaving the door open for Florida to flip him.

“With UCF, I think they have something building with Coach (Gus) Malzahn and what they have going on,” he said. “I think they are really building up, and I see something that they have a really bright future. Then with (Florida), they have something that’s already going and they have a really strong fanbase.”

Recruiting Summary

Piening is a consensus three-star recruit heading into his senior year. He is ranked the highest by ESPN as the No. 11 Y-style tight end in the class of 2025.

The On3 industry ranking considers all four major recruiting services and ranks Piening No. 636 overall in the class. The 247Sports composite is a similar ranking system and has him at No. 691 nationally.

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BREAKING: Wisconsin lands a commitment from top 2025 LB Mason Posa

BREAKING: Wisconsin lands a commitment from top 2025 LB Mason Posa

Wisconsin landed a commitment from top-ranked class of 2025 linebacker Mason Posa on Thursday evening.

The top recruit chooses the Badgers over other finalists Oregon and Texas A&M. He becomes Wisconsin’s seventh addition to its class of 2025 since the beginning of June, joining OT Logan Powell, three-star OT Logan Davenport, three-star CB Rukeem Stroud, three-star CB Jahmare Washington, three-star TE Nizyi Davis and three-star DL Torin Pettaway.

Related: Wisconsin class of 2025 national ranking after addition of four-star LB Mason Posa

247Sports ranks the four-star linebacker as the No. 154 player in the class of 2025, No. 18 linebacker and No. 1 recruit from his home state of New Mexico.

He is commitment No. 18 for the Badgers in the class and the fourth blue-chip player. The group ranked No. 14 in the nation before this news and will surely rise with his commitment.

Posa marks a massive recruiting win for Luke Fickell as he continues his second full recruiting cycle as head coach at Wisconsin.

Fickell’s hot start to the 2025 cycle is noteworthy after the program finished the 2024 cycle within the nation’s top 25 with a blue-chip ratio of 50%. Additions like Posa represent the Badgers building a strong base of talent that should pay dividends on the field in the years to come.

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Top 2025 TE recruiting target offers notes on recent official visit with Florida

Florida’s top tight end target stopped in the Swamp last weekend for an official visit.

Florida football hosted four-star tight end [autotag]Andrew Olesh[/autotag] out of Center Valley (Pennsylvania) Southern Lehigh in the 2025 cycle last weekend on an official visit and the rising high school senior seemingly had a positive experience in Gainesville.

“Just the people there and the environment. I can relate,” Olesh told 247Sports. “Coach (Russ) Callaway, he is one of my favorite coaches ever. I like the people there.”

The 6-foot-5-inch, 215-pound end was hosted by kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] and tight end [autotag]Hayden Hansen[/autotag] while on campus for his OV.

“They are so cool to hang out with. They are awesome people and I can relate to them. They introduced me to the whole Florida thing and they took me around campus. They are just great people.”

Of course, he also spent some time with head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag].

“Coach Napier has been telling me that if I really do like Florida, make sure I am in touch. Pretty much make a decision when you have a feel for an environment and make sure you go to a program that cares for you.”

Recruiting Summary

Olesh is ranked No. 130 overall and No. 5 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 115 and 5, respectively.

On3’s recruiting prediction machine has the Penn State Nittany Lions out front in his recruitment with a 44.5% chance of signing him; the Michigan Wolverines (14.4%), Alabama Crimson Tide (12.3%) and Florida (10.3%) trail behind.

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BREAKING: Wisconsin football lands commitment from 2025 TE Nizyi Davis

Wisconsin lands another big commitment in the class of 2025:

Wisconsin landed a commitment from class of 2025 tight end Nizyi Davis on Monday.

The three-star tight end chose the Badgers over Big Ten rival Purdue. His other top offers were Michigan State, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville and West Virginia.

Related: Ranking the highest rated recruits in the history of Wisconsin football

Davis is 247Sports’ No. 774 player in the class of 2025, No. 37 tight end and No. 12 recruit from the state of Indiana. His 6-foot-4 frame makes him an ideal pass-catching fit in Phil Longo’s air raid offense.

He announced his commitment 10 days after visiting the Badgers during their first big official visit weekend (May 31). He is the program’s fourth player to commit from that weekend and fifth to commit since the start of June.

The tight end is Luke Fickell’s 16th member of a class that ranks comfortably within the nation’s top 15.

 

Davis is the first tight end to join Wisconsin’s class of 2025; the program landed four-star tight end Grant Stec and three-star tight end Rob Booker during the 2024 cycle

The commitment continues the Badgers’ strong start to the 2025 cycle. Time remains before the end of official visits, but the group is already a strong response after a program-best 2024 class finished within the nation’s top 25 and boasted a blue-chip percentage of 50%.

Wisconsin is sure to continue to add to the class as June continues.

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Duke cornerback commit shares tons of photos from his official visit

William Felder Jr., one of Duke’s earliest commitments from the Class of 2025, shared multiple social media posts after his official visit.

There probably haven’t been many people more excited to become Blue Devils than cornerback commit William Felder Jr.

The third player in the Class of 2025 to commit to Duke coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], Felder announced his decision all the way back in February. He made it to campus for an official visit over the weekend and seemed to have a great time based on his trio of social media posts about the trip.

Felder shared a graphic of him in a Duke jersey with the caption “#bleedblue25” and a group photo of him with his family. He sported a hard hat with Duke (in The Brotherhood script) imprinted on the side). On top of that, he also shared a 20-second edit of himself and Duke’s campus.

“Duke Fans y’all ready?” Felder wrote on the latter.

Felder is one of three defensive backs in Diaz’s first full recruiting cycle alongside Kaleb Lanier and Ma’Khi Jones, both Georgia natives.

Felder also hails from Philadelphia, the same hometown as four-star linebacker Cameron Smith, Duke’s highest-rated commitment in the class. Given Diaz’s previous job as Penn State‘s defensive coordinator, the connection should hardly come as a surprise.

2025 defensive lineman shares social media post after Duke football official visit

Carmello Brooks, a three-star defensive lineman from Texas, said he had an “amazing experience” during his official Duke visit this weekend.

Duke football and head coach [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] hosted a handful of potential future Blue Devils over the weekend, and one three-star defensive lineman sounded impressed.

Carmello Brooks, a three-star defensive lineman in the Class of 2025, shared a post on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday afternoon with a graphic showing him in a Blue Devils uniform.

“Shout out to (Duke football recruiting) for the amazing experience on my OV,” Brooks wrote. “Had a great time amazing hospitality!”

Brooks, as of Sunday night, ranked as 247Sports‘ 85th-ranked defensive lineman in the class, and the Texas native sat 861st on the 247Sports Composite Ranking.

After finishing his junior season for Paetow High School last fall, 247Sports thinks the Blue Devils’ top competition for the young prospect resides in his home state.  Brooks will visit Houston next weekend, and the Cougars and Texas are both listed as ‘warm’ interests for him.

Diaz clearly has an affinity for the defensive side of the ball. Nine of the first 12 commitments to the former Penn State defensive coordinator for 2025 hail from the defensive side of the ball.

BREAKING: Wisconsin football lands commitment from 2025 CB Jahmare Washington

Wisconsin adds another class of 2025 commitment:

Wisconsin landed a commitment from class of 2025 cornerback Jahmare Washington on Sunday.

The three-star cornerback chose the Badgers over other top offers from Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State and Michigan State.

Related: Ranking the highest rated recruits in the history of Wisconsin football

Washington is 247Sports’ No. 931 player in the class of 2025, No. 81 cornerback and No. 27 recruit from his home state of Illinois. He commits to the Badgers on the heels of an official visit to the school, becoming the program’s first addition from its June 7 official visit weekend.

The Chicago, Illinois native is also the Badgers’ fourth commitment since the start of June and No. 15 overall addition to a class that now ranks in the nation’s top 15.

Washington is third cornerback to join Luke Fickell’s class of 2025, joining four-star Jaimier Scott and three-star Rukeem Stroud.

Fickell and his staff continue a strong start to the 2025 cycle. This comes after a program-best 2024 class that finished within the nation’s top 25 and boasted a blue-chip ratio of 50%.

The Badgers will continue to add to its growing class of 2025 as June official visits continue.

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Wisconsin top class of 2025 WR target Davion Chandler commits to a Big Ten rival

Wisconsin top class of 2025 WR target Davion Chandler commits to a Big Ten rival

Wisconsin top class of 2025 wide receiver target Davion Chandler committed to Illinois on Sunday.

The three-star wideout chose the Illini over other top contenders that included the Badgers, Kansas Jayhawks and Indiana Hoosiers.

Related: Ranking the highest rated recruits in the history of Wisconsin football

Chandler is 247Sports’ No. 1,150 player in the class of 2025, No. 173 wide receiver and No. 22 recruit from his home state of Indiana.

He committed to Illinois on the heels of an official visit with the program. He was scheduled to visit Wisconsin the weekend of June 14 and Kansas the weekend of June 21.

Chandlers’ commitment gives Illinois a win in what was a growing recruiting battle between the Badgers and Illini. Head coach Bret Bielema is working hard to dig into Wisconsin’s long-established recruiting footprint in the Midwest.

Wisconsin’s class of 2025 ranks No. 15 in the nation and No. 4 in the Big Ten. The group has one wide receiver committed: three-star Cameron Miller.

The Badgers are up to 14 commitments in the class, a number sure to grow as official visit weekends continue throughout June.

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Florida hosting Golden State punter for official visit this weekend

With Jeremy Crawshaw’s eligibility expiring at the end of this season, the Gators are eyeing this punter in the 2025 cycle.

Florida football will be rolling out the red carpet this weekend for its second round of official visits and this time around, there is one particular player of interest who will be arriving in Gainesville on Friday.

Punter [autotag]Alex Asparuhov[/autotag] out of Fresno (California) San Joaquin Memorial in the 2025 cycle is unrated and unranked by all of the major scouting organizations but still has the eye of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. The 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pound specialist’s main contacts so far have been game-changer coordinator Chris Couch and senior analyst Joe Houston.

With current punter [autotag]Jeremy Crawshaw[/autotag]’s eligibility ending following the 2024 campaign and just Jack Muse on the roster as a walk-on behind him, the Orange and Blue could certainly use a boost in the specialists room.

Asparuhov’s 247Sports scouting report

“Asparuhov might be the most fundamentally sound punter in the 2025 class. He scored well at the Underclassman Challenge by accumulating 109.71 points.

“When in rhythm his control and repeatability is special. He scored over 109 points on a cold 40-degree night in December of 2023. He made a big jump at the Western Showcase Camp earlier in the year. He graded out at the 5.0-star level as a punter and 4.5-star level as a kicker.

“Asparuhov scored 110.2 points in punting, 6 of 15 points on field goals, and 103.1 points on kick-offs. His punting is very impressive and he is already a college prospect in punting!

“He competed at his first Kohl’s ranking event during the 2022 Kohl’s California Winter Showcase Camp. He finished with a 39.5 yard average throughout the punt charting. He is way ahead of his age a punter! Asparuhov has the makings of a D1 punter and will be exciting to follow this spring and summer!”

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Wisconsin’s top class of 2025 RB target is on campus for official visit

It’s a big weekend for Luke Fickell and his staff:

Wisconsin top class of 2025 running back target Byron Louis is on campus for his official visit this weekend.

The four-star running back has the Badgers’ in his top 10 schools along with Miami, Penn State, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Florida State and Oklahoma. 247Sports notes that he has three official visits scheduled: May 31 to Miami, this weekend to Wisconsin and June 21 to Florida State.

Related: Wisconsin football updated class of 2025 entering June 7 official visit weekend

Louis is 247Sports’ No. 212 player in the class of 2025, No. 14 running back and No. 30 recruit from his home state of Florida. He is one of only two running backs with an official visit scheduled to Wisconsin, along with three-star John Forster.

The Badgers’ class of 2025 currently ranks No. 15 in the nation with 14 players committed. The group is yet to land a running back — that after finishing the 2024 cycle with several top commits at the position.

Louis is part of a busy weekend of official visits for the Badgers. He is one of the top targets in the group, some others being iOL Hardy Watts, WR Eugene Hilton Jr. and DL Wilnerson Telemaque.

Wisconsin is off to a hot start to a busy month of June, already with commitments from four-star OT Logan Powell, three-star CB Rukeem Stroud and three-star OT Nolan Davenport after the first official weekend.

That momentum is expected to continue after the weekend of June 7.

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