Tag: recruiting

Sep 21, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; A detail view of a Texas A&M Aggies helmet on the sideline during the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.

Texas A&M lands 4-star TE Caleb Tafua

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Texas A&M received a commitment over the weekend from tight end Caleb Tafua, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2026.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect from Lakewood, Calif., chose the Aggies over Cal, Southern California and Washington.

Tafua visited Texas A&M on Nov. 30 and officially announced his commitment to Mike Elko’s program on Saturday.

“It felt like that was where I needed to be,” Tafua told On3. “It’s where I felt everybody around me getting hyped up. I see myself in those stadiums and playing for A&M.”

Tafua is ranked as the No. 12 tight end in the nation and the No. 27 overall recruit in California by the 247Sports composite.

–Field Level Media

Nov 30, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; A detail view of a Texas Longhorns helmet on the sideline during the first quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies. The Longhorns defeated the Aggies 17-7 at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Five-star DL Justus Terry chooses Texas over Georgia

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry joined the top-ranked Texas 2025 recruiting class on Friday.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound prospect from Manchester, Ga., chose the Longhorns over Georgia and Auburn.

Terry revealed his decision the day before No. 2 Texas meets No. 5 Georgia in the SEC title game in Atlanta.

He is ranked as the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 10 overall recruit by the 247Sports composite.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s recruiting haul includes five five-star and 14 four-star players among 25 commits, per 247Sports.

–Field Level Media

Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin HS football players participate in a tug-of-war during a pep rally before a high school football game against Atlantic Coast on August 30, 2024. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]

Four-star QB joins FSU recruiting exodus, to visit Florida

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Nineteen months after pledging his commitment to Florida State, four-star recruit and Elite 11 quarterback Tramell Jones instead jumped into the current of talent flowing out of Tallahassee.

A top-25 overall recruit and top-five dual threat quarterback at most major recruiting outlets, Jones is a senior at Jacksonville’s Mandarin High School. He’s on the list of reported recruits attending Florida’s game Saturday against LSU along with prep teammate and five-star wide receiver recruit Jaime Ffrench.

Jones’ recruitment is now open to others beyond the Gators. He is scheduled to announce his college choice at Mandarin on Dec. 6.

Ffrench decommitted from Texas on Wednesday.

He initially committed to Alabama but pulled back when Nick Saban announced his retirement. Ffrench was courted by Ohio State, LSU and Miami before giving the Longhorns a verbal commitment at a ceremony on Aug. 30.

Ffrench is the No. 14 overall prospect and third-ranked wide receiver according to On3.

Jones said on a Jacksonville radio show earlier this week that he wasn’t flipping from Florida State and explained why he was still supportive of Seminoles coach Mike Norvall.

“Because he showed us our vision. He was there before,” Jones said. “He’s got to where he talked about. He was 13-0. He’s got to where he wanted to go. This is just a little stump in the road for him. I think that the comeback is going to be even greater.”

The Seminoles are 1-9 this season, 1-7 in the ACC, after going 13-1 in 2023.

Florida State already lost a number of recruits ranked in the top tier of the 2025 class, including Myron Charles, Javion Hilson, Malik Clark, Daylan McCutcheon and CJ Wiley.

–Field Level Media

Sept. 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Bellefontaine quarterback Tavien St. Clair watches warm-ups before Ohio State's game against the Marshall University Thundering Herd at Ohio Stadium.

3 QBs sit atop 247Sports’ revamped list of 5-stars

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Three quarterbacks sit atop 247Sports’ revised list of top prospects in the Class of 2025, released Wednesday.

LSU commit Bryce Underwood retained his No. 1 spot, followed by Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair and Keelon Russell, who has chosen Alabama.

The list of 32 five-star players was developed based on performance during the early part of their senior seasons as well as data analysis and in-person scouting. The Top247 rankings will be adjusted again before signing day in December and become final after January’s all-star games.

247Sports never has had three quarterbacks atop the final list.

Underwood is from Belleville (Mich.) High School, St. Clair from Bellefontaine (Ohio) and Russell from Duncanville (Texas).

In all, there are four quarterbacks in the top 32 prospects, including No. 28 Husan Longstreet from Centennial High School in Corona, Calif., who is committed to Texas A&M.

Among the five-stars only four are uncommitted: defensive linemen Elijah Griffin (No. 4) and Justus Terry (No. 9), both from Georgia; offensive tackle Andrew Babalola (No. 11) of Overland Park, Kan.; and Michael Terry III (No. 24) of San Antonio, who is classified as athlete.

–Field Level Media

Mason senior Vaughn Johnson signs to play football for Miami (Ohio). Mason High School celebrated 35 seniors signing national letters of intent Feb. 7. 2024.

Early football signing period moving to early December

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The early signing period for Division I-bound high school football players will move to early December, the Collegiate Commissioners Association announced Thursday.

The change takes effect this fall, and the signing period will begin on the Wednesday after the final FBS regular-season game and before conference title games. It will last three days, though most players sign on the first day.

The early signing period has been the week before Christmas since it was added to the recruiting calendar in 2017. The regular signing period will remain as is, opening the first Wednesday in February and running through April 1.

The move is being made, in part, to clear up a crowded late-December calendar for coaches who are preparing for bowl games. It also will put some separation between the signing period and the opening of the transfer portal, allowing coaches to put their concentration solely on high school athletes in that time span.

“The CCA supports providing high school and two-year college prospective student-athletes with the opportunity to sign (national letters of intent) before coaches turn their focus to four-year transfers during the opening of the Division I transfer window in December,” the organization said.

The group tabled, for now, consideration of another signing period that could begin in June 2025. A decision on whether to add a summer signing period is expected to be made no later than June of this year.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said before his team’s appearance in the Cotton Bow at the end of last season that the NCAA recruiting calendar needed to change.

“There’s no way possible for us to have a 12-team playoff next year, and be recruiting in an open period, and have transfer-portal additions and subtraction going on and be preparing for a game,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s just not possible.”

–Field Level Media

Mandarin wide receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr. (2) talks with teammates on the sideline before the FHSAA Class 4M high school football championship game against Miami Columbus on December 8, 2023. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]

Report: Alabama loses 5-star commit Jaime Ffrench

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The effects of former Alabama coach Nick Saban’s retirement continued Sunday, as five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench rescinded his commitment to the Crimson Tide, according to a report by On3.

Ffrench, a standout in the Class of 2025 who is listed as the No. 3 receiver according to the 247Sports composite rankings, reopened his recruitment and will choose from several elite programs.

Alabama lost another five-star receiver, Ryan Williams, on Wednesday following Saban’s decision to call it a career.

The 247Sports Composite lists Ffrench, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, as the No. 11 player overall in the 2025 class.

The Crimson Tide hired former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer to replace Saban.

–Field Level Media

Deion Sanders walks the sidelines as the Colorado plays Arizona State at Mountain America Stadium.

Colorado earns commitment from 2025 4-star QB Antwann Hill Jr.

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Four-star quarterback Antwann Hill Jr. committed to coach Deion Sanders and Colorado on Friday.

The signal-caller is ranked No. 66 overall and the No. 6 quarterback in the Class of 2025, according to the 247Sports composite.

Hill, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound prospect from Georgia, chose the Buffaloes over Alabama, Florida and Penn State.

“To sum it up I can tell they really care about me and want me to take over the program when Shedeur leaves,” Hill told On3, referring to Sanders’ son and Colorado starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders. “So whenever Coach Prime said that, I knew he was being 100 percent honest with me and I knew I would be a fool not take this opportunity that Coach Prime had provided me with.”

Hill is the third player from the 2025 recruiting class to commit to Colorado and the second four-star, joining wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr.

–Field Level Media

University of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables speaks on the second day of NCAA college football Big 12 Media Days in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Top-ranked RB Taylor Tatum chooses Oklahoma over Southern Cal

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Five-star recruit Taylor Tatum, the top-ranked running back in the Class of 2024, announced Friday his commitment to Oklahoma.

Tatum, from Longview, Texas, chose the Sooners and head coach Brent Venables over his other finalist, Southern Cal, and close to 40 offers including Power Five conference programs across the country.

According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, Tatum is a five-star recruit, the No. 31 player in his class, the top running back and No. 9 overall in the state of Texas. In its own rankings, he’s a four-star, No. 42 in the country, No. 1 at running back and No. 9 in Texas.

Listed at 5-foot-10 1/2 and 205 pounds, Tatum rushed for 1,891 yards and 33 touchdowns and caught three TD passes in his junior season.

He also plans to play baseball at Oklahoma, as he is a standout at Longview High School.

“One of the main things was going to the SEC and being a big dog in football and baseball,” Tatum said following his announcement, which was streamed online. “Growing up you see the LSUs, the (Texas) A&Ms, the Alabamas, the Georgias. I’m going to be part of the big dogs. Getting a chance to play baseball and football in the SEC is just something I couldn’t deny.”

Oklahoma will join the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.

Tatum visited Southern Cal on June 2 and Oklahoma on June 16.

–Field Level Media

Apr 22, 2023; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama head coach Nick Saban holds his grandson before the A-Day game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama lands commitment from top 2025 RB Anthony Rogers

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Class of 2025 running back prospect Anthony Rogers committed to Alabama on Friday.

The four-star running back, an Alabama native, is now with IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He is ranked the No. 33 overall prospect in his class by 247Sports and No. 39 by ESPN.

The 247Sports composite rankings, meanwhile, peg Rogers as the eighth-best running back in the class.

Rogers, who’s listed at 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, chose the Crimson Tide over Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Oregon.

While it’s still early, Nick Saban and company have the second-ranked recruiting class for 2025, according to 247Sports, a group led by five-star wide receiver Ryan Williams.

–Field Level Media

Arch Manning

Report: Texas spends big to woo Arch Manning, others

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Texas reached into its deep recruiting pockets to impress Arch Manning and other high school prospects, spending more than $600,000 on two weekends in June, The Athletic reported Friday.

The Athletic obtained public records to look at everything Texas did to impress the recruits and their parents, including first-class hotels, buffets, treats, golf and a pair of socials for the parents.

Manning, ranked as the nation’s No. 1 recruit by the 247Sports composite, had made unofficial visits to Texas. But when he made his official visit June 17-19 — when schools are allowed to wine and dine — the Longhorns spent almost $280,000 on nine recruits and their families, The Athletic reported.

Four of the nine recruits that weekend have committed to the Longhorns so far, including Manning, whose uncles Peyton and Eli each won a pair of Super Bowls.

The following weekend, Texas spent an additional $350,000 to entertain 14 more recruits — 12 of whom have committed, The Athletic reported.

On the weekend of Manning’s visit, Texas spent more than $87,000 before the players and families ever stepped foot on campus: $21,000 on transportation; nearly $47,000 on rooms at the Four Seasons Austin for them, some coaches and staff; $17,000 on a lunch buffet; and about $1,800 on treats for their rooms, including small cakes adorned with the Texas logo.

“If you’ve never been to something nice before, you definitely got to experience that at Texas,” Chris Pilot, father of recruit Mikal Harrison-Pilot, told The Athletic.

Other expenses outlined by The Athletic included about $66,000 for two dinners for the guests, coaching staff, recruiting staff and others; $44,000 for parents receptions; a $10,000 breakfast; and $9,500 for an outing to Top Golf, where the kids played while their parents talked football with the coaches.

–Field Level Media