West Spotlight: Five commitment predictions

Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney makes his predictions for some of the top uncommitted prospects in the West region.

Next Thursday, Casuga will announce his commitment with Texas A&M, USC and Washington as the three finalists heading into his decision.

The Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon 2026 four-star quarterback who’s thrown for more than 1,600 yards with 18 touchdowns and two interceptions so far this season could very well be headed to the SEC.

Casuga has made no secret about his interest in the Aggies, he loved his visits to College Station and after landing a pledge from four-star QB Husan Longstreet in the 2025 class, Texas A&M could be headed back out West for its 2026 quarterback pledge as well.

There’s a good chance USC lands – and is waiting for – Ryder Lyons to make his decision and while Washington is a very real option, it just seems like the Aggies are way ahead here.

Prediction: Texas A&M

Other than five-star Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, Faraimo is the highest-ranked outside linebacker who remains uncommitted although it seems like he has had a top program for some time.

Texas, USC and Washington are the three others heavily involved with the San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic standout but Notre Dame has been the team to beat for a while and after a recent visit back to South Bend, the Irish still feel very much in front.

Faraimo loves the history and tradition of linebackers in South Bend, he’s talked with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and others about what it takes to succeed in the program and in school there and the challenge of excelling from an academic and athletic standpoint seems to be a major draw to him.

There could be some late thinking that staying closer to home might make sense but it would be a stunner if Notre Dame doesn’t land him.

Prediction: Notre Dame

Is it only a matter of time until the 2026 five-star quarterback commits to USC? Almost all the top players at his position in his class are off the board already but Lyons is still not in any significant rush to make his decision although it continues to look like the Trojans are the team to beat in his recruitment.

A summer visit to Ole Miss went really well and there is some significant interest in playing in coach Lane Kiffin’s offense (Lyons has been compared to an even-better Jaxson Dart) but there are still more signs that point to USC being the team to beat – by a wide margin.

The Folsom, Calif., five-star would be close to home. His brother, Walker, plays there. And the way coach Lincoln Riley develops quarterbacks totally intrigues Lyons, who is planning taking a religious mission so even if 2025 five-star QB Julian Lewis stays in the class, the timing for Lyons to come in and fight for the starting job would work out.

Prediction: USC

There are a lot of programs still involved in Pay’s recruitment with Oregon, Oklahoma, Arkansas, NC State, Auburn, Texas A&M and others in the mix but there are so many family connections to BYU that it might be really tough to pull him away from the Cougars.

The four-star offensive tackle from Highland (Utah) Lone Peak has not only been recruited by BYU’s coaching staff for a long time but he has two brothers currently on the team and knows the program inside and out.

Pay has contended that he’s going to be very open throughout the recruiting process and will give all programs a fair shake but it would be no shock at all if he ends up down the road in Provo.

Prediction: BYU

There are many other programs involved but Georgia and Ole Miss have emerged as the front-runners in his recruitment and this could be a really interesting SEC battle until the end.

The 2026 four-star receiver from Mission Viejo, Calif., has an Ole Miss sticker on his helmet and he absolutely loved his visit to Oxford early this season, he really likes how coach Lane Kiffin distributes the ball in his offense and there is a real sense the Rebels are definitely a major contender in his recruitment.

Spafford takes his first visit to Athens this weekend in what should be a blowout for the Bulldogs over Mississippi State and Georgia is definitely becoming the main contender in his recruitment. In a recent interview, Spafford said Georgia is the best of the best and he wants to be a part of that in the SEC.

Prediction: Georgia