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Recruiting Rumor Mill: Latest chatter with signing day a month away
Another busy weekend of recruiting news and rumors means Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has more in this week’s Recruiting Rumor Mill.
The 2026 five-star offensive tackle loved Miami – the school, the academics, the solid coaching staff – and now it will be a question as to whether the Hurricanes become one of the main contenders. That still isn’t clear as Missouri, Alabama and Oregon have stood out the most for the Nixa, Mo., standout as Nebraska is also hanging in there. Miami is of interest as the two sides build a solid relationship but the Hurricanes do have some more ground to make up.
In the end, especially if Miami continues to play so well, the Hurricanes could be very difficult to beat for the 2026 five-star five-star athlete from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna. But if there’s one program that has really made a drastic impression on Cooper this season it’s been Alabama as he took a recent visit there and the coaches didn’t sugarcoat anything – which Cooper appreciated. Georgia and others will be involved and the Canes have the edge but Alabama made up a lot of ground.
A commitment to Western Michigan since June, Guberinich backed off his pledge on Sunday night – only hours after landing an offer from Purdue. The Novi (Mich.) Detroit Catholic Central is “super excited” about the offer from the Boilermakers and while he’s focused on the playoffs, Purdue looks really strong in his recruitment especially after the decommitment.
Alabama is “definitely one of my favorite schools” at the moment for Henderson as he visited recently and absolutely loved it. The coaches told the 2027 four-star linebacker from Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit that he could play multiple positions because of his length and now Henderson after getting that offer is planning another visit to Tuscaloosa soon. Ohio State offered in recent days, too.
The plan over the weekend was for Henderson to visit SMU but it didn’t happen because the 2026 high four-star athlete from Spring (Texas) Legacy had a game at noon Saturday. If time allowed the Houston commit was supposed to visit the Cougars’ game. There are a bunch of programs working to flip Henderson from struggling Houston with SMU and Colorado the main two right now.
Hicks committed to Texas in September and he remains pledged to the Longhorns but the Carrollton, Ga., standout was at Tennessee over the weekend and the message was compelling. Considering a reclass to 2025, the Vols told Hicks they want him regardless of class and that he could make an early impact. Hicks always thought “highly” of Tennessee but going out for a game ramped things up even more. If Tennessee can keep the momentum it could be something to watch closely but he remains locked in with the Longhorns.
Not only did Lyles have a long talk with outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson dur a recent visit to Alabama but he also closely watched – and loved – how the Crimson Tide utilized Qua Russaw in the defense. The 2026 three-star defensive end from Phenix City (Ala.) Central doesn’t have an offer from Alabama yet but if one comes then that would totally chance things in his recruitment. Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Troy, Auburn, Liberty and others are involved.
A top list is expected soon for the 2026 four-star running back from Boca Raton (Fla.) West Boca Raton and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Miami and Michigan are very high on the list for him. Mallory has talked really high about the Wolverines and a weekend trip to Miami went really well since he loved how often the Hurricanes ran the ball and in what variety.
The four-star running back who committed to USC in April was at Tennessee over the weekend and while everything remains the same with the Trojans, Morris will be back in Knoxville in late November for the UTEP weekend. The feeling is that the Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Oakland won’t make any decisions – sticking with USC or flipping to Tennessee – until after that official visit which could be the final determining factor.
Michigan is definitely “standing the highest” in Osborne’s recruitment after his weekend visit to Ann Arbor as the 2026 four-star running back from Forney, Texas had a phenomenal time there over the weekend despite the loss to Oregon. Osborne loves the “constant love and attention” from the Wolverines staff plus the knowledge that’s already been passed on to him from the coaching staff. Many others are involved but Michigan is the team to beat.
Even though Oregon comfortably beat Michigan over the weekend, the five-star linebacker loved the grit and toughness of the Wolverines and that they never backed down. Michigan is definitely right among the favorites for the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy five-star linebacker and while some believe it’s the Wolverines vs. Notre Dame in his recruitment, Colorado and Texas are also right in the mix as well.
When Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye met with Shabazz during his recent visit to Columbus, Frye told the massive 2026 three-star offensive tackle, ‘That’s what I look for.’ The Buckeyes are one of the early front-runners for the Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth standout as that comment from Frye along with the “crazy atmosphere” in Columbus stood out. North Carolina, Virginia Tech, NC State and USC are the other programs to watch.
The three-star Duke commit had a serious injury on Friday night so he could not attend the Ole Miss game on Saturday although the Rebels have been in tons of contact about flipping the three-star running back from Mandeville, La. With his leg injury, that could slow up his recruitment – and possibly even favor the Blue Devils keeping him but Ole Miss, Tulane and Georgia Tech are the three most involved.
The message from Clemson over the weekend to Smith was that he’s not only a priority but that they’re ready to take his commitment when he’s ready. The word is that the 2026 four-star cornerback from Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School “loves” Clemson and is definitely a major front-runner with Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Indiana and others.
An early Coastal Carolina pledge who backed off his commitment once more high-level attention came his way, three programs are really catching his eye with weeks until signing day. A recent visit to Ole Miss was excellent for the Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork defensive end as he got to spend a lot of time with the coaches but wasn’t pushed into a commitment and was told to take his time to find his next home. NC State and South Carolina are the two other standouts now.
Oklahoma and Texas had been the clear front-runners early on for Swanson but after the 2027 four-star offensive tackle from Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff was at Texas A&M for its huge win over LSU, the Aggies have made it a top three. Swanson loved how A&M battled, how the coaching staff made corrections to help the team and their second-half performance helped the Aggies move way up in Swanson’s early recruitment.
As signing day gets closer, the word around Terry’s recruitment is that Georgia is gaining confidence in landing the five-star defensive lineman who has already backed off pledges to the Bulldogs and USC. After settling back down for months, the Manchester, Ga., standout has been mainly focused on Alabama and Georgia in recent months but the chatter coming out of Athens is that the Dawgs feel pretty good here with a signing day decision possible.
An early commitment to Florida State didn’t work out and the 2026 four-star cornerback then pledged to Florida in June. The Gators still have the commitment from the Seffner (Fla.) Armwood standout but after a weekend visit to Miami, the word is the Hurricanes are definitely a “top contender” in his recruitment. The coaching situation in Gainesville should be watched as the Hurricanes are definitely making a serious run at him.
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