So much news is coming in from another busy weekend and with signing day around the corner, there are tons of rumors as well so another Recruiting Rumor Mill was needed this week.
RANKINGS UPDATE: New Rivals250 released | Gorney's thoughts | Biggest risers | Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars
MORE: Four-star Carde Smith backs off USC commitment with Colorado surging
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Top 100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
The 2026 high three-star running back from Painesville (Ohio) Harvey spent nearly the entire weekend with coach Lincoln Riley but especially position coach Anthony Jones Jr. at USC and it was an “amazing” trip.
Penn State and Wisconsin have been the two mainstays for Alston early in his recruitment but now USC makes his list a top three.
Auburn remains one of the front-runners with Missouri and Miami for Bush. He loved his trip to The Plains even though co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Charles Kelly was not specific on where Bush would play on defense. That’s fine with the 2026 three-star from Theodore, Ala., who could move from safety to linebacker as those three programs now stand out most.
Bush will visit Mississippi State this weekend.
The high three-star running back from Dinwiddie, Va., has been committed to USC since April but coming down the stretch to National Signing Day there are three programs working hardest to flip him.
Alabama, Penn State and Virginia Tech have all been in touch with Dalton, who’s rushed for 14 touchdowns this season, and the Trojans could have a battle on their hands until Dalton signs.
Auburn continues to be a front-runner for the 2026 four-star linebacker from Loganville (Ga.) Grayson and another visit there helped the Tigers make clear to Davis that he’s a priority for them.
But there will be some stiff competition moving forward.
Texas is a program to watch and he visits Austin this weekend. USC and Clemson also high on the list.
Edwards was dealing with an illness so he didn’t get to talk much with the coaches during his trip to Florida but it was still one of his favorite visits so far. He loved the fan support and the feeling inside the stadium.
Auburn continues to be one to watch and he’ll be back on The Plains this weekend. The Gators, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Oregon and Alabama are in the mix.
In July, the 2026 four-star defensive back from Jackson, Ala., flipped from Alabama to UCF and now a whole host of others are recruiting him hard again. Gordon was at Florida over the weekend and sees so many positive things from coach Billy Napier and the program. The message was that he’d fit perfectly in the Gators’ defense and that stood out.
Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Indiana, Florida State and Michigan are also involved but Florida left a big impression.
Ole Miss could be emerging as the program to beat for the four-star running back from Aledo, Texas, but there will be others battling for Guillory as well. After rushing for more than 1,100 yards with 22 touchdowns this season, the Rebels have made the former Texas commit a priority.
The Texas commit has now taken visits to Tennessee and Florida in recent weeks and the message from the Gators’ coaching staff last weekend was their need for a safety to finalize this class and how Hicks was a top target.
That could be influential for the reclassified 2025 four-star safety from Carrollton, Ga., but it’s also good news for the Longhorns that Hicks is headed back to Austin this weekend and that could wrap things up.
A Michigan offer for the five-star defensive end from Cocoa, Fla., might have come too late in Hilson’s recruitment and this weekend he will be visiting Florida again. The Gators continue to make a play for Hilson and he’s going to give them one more look before heading to Texas A&M for its huge matchup against Texas before signing day.
The Longhorns are considered the front-runner with the Aggies, Syracuse and Pitt as his top programs. But this is a very fluid situation.
Michigan has been a mainstay toward the top of his recruitment and the Wolverines could definitely still be right there but Georgia is going to be one to watch after his weekend visit to Athens.
The game-day environment exceeded the expectations for the 2026 four-star running back from Mineral (Va.) Louisa County and his relationship with position coach Josh Crawford is only getting stronger.
The 2026 four-star running back from Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County has received so many major offers in the last few weeks that it’s hard to keep up but a small group of programs is starting to emerge in his recruitment.
Georgia could be tough to beat for the in-state standout but Alabama, Ohio State, Miami and Tennessee are also pushing. Lamar just landed a new offer from Penn State as well.
North Carolina, NC State, Clemson and a bunch of regional programs will be involved with Matthews but South Carolina has taken a huge step forward after he was there over the weekend.
The 2026 four-star cornerback from Cornelius (N.C.) Hough was told he was a “high priority” and after all the attention and the win over Missouri, the Gamecocks seem to have shot even higher.
Merritt will take his final visit to Ohio State for the Michigan rivalry game in a couple weeks and that’s when he will finalize everything in his recruitment as Colorado is trying to come in late and steal the four-star defensive end from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. He took a midweek visit to Colorado where he saw all the game-week preparation and the schedule and the Buffaloes’ coaches put a major emphasis on how they could use Merritt’s versatility.
With four-star receiver Caleb Cunningham flipping from Alabama to Ole Miss, the Crimson Tide brought in the four-star Florida pledge last weekend and now Montgomery has a lot to consider. The Miami (Fla.) Central standout was shown how he’d fit “perfectly” in Alabama’s offense and now after that visit, Montgomery has to be introspective in his decision.
Tennessee has been considered the front-runner for a while for Osenda but after recently receiving an offer from Georgia it “definitely changed some things” for him. The 2026 four-star offensive tackle from Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School visited Georgia over the weekend - for its win over the Vols - and now the Bulldogs might have just jumped right to the top.
Even in a 20-10 loss to Texas last weekend, Smith had a phenomenal time at Arkansas as the Razorbacks continue to be one of the standouts for the 2026 four-star linebacker from Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview. Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Ole Miss are the lead group for Smith at this point.
A high three-star offensive tackle, Uzochukwu has been committed to Georgia State since early July but a new offer from the big dogs - Georgia - has now given him something to really consider. The offer from the Bulldogs is “obviously very huge” and now the Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge standout just has to get to a final choice.
It’s super early for the 2027 four-star edge rusher from Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy but over the weekend Florida made a huge impression on Weeks and not only because the Gators took down LSU. Weeks hit it off with position coach Mike Peterson, he loved the environment in Gainesville and no matter what happens moving forward, the Gators are definitely going to be a top program.
There is a significant pull to Southeast programs from the 2026 defensive end from Picayune, Miss., with Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and Tennessee leading the way there but a weekend visit to USC definitely made a massive impressions as well. Wilson loved the weather in California but also how the defensive line pressured Nebraska’s quarterback and how position coach Eric Henderson made it clear that he’s a top priority in 2026.
Zeigler is most focused on programs that have watched him workout, at practice or at a game and so Arkansas, Baylor, Mississippi State and Ole Miss have been the main ones involved so far. The 2027 four-star quarterback from Benton, La., had a great visit to Fayetteville over the weekend, spent time with coach Sam Pittman and it stood out that the Razorbacks’ offense fits Zeigler’s playing style. It’s early but Arkansas and those other three have made the biggest impression so far.
