Recruiting Rumor Mill: Front-runners emerging for top prospects

So much is happening on the recruiting trail that a second Recruiting Rumor Mill was needed this week. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney.

Ashford was supposed to visit Oklahoma State over the weekend but the trip was canceled as the Cowboys told him they’ve loaded up on edge rushers so the focus has turned to other programs.

The Fort Worth (Texas) Christian standout is now looking strongest at Illinois, Houston, Kansas State and Vanderbilt.

Notre Dame, Michigan and others will be among the favorites for the 2027 four-star quarterback from Marion (Mass.) Tabor Academy when he’s ready to release a top list but Penn State is going to be very high up there as well.

From coach James Franklin to OC Andy Kotelnicki to position coach Danny O’Brien, Bourque loves his interactions with those coaches and he’s coming off a great visit to Happy Valley.

He’s from Columbia (S.C.) Irmo and he loves his trips over to South Carolina so the Gamecocks could be tough to beat for the 2027 edge rusher. Bryant loves how professionally coach Shane Beamer runs the program so South Carolina looks strong.

Florida, Florida State and North Carolina are contenders as well.

Oklahoma State made a major impression on the three-star offensive lineman from Bakersfield (Calif.) Liberty especially seeing how many alumni come back to coach with Mike Gundy. That was telling for Buckey but since he’s from California there is also going to be a significant pull to stay closer.

UCLA, Cal and Arizona State are all involved along with Oklahoma State, Michigan State and Vanderbilt.

Carlton’s top list continues to fluctuate as Baylor, Texas A&M and USC have been mentioned the most and he was in College Station over the weekend. Every time he’s there, the high four-star edge rusher from Temple, Texas, find more “love” for the Aggies as they’re definitely a serious contender.

Texas and LSU have been highly talked about as well.

The four-star quarterback from Mission Viejo, Calif., is back from a visit to Oklahoma State as the Cowboys are definitely one of the front-runners but the word is that many people around Fahey would be almost shocked if he doesn’t end up at Stanford.

Fahey has trust in general manager Andrew Luck to find a coach and the Cardinal just seem to suit him.

LSU is going to be a front-runner because Feaster loves the wide receiver legacy there, he’s originally from Shreveport and the word is he wants to play in warm weather. Alabama and Texas are still very much in the picture but Texas A&M could be making an interesting move up.

The five-star receiver from DeSoto, Texas, was just at a practice in College Station and he loved how much the Aggies passed the ball. The message to him is they need a big playmaker who can come in and dominate in their WR group.

Oregon, USC and others will be involved but the word is that Goodwin is planning a visit to Georgia soon and the Bulldogs are way out in front of his recruitment.

Goodwin is related to Georgia staffer David Hill and the Torrance (Calif.) Bishop Montgomery four-star linebacker loves defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann most in his recruitment.

South Carolina has emerged as the No. 1 program for the 2027 four-star edge rusher from Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson after another visit to Columbia. Green loved how everything was “very electric.” He’s hit it off with position coach Sterling Lucas and his visit was a “1,000 out of 100.”

Alabama is right behind the Gamecocks and it’s still early but those would be the top two.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could end up battling it out for the 2027 four-star offensive tackle from Fort Gibson, Okla., but Texas A&M is going to make a significant push as well after Hackett just visited College Station. He felt like a high priority by the Aggies, had some great talks with position coach Adam Cushing about the difference between goals and dreams, and going to dinner with the coaches was huge.

There are others that will emerge but Michigan is “a little” ahead of the others for the 2027 four-star edge rusher from Alpharetta, Ga., after a recent visit to Ann Arbor. The Wolverines will mainly focus on the 2026 class and then turn to 2027 and when they do Holly will be an even bigger target.

Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and LSU have been the mainstays in Houston’s recruitment but maybe, just maybe, USC will now be one to watch for the 2027 four-star quarterback from Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian.

Houston has been a major fan of coach Lincoln Riley, who he called a “QB whisperer” and Riley kept circling back to his tape and seeing Kyler Murray comparisons. The Trojans have some ground to make up but they might be able to make it up fast.

The message from the South Carolina coaching staff to the 2027 receiver from Columbia (S.C.) Ridge View is that he is part of the “future” for the Gamecocks and the hospitality there is also at the highest level.

South Carolina, Florida and Coastal Carolina have made the biggest impact early on for Jackson but in the end it could be tough to beat the Gamecocks.

Things are “becoming clearer” in Jacobson’s recruitment after another great visit to Texas A&M where it appears things are lining up for the Aggies. What the coaching staff believes in, he believes in.

There is a Midwest feel to the program that the three-star tight end from Waukee, Iowa, loves. And the A&M coaches told Jacobson he’s “their guy” in this class.

Notre Dame, Iowa State, Stanford, Auburn and Florida State are also high.

Five programs remain for the three-star cornerback from Omaha (Neb.) North and Iowa State definitely left a big impression on him during a recent visit. The Cyclones, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas State are the finalists for Jones, who loved the competitiveness at practice and the message from the coaches on how he’d fit in with the program.

There has been some talk that Texas A&M has slowed down a bit on the four-star linebacker from Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial but he felt the love from position coach Jay Bateman and others during his weekend visit.

This trip to College Station was especially important because King brought his youth team with him, the coaches were loving him up and King was impressed by the linebackers.

Michigan, Notre Dame and others are very much involved here, too.

Kreul has connections through the recruiting process with Brady Hart and Landon Rink so Texas A&M could have an ‘in’ that way as his visit to College Station over the weekend went great. The four-star edge rusher from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy also loved catching up with defensive line coach Sean Spencer.

The Aggies could be moving up but there’s been a ton of chatter about Oklahoma here.

Penn State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Rutgers are all going to put up a major fight – especially the Nittany Lions – but his Michigan visit went really, really well. The hospitality from the Michigan staff where they “truly care” about him to the campus, facility, strength and conditioning team, and so much more stood out to the three-star linebacker from Nokesville (Va.) Patriot.

Numerous programs have told O’Brien he can play both ways but Penn State has surged to the top because the coaches showed him a plan on how that would actually work. That made a huge impression on the four-star from Philadelphia (Pa.) La Salle as the coaches also made it clear they’d do everything possible for him to not leave the state.

Oregon is also moving much higher after he had a great visit there and of course Notre Dame is right there, too.

Michigan and Notre Dame are the finalists for the four-star running back from Forney, Texas, who will make his decision in May and the word is that the Irish could be tough to beat but the Wolverines definitely gave him a ton to consider.

The addition of five-star QB Bryce Underwood, who can throw it all over the place, would take some pressure off the running game and that’s a major draw. But will it be enough to beat Notre Dame?

The four-star receiver from Mission Viejo, Calif., has been committed to Georgia since November, but Miami is becoming a very serious and real contender in his recruitment. Spafford had a great visit to Coral Gables recently where it felt like a “real family” and he loved the people there.

The Hurricanes along with USC, UCLA and others should be watched.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GEORGIA FANS AT UGASPORTS.COM