Midwest Rumor Mill: Top prospects take in big games

Recruiting news is flowing fast and furious as prospects return from key visits, and Rivals national analyst Greg Smith has all the latest buzz from the Midwest.

Brown was in Happy Valley over the weekend to see Penn State beat Illinois. Brown felt the coaches took care of him during the visit and the fans were great. Penn State, Notre Dame, Auburn and Missouri are just a few of the programs recruiting him hard at this early stage.

Cure committed to Kansas State over the summer but popped up at Kansas for a visit this weekend. He had a good time watching his brother and re-connecting with the Jayhawks coaching staff. He’s built good relationships with the staff but that doesn’t seem to be the team to watch here.

Cure is likely to visit Oregon again this season. Dan Lanning wants to get an elite tight end in the Ducks class and has locked in on Cure.

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Hill was one of the many big-time prospects in attendance for Alabama’s big win over Georgia. There has been a lot of buzz about Hill and Ohio State but the visit to Tuscaloosa was eye-opening for the Ohio native. The atmosphere stood out to him and he could see himself playing at Alabama.

The 2027 signal caller was at Notre Dame and he didn’t come away with a scholarship offer. That’s despite holding early offers from many programs around the country, including LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

Taylor remains in good contact with the Irish who say they’ll keep recruiting him. Up next, Taylor will head to Nebraska to get a look at Matt Rhule’s program.

The four-star tight end took a visit to Michigan State where he was once again excited to be around the new staff. Jonathan Smith and his coaches have gotten a lot of positive buzz on the trail. Seeing the size and speed of the Spartans players up close really stuck with Watkins.

Up next he’ll visit Minnesota and Penn State. He’s also looking at going to Ohio State for the big game with Michigan.

Weatherspoon is part of a terrific group of Ohio natives at defensive back for the 2026 class. Penn State got a chance to host him over the weekend and impressed him with the crowd. James Franklin’s staff has made him a priority and will do whatever it takes to land him.

Michigan and Notre Dame are also pushing hard for him.