Recruiting Rumor Mill: March visits are right around the corner

The Recruiting Rumor Mill keeps cranking as the focus turns to the 2025 class and beyond. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has all the latest news from what he’s hearing:

The four-star offensive tackle from Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest has more than 20 offers but Babalola’s focus is coming into shape with 10 standing out most.

The list is still long but the programs mainly in the running now for the Midwest standout are Missouri, Auburn, Oklahoma, Tennessee, USC, Stanford, Michigan, Texas A&M, Alabama and Kansas State.

An official visit to Cal is set up for early June and the Golden Bears are definitely one of two programs to watch for the three-star tight end from Danville (Calif.) Monte Vista. It would make complete sense if Ford wraps up his recruitment following that visit to Berkeley as Arizona is the other program mainly involved with him right now.

Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas are all front and center in Haywood’s recruitment but over the last couple weeks the new Alabama coaching staff has made the Denton (Texas) Ryan standout a top priority and Haywood could visit this spring.

Miami and Oregon are the two other programs that have made the biggest early impression as there have been rumors that the Sooners have a slight edge right now.

Ohio State is absolutely loading with defensive backs in its 2025 recruiting class and there could be many more big names to come. One name to watch in 2026 for now as reclassification rumors swirl is Hicks as the Buckeyes have definitely left a major impression on him and could be the team to beat right now.

Auburn, Miami, Clemson and Georgia are others in the mix for the Carrollton, Ga., four-star.

Whether Hopson stays at safety or eventually moves to linebacker is still up for debate but what’s crystal clear is the list of programs that are making the biggest impression on the Lake Cormorant, Miss., standout.

Missouri, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Texas are the four programs Hopson is watching closest and has the best connection with. Last cycle, the Rebels signed teammate Kamarion Franklin so that will be something to consider as well.

Penn State still is in great shape with the Hamden (Conn.) Hamden Hall receiver but a commitment might be pushed back a little since so much new SEC interest has been coming in recently.

Johnson is hearing more from LSU and Texas A&M, Florida remains in the mix and South Carolina has been poking around in recent weeks.

It’s only February but Longstreet is the lone uncommitted pro-style quarterback among the top eight in the 2025 class. His recruitment could really be taking shape in the coming weeks.

A big visit to Auburn will happen in late March and then the Corona (Calif.) Centennial standout is going to visit Oregon, Texas A&M and Ole Miss but is still working out those dates.

His brother, Anthony Jr., flipped from Texas A&M to Ole Miss late and so Maddox’s recruitment could end up being that easy – that he follows his brother to Oxford. But a big visit schedule is coming up this spring as the Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove standout will see Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Auburn and LSU in March and then Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Miami and Georgia in April.

Alabama and Ohio State have been two of the mainstays in Merritt’s recruitment and he will visit both powerhouses in March. In April, the four-star defensive end from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy will be at USC, Texas A&M and Clemson and the two officials Merritt has locked up for June is North Carolina and Ohio State. The Buckeyes could have the edge here but the new coaching staff in Tuscaloosa could make things more interesting.

Since his impressive performance at the Under Armour Atlanta camp, Nash has landed offers from Boston College and Kentucky and now Colorado, Arkansas, Texas and Clemson are talking much more to him. The schools that have reached out the most this week for the four-star offensive tackle from De Kalb (Miss.) Kemper County have been USC, Mississippi State, Missouri, Miami and Florida State as Nash is still finalizing his visit schedule.

Oklahoma is the team standing out most to the four-star safety from Little Rock (Ark.) Parkview as the Sooners have the edge over Oregon, Georgia, LSU and Arkansas at this point. With nearly 30 offers, Robinson is mainly focused on those five and Oklahoma is the top program right now in his recruitment.

Georgia losing position coach Bryan McClendon (the Bulldogs hired James Coley to fill that role) was a big loss but the Bulldogs remain a serious contender for the Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake standout as some big visits are coming up soon.

The four-star receiver will see Alabama, Auburn and Georgia Tech in March and then be at Georgia and Tennessee in April. Florida State has also seriously entered the picture in Smith’s recruitment so that will be one to watch as well moving forward.

Texas, Tennessee and USC are the three programs standing out most to the 2026 four-star linebacker from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei as those coaching staffs have been most aggressive with Scott early as the Longhorns and the Trojans could end up battling it out. Ohio State and Alabama stopped by the school recently and Scott will visit with the Buckeyes in late March to get a better feel for that program.

Texas is definitely going to be a program to watch for the four-star receiver from San Antonio (Texas) Alamo Heights especially after a recent visit to Austin went really well. He’s told others that the Longhorns will be in his top three but they could be even higher.

TCU, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Oregon and Baylor have been the programs hitting Terry up the most.

Numerous Big Ten programs but especially Michigan, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin seem to be making a major impression on the four-star defensive end from Palatine, Ill., but a new SEC program has been stepping it up majorly – and Williams is taking notice.

Missouri was one of his first offers and now the Tigers are jumping in his recruitment “big-time” as the four-star also loves the defensive scheme in Columbia.

A top nine was released by the four-star defensive end from Humble (Texas) Summer Creek earlier in January but the five that have made the biggest impression at this point heading into March are Texas, Texas Tech, USC, LSU and Baylor.

There is some chatter that the Longhorns could have the edge for Woodfork but more visits should be coming up and others are definitely pursuing him heavily as well.