Recruiting rumor mill: Top 2026 candidates are starting to narrow their focus
What’s better than a Christmas recruitment rumor mill? Click here for the latest from Rivals National Recruitment Director Adam Gorney.
The Naperville North quarterback from Naperville (Ind.) has been with Ball State since June, and Bell recently took an official visit to Ball State. Indiana And now he has an offer from the Hoosiers. Hours later, Bell withdrew his commitment to Ball State.
Nothing has been decided yet, but Bell said Indiana’s offer would be “very hard to turn down.”
georgia He remains a top candidate for recruiting Bowman because he loves what the Bulldogs have done with Brock Bowers and many other tight ends. texas It’s also very high on his list. Oregon, University of Southern California and miami The remaining three are Santa Ana (Calif.) standout Mater Dei, who is considering reclassifying to the 2026 class.
Bowman hopes to take a quick visit to the Miami campus to show her parents during the holidays.
A number of top programs are making a serious rush for the 2026 four-star tight end from Visalia (Calif.). Mount Whitney and Briggs are still busy with recruiting, but a visit to Mount Whitney is scheduled for the weekend. University of California Los Angeles It definitely helped the Bruins.
Briggs meets with many coaches and loves new offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri. Miami, Arizona programs, Oregon and others continue to search.
LSU The four-star defensive back from Houston (Texas) North Shore is a top prospect and could play cornerback or safety in college, but two new offers have increased his interest in an official visit. , the situation may change.
Oregon State, in particular, has piqued Calicut’s interest, as will the success and development of Michigan State’s defensive backs, who are looking to visit both places.
The 2026 four-star quarterback from Mission Viejo, Calif., is not rushing into a decision and is patiently considering his visit schedule this offseason.
Cal and Ole Miss They are the two mainstays of his reinforcements and look like a team that can win, but SMUWashington State; cincinnati and oklahoma All are emerging as candidates.
The four-star cornerback’s visit from Miami (Fla.) Northwestern has not yet been finalized, but it could be very difficult for the Hurricanes to win his acquisition.
syracuse He is serious at Flowers and the young coaching staff is interested in him. pennsylvania state university is also high on the list, but the focus remains on Miami.
The five-star receiver hails from Ohio State and has been a committed player. ohio For over a year now, he has loved the receiver development and relationships with the position coaches in Columbus. brian hartline Excellent.
That being said, Oregon is also serious about Santa Ana (Calif.) standout Star Dei, who also hopes to join a number of SEC programs. tennessee, AlabamaLSU, Texas; Texas A&M – before ending things.
Loyola, a four-star cornerback from Los Angeles (Calif.), has been committed to USC for over a year and has a strong relationship, especially with the new defensive coach, but he hasn’t given up on other top teams either.
Oregon takes big leap with Lockhart, Georgia tops in relationship with position coach donte williamsUCLA is strengthening with its coach Demetris Martin Return to Westwood notre dame cathedral is also rapidly increasing. USC has his commitment, but there’s a lot of competition.
Auburn, LSU and others are attracting McGuskin’s attention, but florida After his recent visit to Tallahassee, he may have come a long way.
Williamson, a 2027 four-star linebacker out of Mobile (Ala.), was left wondering how the coaches communicated with him on the road as the Seminoles may have taken an early lead. I loved how all the recruits interacted with him.
The productive four-star receiver from Mission Viejo, Calif., committed to Georgia State in November and loves everything about the Bulldogs, but he doesn’t like the players who finished runner-up in his recruitment and others. The players haven’t given up. Ole Miss is working hard this season with other players who have had over 1,000 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in Spafford.
Spafford is said to be planning up to seven official visits before shutting everything down, so there may be some leeway for other programs.
The four-star cornerback out of Woodward Academy in College Park, Ga., is scheduled to take Junior Day visits to a number of schools in January, and has attracted early attention from many schools.
Texas, Miami, Texas A&M, kentucky, michigan, Vanderbilt, pittsburgh, Georgia Tech And Georgia is all in that first group.
As we heard heading into the offseason, two programs jumped to the forefront for the four-star offensive guard in Savannah (Ga.) Jenkins.
Georgia and Vanderbilt are two teams to watch as there are rumors that Thompson could show up for the recent visit to Florida State, but the Seminoles haven’t had much contact at this point.
Alabama has been one of Washington’s top programs throughout Washington’s recruiting efforts, and while the Crimson Tide continues to do well heading into the offseason, Washington’s list appears to be expanding.
Oregon is definitely one to watch as several Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman teammates have signed with Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame to round out the top group. This is the team we should be in.
Just a few weeks later at the Navy All-American Bowl, St. John Bosco, a four-star receiver from Bellflower (Calif.), will commit to Texas A&M, Oregon. arizonaPenn State, Ohio State, and Texas were in his lead group.
The Aggies have been considered the favorites for a while, but Ohio State is always tough to beat, even for the top receivers.
Womack closely monitors every move in the College Football Playoff and transfer portal before naming the top programs, but the four-star safety from Brandon (Mich.) Hartfield Academy knows his current top five. .
Ohio State has been considered a top prospect for some time, along with the likes of Alabama, Texas and Texas A&M, with things changing dramatically in the coming months.
