With the high school football calendar cranked up and the college football season upon us, it’s time for a second Recruiting Rumor Mill this week. Here’s the latest from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney.
MORE GORNEY: Monday's Rumor Mill | Commitment predictions for five-stars | Michigan documentary left more unanswered questions | All-Freshman Defense | All-Freshman Offense
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CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
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The 2026 five-star defender is still figuring out the rest of his schedule but the Loganville (Ga.) Grayson standout will attend the Georgia-Clemson game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta this weekend to keep a close eye on both teams.
Both the Bulldogs and the Tigers are “high on the list” for Atkinson, who also would like to see Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame and Texas A&M this season.
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The four-star receiver from Mission Viejo, Calif., is down to USC and Ohio State and will announce his commitment on Saturday.
From everything we’re hearing, the Buckeyes definitely look strongest as Bell loved his visits to Columbus, his relationship with position coach Brian Hartline and USC could have other top targets as well.
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Ohio State could have the edge for the 2027 quarterback from Huntington Beach, Calif., and while an early commitment isn’t out of the question, the word is that Edmunds wants to take more visits before a possible fall commitment.
Edmunds will be in Columbus when the Buckeyes host Nebraska, he’s going to Texas for the Georgia game, USC for the Penn State matchup and then UCLA when Oregon visits. The 2027 standout is also trying to figure out a Michigan trip, too.
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The four-star linebacker from Hampton (Ga.) Lovejoy has nearly 20 offers but a handful are starting to take the lead in his recruitment.
Mississippi State, South Carolina, NC State, Georgia State, Wake Forest and Indiana are the programs to watch in Fairchild’s recruitment.
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It’s still so early for the standout 2028 defensive end who shined at the Rivals Five-Star this summer and right now Ghioto is just collecting offers and figuring out what he likes. Georgia has been the family favorite for so long – his dad is a die-hard Bulldogs fan – so it will be a major contender especially since it offered so early but a new offer from Ohio State means it “definitely will be up there now” as well.
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Another big visitor coming to the Georgia-Clemson game this weekend will be Gidron as the Bulldogs have already offered and there could be significant interest in Clemson for the 2026 four-star receiver from Columbia (S.C.) Ridge View.
Gidron is also taking visits to NC State, South Carolina, Auburn, Florida State, Tennessee, Alabama and possibly Florida.
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It’s not really a secret that Ohio State has emerged as the front-runner for the 2026 four-star defensive end from Matthews (N.C.) Weddington but the word is that Harris could be leaning toward slowing things down and not making a snap decision for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State remains the team to beat but Harris is planning to be at Auburn this weekend.
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Other programs are definitely in the running and it’s too early for a list of front-runners but a new offer from USC will be watched closely. The San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic standout is from Oceanside and so was USC star Junior Seau so that connection could run deep. Now Katoanga will focus on building relationships with the defensive staff.
Oregon has been very high early along with Notre Dame, Miami, Washington, Arizona State and others.
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LSU was the program that jumped out the most early on for the 2026 four-star receiver from Hattiesburg, Miss., and the Tigers are still definitely high on the list but Tennessee has been pushing really hard along with Florida State and Texas A&M.
Keys is planning a ton of visits this season with all those schools on the list along with Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Florida, Notre Dame and Alabama as key destinations.
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A lot of visits could be happening this season for the 2026 four-star defensive end now at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and it starts this weekend as Kreul will see Florida and Miami in The Swamp.
Both programs are coming hard after the four-star who also wants to schedule trips to Michigan, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, Clemson and USC.
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USC remains the front-runner for the 2026 five-star quarterback and it’s another great sign for the Trojans that Lyons will be in Las Vegas on Sunday to watch them in their season opener against LSU.
His brother, Walker, is on the team after a religious mission and USC remains the five-star’s leader. Ole Miss and others are making a push.
Lyons will also be at the BYU game on Saturday.
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Georgia is making a major run at the three-star Minnesota running back commit from Ocilla (Ga.) Irwin County and Marshall plans to be at the Bulldogs’ opener against Clemson at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this weekend.
That’s not the only time Marshall will see Georgia though as he’s planning to visit Athens for an official visit against Auburn and then see where things go from there.
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The 2026 four-star safety from Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph’s does not have any solid visit plans yet but McClain definitely has four programs reaching out the most.
Rutgers, Penn State, Boston College and Syracuse are tops on his list and he could see all four throughout this season.
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A bunch of major visits are coming up for the high four-star receiver from Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon but the word is that USC, Georgia and Utah are currently standing out the most in his recruitment.
Myles will visit Texas A&M this weekend for the big season opener and then he will be at USC the following weekend. He also plans to get out to Georgia for the Auburn matchup and he’ll go to a “few” Utah games as well.
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Alabama and Notre Dame are two others to watch in his recruitment but the 2026 four-star linebacker from Houston (Texas) Mayde Creek could still be working on an in-state battle.
Okpala is planning to be at Texas A&M this weekend for the Notre Dame opener and then he will also make his way to Texas as well as this could be an Aggies-Longhorns tussle until the end.
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Wisconsin (Oct. 5), Oklahoma (Oct. 19), Ole Miss (Oct. 26), Michigan (Nov. 2), Kansas State (Nov. 16) and Missouri (Nov. 30) are the six programs showing the most interest in the 2026 three-star linebacker from Arvada (Colo.) Arvada West and those are the ones that will get game-day visits this season.
There could be others to watch, though, as recently Ohio State and Oregon have really stepped it up in Pyatt’s recruitment.
