It was another exciting weekend on the recruiting trail as prospects continue to lock in their college futures before the kickoff of their respective senior seasons.
A couple more quarterbacks came off the board, Florida moved into the Top10 of the 247Sports Recruiting Rankings, Clemson and LSU added to their respective Top10 classes and Alabama, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas tech and Tennessee were among the other schools to add top targets.
247Sports gives you the rundown here.
Florida flexes on SEC rivals
The weekend the Gators had on the recruiting trail is one that can help you quickly reinvent a program.
Billy Napier and his first-year Gators staff landed four top targets, all front-seven defenders as they try and revamp a unit that a season ago ranked No. 51 in total defense, a group that struggled to stop the run all year ranking No. 85 nationally in that category. That’s an SEC no no right there!
While this fall Florida will implement defensive coordinator Patrick Toney’s new scheme (No. 22 nationally and No. 11 in scoring defense last year at Louisiana) which should boost the productivity, this program appears to have the calvary on the way.
Top247 defensive lineman Kelby Collins chose Florida over his other finalists Alabama and Georgia. Top247 defensive lineman Kamran James chose the Gators over Georgia and he had a slew of other opportunities including Alabama as well. Top247 defensive lineman Will Norman committed to Florida over LSU and Texas A&M among others. And in the 2024 class, the 247Sports Composite’s No. 2 linebacker Myles Graham chose to play for his father’s alma mater over 41 other scholarships. Graham is commit No. 1 in the rising junior class for Napier and company.
This program is winning many of the right battles on the trail, which obviously makes for a promising future on the field.
Collins is 6-foot-5, 280-pounds and the new jewel of the class. Norman checks in at 6-5, 290 and James is 6-foot-6 1/2, 265-pounds. They join a haul that already includes T.J. Searcy 6-5, 250 and Gavin Hill who is 6-3, 255 giving the Gators five Top247 defensive linemen in the fold to date (compared to two a cycle ago). Holding on to Chris McClellan last cycle and scoring Jamari Lyons gives Florida seven Top247 defensive linemen since Napier took over. This has all the makings to be one of the more ferocious fronts in college football and among that group there is a lot of athleticism, length and position flexibility.
Graham who is an instinctive, incredibly hard-hitting linebacker, could be arriving in Gainesville at the right time to run behind those older defensive linemen that will get some seasoning before he introduces himself to the SEC.
Florida’s class is loaded on the defensive line and they’re not done still pursuing a few other elite targets including guys like five-stars James Smith and Qua Russaw . The receiver class is dynamic and will really bolster another room in need of a talent upgrade. They’re in the process of putting together back-to-back strong classes in the secondary and true freshman linebacker Shemar James (another recruiting win over Alabama and Georgia) looks like he’s going to be one of the SEC’s best linebackers at some point down the road.
Add in the fact Florida unveiled what some are saying are now the best facilities in college football on Sunday and the arrow is rocketing up for the Gators.
Penn State picks up their quarterback
The Nittany Lions No. 11 class now includes West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling Catholic signal-caller Jaxon Smolik who saw his stock rise this summer which included a strong showing at the Elite 11 Finals in June where he arrived a commit to Tulane at the time. Fortunes are turning for Smolik who saw injury wipe away all but four games of his junior season, but he showed enough promise and ability on tape and a camp performance in State College in July saw James Franklin and his staff prioritize him and ultimately land his pledge. California also offered Smolik late with Notre Dame and Wisconsin two other schools kicking tires.
“I think he’s going to surprise some people before it’s all said and done,” Dowling Catholic head coach Tom Wilson said.
“He can make any throw that you need to make and he’s more mobile and a better athlete than what people give him credit for,” Wilson said. “I think Jaxon has dedicated himself to be the best he can be at this time. I think with everything he’s been through it shows what it all means to him. I think his upside honestly is that he can run a passing game and find your open people. He’s going to work hard at figuring out exactly what they want. He can make every throw and we’re counting on him to do that for us. He’s running an RPO system, he understands he’s running a nice passing attack at the high school level I think. The challenge of college ball will make him elevate himself. I think he’s a competitor as most people are at that position and not easily rattled. He’s always been a cool customer. The competition at Penn State and who they play I think is something he’ll be able to handle.”
Mississippi State lands their quarterback as well
Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood four-star quarterback Chris Parson , who also performed well at the Elite 11 Finals, announced his commitment to Mississippi State on Friday evening during a live broadcast on 247Sports . He chose the Bulldogs over TCU, SMU and Virginia Tech among others.
“He is the most unbelievable leader I’ve been around,” Ravenwood head coach Will Hester said.
Parson is also the best quarterback Hester has been around, throwing for over 2,000 yards, rushing for over 1,000 and racking up 42 total touchdowns in the process as a junior.
Mississippi State ranked No. 4 nationally in passing offense last fall and Parson looks like the guy who can keep Mike Leach’s machine rolling.
Louisville continues to make big moves
Miami (Fla.) Central four-star linebacker Stanquan Clark announced his commitment to Louisville on the 247Sports Channel , choosing the Cardinals over 20 other opportunities. He adds to a haul ranked No. 16 nationally by the 247Sports Composite.
With Clark in the fold, Scott Satterfield and his staff add one of the fastest second-level defenders in the country. He used that speed to rack up 131 tackles as a junior with 24 coming behind the line of scrimmage. He’s a get-home linebacker on blitzes that can run sideline to sideline and also erase mistakes in front of him with those wheels.
John Herron led the charge for the ACC program on the trail in this one, and with Clark committing he makes for eight of the 14 verbals now ranking four-star or better. When looking at Louisville’s classes 2018-2022 combined they only signed nine total four-stars.
Notable commitments around the nation
LSU beat out Texas A&M to add Zachary (La.) High Top247 defensive back Kylin Jackson to the nation’s No. 6 class.
Clemson adds Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne and Nichols School Top247 athlete Ronan Hanafin to the No. 8 class in the land and they’ll play the 6-3, 210-pound prospect at wide receiver. Several schools loved him at linebacker. Alabama, Notre Dame and Boston College were the other finalists.
Safety is a big need for Ohio State this cycle and they beat out Miami for one of their top targets at the position in Jersey City (NJ) St. Peters Prep four-star Jayden Bonsu . Bonsu is one of the most violent tacklers on film in the 2023 class. He is the third safety in the fold for the Buckeyes alongside fellow four-stars in Malik Hartford and Cedrick Hawkins .
Tennessee held off Georgia to land high-upside cornerback Rickey Gibson out of Alabama. The Vols have the nation’s No. 12 class.
Oklahoma’s No. 7 class saw Mustang (Okla.) High Top247 prospect Jacobe Johnson jump into the mix. The state’s No. 2 player was loved by the Sooners offensive staff but the 6-foot-3, 183-pound Johnson will begin his career at cornerback where he was also coveted by Brent Venables .
Texas Tech added prized in-state defensive lineman Ansel Nedore to its No. 16 ranked recruiting class. Baylor, Houston, SMU, TCU and Texas also offered Nedore.
Michigan added a stud two-way player out of California in Carlsbad (Calif.) High standout Zack Marshall , who at 6-foot-4, 220-pounds will play tight end in Ann Arbor after catching 44 passes for 1,012 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. He had 31 tackles and three interceptions as well.
Alabama’s offensive line class is coming together, Raymond Pulido out of Apple Valley (Calif.) High the latest to jump in. The Crimson Tide have the No. 1 class in America.
New Auburn cornerback commit JC Hart ran sub 4.4 in camp for the Tigers and has the length coveted at the position.
San Francisco (Calif.) Sacred Heart linebacker Jerry Mixon gave his verbal to Oregon on the 247Sports YouTube Channel adding to a class ranked No. 15 nationally.
Memphis (Tenn.) Briarcrest athlete Max Carroll committed to TCU over the weekend on the 247Sports platform adding to 247Sports No. 21 recruiting class.
Missouri added linebacker Brayshawn Littlejohn out of Gaffney (SC) High who had 87 tackles including 20 stops for loss as a junior.