No. 1 athlete Samuel M'Pemba locks in Oregon official visit
St. Louis (Mo.) IMG Academy athlete Samuel M’Pemba has set his second official visit in the month of June. A week after heading to Notre Dame on June 17, M’Pemba will head across the country to see Oregon, he announced Wednesday on Twitter.
The trip will be the first known visit to Eugene for M’Pemba, who ranks as the No. 1 athlete in the 2023 class. He also checks in as the nation’s No. 25 overall prospect, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Oregon has been involved in his recruitment since extending an offer last February, and the new head coaching staff under Dan Lanning has continue to pursue him. Lanning was also part of the staff at Georgia recruiting M’Pemba. The Bulldogs are considered the current leader for his commitment, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). It gives the Bulldogs a 65.8 percent chance of landing M’Pemba.
“Notre Dame has been the school attached to Samuel M’Pemba for some time, and the Irish are still high on his list, but there is another school putting their name in the mix,” On3’s Chad Simmons wrote late last month. “It is Georgia. M’Pemba took his first visit to Athens last weekend and it could not have gone any better. Multiple coaches from Georgia are recruiting the star out of St. Louis and he is going back for an official visit. This is a new school in the mix, but it sounds like Georgia has moved into the top two with the Irish.”
The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder has played both tight end and EDGE at the high school level, but is being recruiting primarily to be play on the defensive side of the ball.
Samuel M’Pemba Scouting Summary
“Physically-gifted two-way athlete, with the highest projected ceiling as an EDGE prospect. Played as a pass rusher and wide receiver at his initial high school prior to transferring to IMG Academy as a junior. Primarily played as a tight end/h-back at IMG during the fall of 2021. A twitchy, gifted athlete capable of explosive, sudden movements that are unique for his size. Showed a high-end first step as a pass rusher during his sophomore season. Has considerable murkiness around his ultimate position. Would benefit greatly from a permanent move to defense as a senior, in our opinion.” — Charles Power, On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings