Texas, Auburn, Tennessee highlight key recruiting visits to watch this weekend
After a deluge of commitments over the summer and into the early part of the fall, we’ve now entered the most fascinating part of college football recruiting: flip season. More than 90 percent of the nation’s top recruits in the On3 Industry Ranking are already committed to a program, so the pickings are slim when it comes to recruits not already linked with a school.
As the final stretch of the 2024 cycle comes into view, things are getting interesting and some major committed prospects are taking visits. Let’s break down a few key trips to watch this weekend:
Five-Star Plus+ safety KJ Bolden – Auburn
When KJ Bolden committed to Florida State back in early August, Auburn and Georgia were the runners-up with the Tigers having a lot of momentum with Bolden heading into his decision. Ultimately, he chose the Seminoles and it will be a tough flip with what is going on in Tallahassee to start the season. Bolden is still taking visits though, and he was back at Georgia last weekend.
The Tigers have a huge chance to put their best foot forward as we go down the last few months of the cycle. Expect a few other big targets to be in town as well, according to AuburnLive.com’s Jeffrey Lee.
On3 5-star DL LJ McCray – Auburn
Other than his Florida State official visit next weekend, this will likely be the last trip for five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray before he makes a mid-October commitment. He maintains that each of his top five schools — Miami, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Florida State — are all still in the mix. According to On3’s Chad Simmons, he favors the Gators and Bulldogs slightly, but a lot can change over the course of a few weeks in recruiting.
Auburn’s coaching staff has developed a good rapport with him, and big on-field results Saturday could go a long way in their favor.
5-star OT Jordan Seaton – Tennessee
The nation’s No. 1 offensive tackle in the On300 rankings, Jordan Seaton was set for an official visit to Oklahoma this weekend. Earlier this week though, he canceled that trip with no plans yet to reschedule and instead will be at Tennessee this weekend. The Volunteers are making a major push with Seaton, and he told On3’s Josh Newberg that he also plans to take an official visit to Knoxville later this fall.
Florida and Alabama seem to be the biggest contenders at this point, but it might be time to add Tennessee to that list after this weekend.
4-star CB Kam Mikell – Tennessee
Along with Seaton, four-star Statesboro (Ga.) cornerback Kam Mikell is among the biggest targets left on Tennessee’s board. The Vols were the first school to approach the dynamic playmaker about playing wide receiver at the next level, and he’s excited about the prospect of that. He recently took an official visit to Colorado, and Georgia, Texas A&M and Kentucky are a few other teams still in the mix. But Tennessee has some strong momentum at their back.
“Really, I just want to keep building on what we have,” Mikell told Volquest of what he hopes to get out of this weekend’s visit. “I want to see how I fit with them and just see how things go. Just really being around them and continuing to see what that is like for me.”
Among the other expected visitors in town are four-star athlete commit Boo Carter, four-star running back target Daniel Hill, and five-star wide receiver commit Mike Matthews.
For a full list, visit Volquest.com.
4-star IOL DeAndre Carter – Texas
When DeAndre Carter committed to Auburn at the beginning of the month, Texas was considered to be the other main contender. He is set for an official visit this weekend, one he already had on the books prior to his commitment. That can be looked at one of two ways: he is simply keeping his word to visit the Longhorns from when he said he would this summer, or Texas has some momentum in its efforts to flip him.
The Longhorns recently landed his high school teammate, five-star offensive tackle Brandon Baker, and they’re looking for one more addition to the offensive line class.
Another key official visitor is expected in town, and that’s four-star EDGE Solomon Williams, according to InsideTexas.com’s Gerry Hamilton.
4-star WR Nick Marsh – Colorado
Colorado has some big names coming to Boulder this weekend for the USC game, including five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman who is expected to take an unofficial visit. But potentially the most intriguing visitor though is four-star Michigan State wide receiver commit Nick Marsh. He pledged to Michigan State back in early July, but with the firing of head coach Mel Tucker and the uncertainty around the Spartans’ program, Colorado extended an offer earlier this month and will get him on campus for the first time this weekend.