May Recruiting Winners: Georgia nabs a 5-star, Kentucky and Oregon get their QBs
The month of May can be hit-or-miss on the recruiting trail when it comes to big-time commitments. Official visits opened on the 1st of the month, but with the end of high school spring football, classes, etc., most prospects will wait until June before taking their key official visits that can lead to decisions.
While it likely doesn’t hold a candle to what we’ll see over the next few months (namely June and July), this May had a number of notable commits, including the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit in the On3 Industry Ranking coming off the board. A few other programs secured their signal-caller of the future, and others just built more momentum heading into the summer months.
Presenting May’s biggest recruiting winners:
Georgia
May Commitments: 4
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 92.19
The Bulldogs have an outside shot at landing the best recruiting class ever this cycle, but to do that they absolutely needed Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Dylan Raiola on board. After weeks of cautious optimism around Athens, Raiola made it official May 15 that he is going to be a Bulldog. Less than 10 days later, On3 No. 1 tight end Jaden Reddell joined up with UGA and Raiola was no small part of that.
In between Kirby Smart and Co. added commitments from hulking offensive lineman Marcus Harrison and tight end Colton Heinrich, who says he models his game after Dallas Cowboys legend Jason Witten.
Oregon
May Commitments: 4
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 91.13
Dan Lanning and his staff closed the 2023 cycle with a couple of huge wins by flipping four-star quarterback Austin Novosad and landing elite EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei to finish with the nation’s No. 8 recruiting class. They have eyes on topping that in 2024 and just might be able to do so.
May was a banner month for the Ducks, landing four-star quarterback Michael Van Buren and coveted cornerback Ify Obidegwu from the D.C. area, four-star defensive lineman Xadavien Sims out of Oklahoma, and On300 wideout Dillon Gresham out of California. Had it not been for Raiola and Georgia, Oregon would like have been the runaway winners here.
Notre Dame
May Commitments: 5
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 89.20
Much like Lanning and the Ducks, Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have been as hot as anyone on the recruiting trail in the first half (ish) of the 2024 cycle. Sixteen prospects have already added their name to Notre Dame’s commit board, including nine blue-chippers. The headliners in May, where they grabbed five commitments, were four-star EDGE Loghan Thomas out of Katy (Texas) Paetow and top-250 wideout Micah Gilbert, a ready-made impact player.
But don’t sleep on the additions of linebacker Bodie Kahoun, safety Kennedy Urlacher and athlete Teddy Rezac as potentially impactful additions to Notre Dame’s defense down the road.
Tennessee
May Commitments: 2
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 90.97
There were a lot of questions around whether Tennessee’s 2023 class — after an excellent year on the field in the SEC — would be an outlier for Josh Heupel. I think we can consider that question answered with a resounding ‘no.’ The Vols already have 12 commits on the board, including six top-300 prospects. May brought to them four-star EDGE Kellen Lindstrom, who they beat out Oklahoma for, and four-star running back Peyton Lewis.
The latter brings major playmaking ability to Tennessee’s backfield and further solidifies what could end up as a terrific offensive class for Heupel with the Volunteers trending for five-star wide receivers Mike Matthews and Ryan Wingo.
Kentucky
May Commitments: 1
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 93.37
Kentucky didn’t take a quarterback in either the 2022 or 2023 classes, and they seemed content to stick with the transfer portal instead of going after anyone in 2024. Lexington native and four-star Cutter Boley changed that when he reclassified from 2025 and committed to the Wildcats earlier this month. He was their only commitment, but there are few bigger ones for a program like UK than keeping an elite quarterback in your own backyard.
Colorado
May Commitments: 1
Avg. Rating Per Commit: 92.70
Deion Sanders has completely overhauled his roster, to the tune of 50-plus transfers since he took over in December. And while the need for an instant injection of talent was paramount to his success in Year 1, the Buffaloes also have to build a strong 2024 recruiting class with the hype around the program.
Coach Prime got his biggest high school commitment yet in May, pulling four-star Calabasas (Calif.) athlete Aaron Butler away from the likes of Georgia, Oregon, Alabama and Miami. The Buffs are only up to five commits in 2024, but already have the nation’s No. 24 recruiting class in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.