Weekend visit preview: Texas hosts Arch Manning, key targets at UGA, OU, UT
Week 7 of the college football season is upon us and there are a lot of good matchups, which means top recruits will be flocking to campuses again for official and unofficial visits. On3 previews the top recruiting trips scheduled for the weekend and breaks down the most important visits.
Next stop on Arch Manning tour: Texas
After having the red carpet rolled out for him at Georgia and then Alabama, Arch Manning will be in Austin this weekend to watch the Longhorns battle Oklahoma State.
Manning – the nation’s No. 1 junior prospect and the third generation of Manning quarterbacks set to star in college football – will be the toast of the Forty Acres. He is the most important visitor on an impressive list of prospects at the game.
After Saturday’s Texas game, Manning plans to visit Ole Miss on Oct. 23 and Clemson on Oct. 30.
The battle for Manning’s commitment is shaping up to be one of the biggest in recent memory, and the On3 experts have made the first predictions in the industry on where he might end up. While the confidence level is low from most, there is a current consensus on the program most likely to land his pledge.
The visit is so important that Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is going to be visiting Manning’s game on Thursday night. The relationship between Sarkisian and Manning is great, and Manning praised the first-year head coach this past Friday in an interview with InsideTexas.
Manning not only 5-star visitor for Texas
The Longhorns are hosting an elite crew of visitors, featuring five-star TE Jaleel Skinner, S Jacoby Mathews, DL Quency Wiggins, OL Earnest Greene and Malik Agbo and SLarry Turner-Gooden.
Inside Texas confirmed the unofficial visit with Skinner’s mom Thursday morning. That Skinner, a five-star tight end and Alabama commitment, is visiting is somewhat of a surprise.
Mathews, the No. 42 player in the On300 from Ponchatoula (La.) High, is listed as a tentative official visitor. But all the others have been confirmed as heading to town for official visits.
There also are a handful of top uncommitted seniors coming in for unofficial visits. The biggest names in the bunch are five-star WR Evan Stewart of Frisco (Texas) Liberty and five-star CB Denver Harris.
For a more complete list of visitors heading to Austin, check out Inside Texas’ coverage of the big recruiting weekend.
Banner weekend in Athens
The Georgia Bulldogs are expecting No. 5 overall and five-star DL Mykel Williams of Columbus (Ga.) Hardaway on campus this weekend. The longtime USC commitment has visited Athens countless times, and there continues to be a lot of intel indicating a flip from the Trojans eventually COULD happen.
Four-star and On300 CB Jaheim Singletary of Jacksonville Riverside and On300 S Kamari Wilson of IMG Academy are scheduled to visit. Singletary lists Georgia, Florida and Miami as his top teams, while insiders continue to feel good about the Dawgs’ chances with Wilson.
Georgia also will get a chance to shift the momentum from Mizzou with On300 WR Luther Burden. The No. 90 player in the country takes his official visit to UGA just four days before he announces his decision.
For a more complete look at Georgia’s recruiting weekend, be sure to visit On3’s DawgsHQ.
Sooners host 3 big names
On300 DL Hero Kanu is scheduled to take his official visit to Oklahoma this weekend. The nation’s No. 189 player narrowed his list to five schools recently. The schools that made the cut were LSU, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Georgia.
Insiders have had a hard time figuring out what school truly is on top for Kanu, which means the round of official visits coming up will be huge when it comes time to decide.
Niceville (Fla.) High four-star safety Azareye’h Thomas also is heading to Norman this weekend. Thomas is one of the best safeties in the country, ranking as the No. 143 overall recruit. He previously his stated his top three is Florida, Georgia Tech and LSU. The Sooners have been on his list, but never were considered one of his top teams.
Sought-after 2023 EDGE Nyckoles Harbor of Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll also is scheduled to be in Norman this weekend. Getting him on campus early in the process is a big win for Oklahoma. The Sooners are part of a top group that includes Michigan, Maryland, Oregon and Penn State.
Harbor – a potential five-star prospect – will be looking hard at the school’s football and track programs. He is one of the best sprinters in the country; he ran a 10.38-second 100-meter time and a 21.36-second 200-meter time as a sophomore.
On3 has a more complete look at the top targets visiting OU this weekend and a few other names to look out for.
5-star Walter Nolen visiting Rocky Top
It’s only fitting that Ole Miss and Tennessee – one of the biggest games of the weekend in college football – will attract a visit from one of the top recruits in the country.
Powell (Tenn.) High five-star DL Walter Nolen is confirmed for his visit to Knoxville this weekend. It’s one of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend, and Nolen will be there with a good group of visitors.
On3’s Chad Simmons talked with Nolen last week about his visit schedule and this scheduled unofficial visit to Tennessee. Nolen will be joined by his brother, 2025 offensive lineman Warren Nolen, who already has major offers, including from UT. In fact, the Vols were his first offer. Other members of the Nolen family will be there, too.
“On visits is when I get the best feel for the players, the coaches, the atmosphere, and I will learn a lot,” Nolen said.
On3 reviews other top targets visiting UT this weekend.
Other key visits
+ Consensus three-star WR Mudia Reuben of Kansas City Park Hill South will be at Kansas State this weekend for an official visit when the Wildcats play Iowa State. Rueben recently was at Stanford on an official visit, and Vanderbilt is also under consideration. Reuben hopes to have a final decision within the next month. The Cardinal is considered the team to beat. Highly coveted junior quarterback Avery Johnson of Maize (Kan.) High is also due in town for “Farmageddon.” Johnson is the most sought-after recruit in Kansas at this point. And top-40 national prospect Chandavian Bradley is making a return visit to Manhattan.
+ Despite an 11 a.m. kickoff against Auburn, Arkansas is going to have a quality group of unofficial visitors. The biggest name is consensus four-star WR Samuel Mbake of Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb. Mbake has previously listed Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State as his top teams. Two underclass quarterbacks also are due on campus – junior Vic Sutton of Madison (Miss.) Central and sophomore Adrian Posse, a potential four-star from Miami Monsignor Pace.
+ St. Petersburg (Fla.) Northeast consensus three-star S D’Angelo Hutchinson, who committed to Iowa State last month, is set for an official visit to Louisville this weekend. Before his commitment to the Cyclones, Hutchinson also was considering Georgia State, South Dakota, Southern Miss, UCF and Western Kentucky. Louisville consensus three-star WR commitment Maurice Turner of Douglas (Ga.) Coffee also is set to make an official visit to Louisville this weekend.
+ Utah gets a chance to impress in-state target Carson Tabaracci, a consensus three-star athlete from Park City High. Notre Dame recently entered the picture with an offer in mid-September. Tabaracci is scheduled to visit South Bend next weekend, so this is a chance for the Utes to make a big impression before that trip.