Weekend visit preview: 5-star visitors expected at Alabama, A&M, elsewhere

Week 10 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.

Alabama to host 7 On3 Consensus 5 stars

Any time you host the nation’s No. 1 recruit it’s a big deal. But for Alabama, this weekend’s visit list features not just the top 2022 prospect Marvin Jones Jr. but also six other five-star prospects in the senior class.

Jones out of Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage ranks as the No. 1 player in the country, according to On3. He heads to visit the Crimson Tide with Alabama battling Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida State for his commitment. The Seminoles will receive the final official visit on Nov. 13. Oklahoma is very much in the mix for the FSU legacy. And the Crimson Tide gets a chance to make a big push this weekend.

On3 Consensus five-star cornerback and longtime USC commitment Domani Jackson of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei will also be using a 48-hour, all-expenses-paid-for trip to Alabama this weekend.

A quintuple of five-star seniors and Alabama commitments will also be making unofficial visits to the Capstone: EDGE Jeremiah Alexander of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, quarterback Ty Simpson of Martin (Tenn.) Westview, running back Emmanuel Henderson of Hartford (Ala.) Geneva County and tight end Jaleel Skinner and offensive tackle Tyler Booker of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.

Also, expected for an unofficial visit is five-star Anthony Lucas of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral. The Crimson Tide has been high on his list for a while, and On3’s Chad Simmons believes an SEC battle between Alabama and Texas A&M is brewing.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Alabama’s big recruiting weekend. Read a full breakdown of the prospects expected on campus at the Capstone and more from BCS Alabama.

5 stars Walter Nolen, Evan Stewart key visits for A&M

The biggest game of the college football weekend is at Texas A&M with Auburn coming to College Station. With the spotlight on the big game, it’s no surprise the Aggies are using the environment to host a quality crop of visitors.

The biggest names in the bunch are five stars Walter Nolen and Evan Stewart.

Nolen is the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The 6-foot-4, 345-pounder from Powell (Tenn.) High was originally thought to be in Tuscaloosa this weekend. But the Tide seem to be slowing down their pursuit, which is a good omen for the Aggies.

On3’s Chad Simmons reported earlier this week the intel continues to look good for Texas A&M with Tennessee the next biggest threat.

Stewart, the No. 3 overall player in the On3 Consensus, has been trending toward A&M over the past few weeks, Simmons reported. After originally appearing like he was going to end up at Florida, or maybe Alabama, the Aggies are in a good spot and appear to be battling Texas for his commitment.

Another 5 star visiting Texas A&M?

Five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Banks of Humble (Texas) Summer Creek made national headlines when spurned local schools Texas and Texas A&M to commit to Mario Cristobal and the Oregon Ducks on July 4.

Texas, which needs franchise offensive linemen like Banks, has yet to relent in its pursuit of the Houston area star. And neither has Texas A&M, which has been pushing hard to get him on campus.

That visit could materialize this weekend, Banks said. While it wasn’t set in stone by Thursday morning, all indications are that Banks will be in College Station this weekend.

On3’s flip forecast says there’s a 30% chance Banks could change his commitment from Oregon. But that number could climb if he makes it to A&M this weekend.

While the five-stars headline the weekend in College Station, there are plenty more top targets heading to A&M. Check out the full breakdown on the expected Aggie visitors.

5-star OT Kiyaunta Goodwin switches UK visit up

On3 Consensus five-star offensive tackle and longtime Kentucky commit Kiyaunta Goodwin of Charlestown (Ind.) High was scheduled to take an official visit to Lexington this weekend. However, Kentucky Sports Radio’s Nick Roush is reporting the visit this weekend will be an unofficial visit for the nation’s No. 14 player.

Roush is reporting Goodwin has a family event that will keep him from completing the 48-hour official visit with Kentucky this weekend. Instead, Goodwin will just be on campus for an unofficial visit. He’ll be there to watch the 6-2 Wildcats host 4-4 Tennessee Volunteers in one of the biggest games of the weekend.

Goodwin, who has been committed to Kentucky since April, is coming off an impressive official visit to Michigan State last weekend. He has also visited Alabama officially and has other visits to Ohio State (Nov. 20) and Michigan (Nov. 27) lined up.

Check out more details about Goodwin’s change of plans and another visitor expected in Lexington.

Will Walker Howard visit Ole Miss?

On3 Consensus four-star quarterback and longtime LSU commitment Walker Howard was expected to take an official visit to Ole Miss this weekend. However, Ben Garrett of OM Spirt is reporting that the visit is still very much up in the air on Thursday morning.

“I’d heard rumblings there was no guarantee Howard would make it in this weekend, and I was able to confirm as much in talking with multiple Ole Miss sources,” Garrett reported. “Put simply, whether he’s in attendance for Liberty is very much up in the air, though Ole Miss fully anticipates having Howard in at some point in the near future, possibly for Texas A&M.”

Howard, the No. 34 overall player in the 2022 On3 Consensus rankings, committed to the Tigers under head coach Ed Orgeron, who will not be returning next season. The Tiger legacy chose LSU over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Texas A&M and others.

Howard has given no indications that he was wavering on his commitment to the Tigers, but a visit to Ole Miss would be his second visit to another program in the past few weeks. He attended Notre Dame’s win against USC last weekend.

Georgia to host solid group of official visitors

It’s not the biggest visit weekend for Georgia, but there’s still a good group of prospects making their way to campus for visits for the Bulldogs.

The headliner in the bunch is On3 Consensus five-star safety Jacoby Mathews of Ponchatoula (La.) High. Mathews has already taken official visits to Texas A&M and Texas, but key visits to Georgia, Florida (Dec. 3), and Alabama (Dec. 10) will shape his decision.

What happens with the LSU coaching situation could also be a factor in the five-star’s recruitment. But it’ll be the Dawgs’ chance to make a big impression on the official visit this weekend.

Also making an official visit to UGA is On3 Consensus four-star linebacker Shemar James of Mobile (Ala.) Faith Academy. James was previously committed to Florida, but he backed off that pledge and is now looking hard at Alabama and Georgia. The Tide seems to be the team to beat, but UGA will try to change that momentum this weekend.

Hero Kanu will be at UGA

Consensus four-star defensive lineman Hero Kanu of Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita Catholic continues his official visit tour this weekend with a stop at Georgia.

His visit to Ohio State last weekend came after trips to Oklahoma and Notre Dame, respectively, over the previous two weekends. The visit to UGA will be his last, as LSU is no longer under consideration.

Oregeron was a major reason for Kanu’s interest in the Tigers. But with Oregeron on the way out following the season, Kanu has cut his list down to those other four schools.

The Buckeyes are right at the top of that list. Kanu has visited Ohio State more times than any of the other schools, but he’s come short of calling them the team to beat heading into the visit to UGA.

Check out more details about Georgia’s official visit weekend and read more about the trips from DawgsHQ.

Other key visits:

• Michigan isn’t hosting a long list of visitors, but it is bringing one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2022 class in town for an official visit. Bryce Archie of Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern will be on campus, according to The Wolverine. Archie is a talented quarterback with a ton of upside as well as a high-level shortstop that also throws 93 mph on the mound. He is personally being recruited by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, and is looking hard at the Wolverines, despite being a longtime Coastal Carolina commitment.
  
• With Oregon coming to town for a rivalry game, Washington plans to have a good group of visitors on campus for unofficial visits. One of the big names to keep an eye on is On3 Consensus four-star junior cornerback Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena (Calif.) High. Pleasant ranks as the No. 141 player in the country, according to the On3 Consensus. Pleasant finished runner up to five-star USC cornerback commit Domani Jackson‍ in the 100-meter dash in the 2020 California state championship track meet. 
  
• Louisville hosts Clemson this weekend and the Cards are using the big game as an opportunity to bring upwards of 50 prospects to campus for visits. Louisville anticipates players from nearly 20 different states at the game, including C.J. Jacobsen. The star junior receiver from Meridian (Idaho) Rocky Mountain High is considered the top 2023 player in the state. UCLA, Boise State, Nevada, Washington, Michigan State and Utah are other teams high on his early list.