Signing Day is less than five weeks away. While the summer months are when a majority of the blue-chip prospects make verbal commitments, action is starting to pick back up again on the recruiting front as college staffs evaluate senior seasons and look to supplement their rosters through the high school rankings. Below are six recruitments that have grabbed my attention over the last few days. You should be paying attention, too, especially to things like the decommitment tracker.
QB Bryce Underwood (LSU commit)
It’s rare for the No. 1-ranked prospect to waver on his decision late in the process, but it has happened before and Michigan is making a fourth-quarter push for Bryce Underwood as the Wolverines search for both a short and long-term answer at quarterback.
It wasn’t too long ago that the scouting department at 247Sports was wondering if Underwood would finish atop the Top247 after a rather quiet offseason, but he has taken his play to another level as a senior and is displaying Cam Ward-like field command, beating opponents with both his arm and legs.
Most quarterbacks aren’t ready to play as true freshmen, but it’s likely going to be hard to keep Underwood off the field wherever he ends up because he looks to be well ahead of the curve despite being one of the youngest prospects in the entire class.
If Sherrone Moore can pry Underwood away from the Tigers it would almost certainly loosen up the leash a bit after a disappointing first season. But if Moore can’t pull off one of the biggest flips in recent years then the pressure is only going to continue to mount, especially after the Michigan lost a pledge from longtime quarterback commit Carter Smith on Wednesday night.
WR Caleb Cunningham (Alabama commit)
Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams have reset expectations for true freshman wide receivers. We’ll have a better idea of what type of impact Caleb Cunningham can make in 2025 after the postseason all-star events, but he’s a potential game-wrecker that’s high on the board for many.
A high-flier on the basketball court, Cunningham is a menace after the catch with excellent body control that reminds me of LSU star wide receiver Kyren Lacey. He has been committed to Alabama since July, but spent this past weekend at Ole Miss on an unofficial visit and is also communicating with representatives at both Auburn and LSU.
The Rebels might need Cunningham more than anyone else with Tre Harris off to the NFL at season’s end. Ole Miss pushed all of its chips in for a College Football Playoff berth this year and that has left the cupboard looking rather bare for next year. A large transfer class will more than likely reset the roster, but Cunningham would give the Rebels a rare building block from the high school ranks.
DB Ivan Taylor (Michigan commit)
Ivan Taylor is the son of former NFL cornerback Ike Taylor. After originally committing to Notre Dame last winter, he flipped his pledge to Michigan this summer, but is still considering Alabama.
One of my favorite tape studies of the cycle, I view Taylor as a new-age safety that can offer a ton of versatility for defensive coordinators as he’s sound against the run and insensitive in coverage. He won’t blow many away with his physical specs, but the game footage tells a different story and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
The Wolverines have had a ton of success over the years with high-IQ defenders like Taylor and losing him at the buzzer would sting. Especially when you take into account the fact that Michigan’s top two safeties will have exhausted eligibility and the unit will lose potentially three first-round picks to the NFL Draft in Will Johnson, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.
One of the biggest risers in the most recent Top247 update, Chase Linton is a budding edge rusher that looked like he was going to be an absolute steal for Rutgers before he opened his recruitment back up in late August.
Georgia is considered by many as the team to beat and for good reason as Kirby Smart usually gets what he wants in the Peach State, but Linton took an official visit recently to Georgia Tech and has trips lined up to both FSU and LSU.
Mike Norvell will get a chance to pitch Linton this weekend and the Seminoles, which have tumbled all the way down to No. 48 in the 247Sports Composite Recruiting Rankings in the midst of a 1-7 season, should be prepared to do whatever it takes to get Linton on board as he’s the type of talent that usually commands a high price tag in the transfer portal.
QB Julian Lewis (USC commit)
While he might lack elite physical features, Julian Lewis is an elite distributor of the football that has a chance to push for playing time right away given how he sees the field.
After reclassifying and moving up a cycle, Lewis has been linked to schools all around the country, but Colorado and Indiana look like the two most plausible flip destinations with just over a month to go. Lewis was in Boulder last weekend for an unofficial visit and is expected to make his way to Bloomington next weekend.
Lincoln Riley and the Trojans could very well end up holding on to Lewis, but if there’s anyone that can guarantee a starting gig next season for Lewis, it’s Deion Sanders. The Buffs have five other quarterbacks on the roster not named Sheduer Sanders and not one of them has completed a pass this season.
ATH Bradley Gompers (Duke commit)
After missing a majority of his junior campaign due to injury, Bradley Gompers has assembled some of the best senior film of any mid-skill in the country. Plenty of schools have taken notice.
Gompers was scheduled to tour Miami this past weekend, but instead made his way to Michigan. Penn State and Oklahoma are two other bluebloods that have gotten recently involved in the recruitment.
What makes Gompers’ recruitment even more interesting is that some scouts view him as an off-ball linebacker while others think he’s a move tight end. I think the ceiling is the highest as a second-level defender and his rise from an unknown three-star prospect to a hot commodity reminds me of the journey Minnesota safety Koi Perich took last cycle. He stuck with the Gophers and is currently tied for the Big Ten lead with five interceptions.
Evaluating back-up QB options for national title contenders
With the first set of the College Football Playoff rankings coming out early next week, it’s time to remind everyone that a team is only as good as its back-up quarterback. At least that’s what the committee thinks after Florida State missed out on last year’s invitational following a late-season injury to Jordan Travis.
The Talent Tracker is in no way trying to jinx or cast a spell on a contender, but there’s a good chance that one or multiple schools in the hunt to make the playoff are going to have to rely upon a No. 2 quarterback in a pivotal moment at some point over the next two months because that’s what the data shows.
This season, 22 different Power Four programs have had to start multiple quarterbacks due to injury and that number could grow to 25 by the end of weekend depending on what happens at places like Penn State and Texas Tech.
Injuries happen and they happen frequently at the game’s most important position. Given the fact that almost every quarterback room is constructed differently in the transfer portal and NIL era, the Talent Tracker thought it might be a good idea to take a look at who’s the most prepared to overcome a rather daunting situation using the top teams from the latest CFP rankings from Jerry Palm at CBS Sports.
Prepared
Texas: Arch Manning has started two games this season in place of an injured Quinn Ewers, leading the Longhorns to victories against Mississippi State and UL Monroe. The former No. 1-ranked prospect in the class of 2023 got two series in the loss to Georgia and was sacked twice. The last exposure point to Manning wasn’t promising, but he has shown that he can make some high-level throws and get the ball to an elite group of playmakers for Texas.
Texas A&M: It might not have been by design, but Mike Elko has two quarterbacks that have slayed top 10-ranked opponents in Conner Weigman and Marcel Reed. Weigman has had his fair share of struggles when the lights are the brightest, but he’s got NFL tools. Reed has quickly emerged as one of the most dynamic runners in the sport. Two-quarterback systems are hard to manage, but Elko has options and has shown that he isn’t afraid to make a call to the bullpen.
Miami: Cam Ward has transformed the Hurricanes’ offense and could give the school its first Heisman Trophy winner since 1992. Mario Cristobal has two other quarterbacks on the bench with starting experience in Albany transfer Reese Poffenbarger (1,762 career snaps) and Emory Williams. The latter is tracking to redshirt, but it might make sense to break glass in an emergency if Poffenbarger can’t keep things on course.
BYU: Jake Retzlaff beat out Gerry Bohanon for the starting gig in preseason camp. Bohanon has only thrown three passes this season, but the 24-year old has no shortage of game experience. He once played important snaps for Baylor and has appeared in 37 contests over the past seven years, posting an 11-8 record as a starter.
Indiana: Tayven Jackson stepped in for an injured Kurtis Rourke this past weekend and did enough to keep the Hoosiers undefeated. The offense might not be as crisp with the Tennessee transfer running the show, but he can create with his legs. Jackson is now 3-3 as a starter after starting five games in 2023. Rourke is expected back this weekend.
Somewhat Prepared
Penn State: If Pribula takes down Ohio State, then the Nittany Lions move up a category. While the former three-star prospect has yet to start a game, he has plenty of reps under his belt as he has frequently been used as a runner in situational packages. After leading a rally at Wisconsin last week, Pribula has accounted for 13 total touchdowns on 259 career snaps. Penn State did a nice job making sure Pribula did not hit the portal.
Ohio State: On paper, the Buckeyes look to have no shortage of talent at quarterback, but it’s a bunch of unproven commodities. Devin Brown spelled an injured Will Howard against Michigan State and threw a touchdown. He started last year’s Cotton Bowl, but injured his ankle and was replaced by Lincoln Kienholz. Alabama transfer and former five-star Julian Sayin is also in the mix.
Oregon: Dan Lanning has invested a ton of resources at quarterback, but it’s unclear who would get the call if something were to happen to Dillon Gabriel. Former five-star Dante Moore started five games as a true freshman at UCLA, but Austin Novosad is the one that got mop-up duty against Illinois and Purdue. He has thrown just 13 passes to date. Moore might make the most sense.
Notre Dame: Numerous college contacts shared this summer that Steve Angeli would have drawn plenty of demand had he entered the transfer portal. Angeli has only started one game, but it was a promising outing as he completed 15 of 19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s Sun Bowl.
Georgia: The Bulldogs lost Brock Vandagriff to Kentucky after Carson Beck announced that he was coming back to school for another year. Beck has thrown 667 of UGA’s 719 passes over the past two seasons. Gunner Stockton has drawn plenty of praise from the people in Athens, but he has played just 82 career snaps. Arizona State transfer Jaden Rashada is also on the roster.
Alabama: Ty Simpson has seen action in 13 games for the Crimson Tide, but didn’t get the nod when Nick Saban benched Jalen Milroe early on last season as now-Notre Dame wide receiver Tyler Bucnner got the start against USF. Simpson has thrown 39 passes over three years, but has yet to throw a touchdown.
Unprepared
Clemson: Sound the alarms if Cade Klubnik were to ever miss time. Christopher Vizzina appears to be the clear-cut No. 2 quarterback behind Klubnik, but he has yet to really see any extensive game action (28 career drop backs) and was outplayed by walk-on Trent Pearman in Clemson’s spring game earlier this year.
Tennessee: Volunteer fans got a sense of life without Nico Iamaleava when he briefly excited the game against Alabama. Super senior Gaston Moore stepped in and threw right into double coverage on his first play. Moore is as versed as anyone in Josh Heupel’s offense, but he has thrown three interceptions on 34 career attempts.
Iowa State: JJ Kohl was expected to back-up Rocco Becht this season, but he lost a camp battle to Connor Moberly. The true freshman led two scoring drives against Arkansas State in limited action thus far. Kohl threw three passes last season.
Boise State: Many expected former five-star Malachi Nelson to be the voice in the huddle for the Broncos, but he wasn’t able to unseat Maddux Madsen. The analytics don’t love what the USC transfer has done in three games of action, but there are some flashes.
What schools will learn from Pitt turnaround
This spring, I attended a Nike’s coaches clinic in Orlando. I was there primarily to catch up with high school coaches from all around the state of Florida. What I didn’t expect was getting a chance to sit in on a 90-minute film session with Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi simply labeled “HOT.”
That’s what Narduzzi calls his two-deep, three-under defense, which put Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord in a blender last week. The chalk talk was certainly insightful, but my biggest takeaway from Narduzzi’s presentation is that he felt like he had an offense that was going to score a lot of points. Turns out he was right.
The Panthers travel to SMU on Saturday with a chance to improve to 8-0 on the season after going 3-9 last season. They wouldn’t be undefeated if it weren’t for Narduzzi’s decision to step outside his comfort zone and hire 31-year-old Western Carolina offensive coordinator Kade Bell. Pitt ranks sixth nationally in scoring offense and 25th nationally in total offense. That’s a significant improvement from last year’s campaign where the program ranked 116th in both categories.
Narduzzi said in Orlando that he tabbed Bell as Frank Cignetti’s replacement because Bell’s offense, much like Narduzzi’s defense, didn’t require the players to think all that much. But Bell didn’t just bring a scheme with him to the Steel City. He brought playmakers, too.
Pitt’s biggest weapon this season has been Western Carolina transfer Desmond Reid, who is averaging an ACC-best 160.2 all-purpose yards per game. He wasn’t needed all that much in the blowout of the Orange, but two of his former FCS teammates found the end zone in wide receivers Raphael Williams Jr. and Censere Lee.
In total, the trio of Reid, Williams and Lee have accounted for 1,381 yards of offense and 15 touchdowns this season. Of course, Alabama transfer quarterback Eli Holstein, who Bell pounded the table for when he first arrived on campus, has exceeded any and all expectations.
Why am I bringing this up? Because it wouldn’t be surprising if other Power Four coaches tried to copy Narduzzi’s model this offseason and hired a coordinator from a lower level who can bring an influx of talent with them in hopes of providing an immediate turnaround. It’s happened before Bell (Washington State landing an Incarnate Ward duo of QB Cam Ward and coach Eric Morris) and will happen again in a month.
Sneaky-Good Commit of the Week:
DL Sterling Sanders to Boston College
There’s nothing sexy about flipping a 315-pound nose tackle from Georgia Southern, but credit Bill O’Brien and his staff for addressing a need that everyone seems to have these days.
Sanders is a space-eater in the middle with no shortage of length that can charge forward and make things extremely difficult for opponents. He will need to improve his lower-half flexibility and rework the midline over the next few years, but has found another gear as a senior at Blythewood High in South Carolina, flashing solid snap anticipation while racking up 17 quarterback hurries and 3.5 sacks through nine games.
Boston College isn’t going to win many NIL battles, which makes adding developmental prospects with multi-year starter upside like Sanders all that more important.
Freak of the Week:
2026 DL Carter Meadows
The outgoing 2025 class might be in the spotlight right now, but we’re also busy watching the incoming 2026 class. One prospect that jumped off the screen this week was Carter Meadows.
A dual-sport athlete that’s also drawing some mid-major college basketball interest, Meadows is a green pass rusher with elite physical features as he has been verified at just over 6-foot-6, 220 pounds with 35-inch arms to boost.
Meadows, who visited Michigan last week, has worked out of a variety of different alignments this season for Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga. That’s the same school that produced Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and New York Jets offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.
