College football recruiting reset: Fireworks for Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Alabama

New York Times

08-07-2025

The Fourth of July week is always a pivotal time in the recruiting world. Fresh off June official visits, recruits are ready to issue commitments, and it's when classes across the country begin to truly take shape ahead of football season beginning in the fall.
Last week was no exception, with more than 150 recruits making a decision. But boy were there some fireworks in what was the most captivating recruiting week of the year to this point. From shocking decisions to some drama in the race for the top class, consider this your primer to anything you may have missed.
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Let's get into it.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
• No one had a better Fourth of July than Texas Tech and coach Joey McGuire, who landed five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo of Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas, in rather surprising fashion. Ojo is ranked No. 7 overall and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the Class of 2026.
Just one day before the announcement, he wrote on social media that his finalists were Texas, Michigan, Ohio State and Florida, but he picked the Red Raiders on Friday with no indication Texas Tech was in the race. The Athletic reported Ojo is set to receive an annual compensation of $775,000 for three years from Tech's revenue-sharing pool, but there is a verbal agreement in place where the money could jump into the $5 million range depending on a potential increase in the revenue cap or schools' willingness to ignore the cap, as many have with NIL regulation. Should he sign with the Red Raiders in December, Ojo would become the highest-rated recruit in program history.
Texas Tech also landed two four-stars last week in running back Ashton Rowden and cornerback Donovan Webb — both Texas natives — and is making some moves in the Class of 2027 as well. The Red Raiders recently emerged as the favorites to land five-star edge LaDamion Guyton, a Georgia native who is the top player in the '27 class, and Cooper Hackett, a five-star offensive tackle from Oklahoma.
Talk about a talent infusion!
• Alabama finished the month of June on a high note with commitments from two top-50 prospects — including five-star edge Xavier Griffin — in a three-day span. Turns out July has been even better to coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff. The Crimson Tide landed two more five-stars over the weekend in wide receiver Cederian Morgan, an in-state prospect, and safety Jireh Edwards from Baltimore. They also added defensive lineman Nolan Wilson, a Mississippi native who ranks No. 58 nationally.
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Alabama's class is now ranked No. 5 overall with an average player rating of 93.06, tops among teams with at least 15 commitments. The class includes nine top-100 prospects and four five-stars, and three of the top four recruits in the state are headed to Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban, who was spotted taking pictures with recruits on Alabama official visits last month, would be proud.
• When Fran Brown took the Syracuse job in November 2023, there were high expectations for the former Georgia assistant, who was among coach Kirby Smart's ace recruiters. Brown has lived up to the hype on the recruiting trail and made his biggest splash yet on Saturday when wide receiver Calvin Russell, a Miami native who ranks No. 47 nationally, committed to the Orange over Michigan, Florida State, Oregon, Miami, Florida, LSU and North Carolina. Like Ojo at Texas Tech, Russell is set to be Syracuse's highest-rated recruit in program history.
Blessed Beyond Measures! pic.twitter.com/8pmUPtR0Wy
— Calvin Russell Dual Sport Ath (@14gump_) July 7, 2025
• Stop us if you've heard this before: Georgia was dominant on the recruiting trail in June. And the rich only got richer last week as the calendar turned to July. Smart and his staff recently picked up a pledge from four-star tight end Brayden Fogle, an Ohio native, after landing 16 commits in June. There were five top-100 prospects among those June commits — cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Pierre Dean, offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko, defensive lineman James Johnson and cornerback Caden Harris, who flipped from Vanderbilt. With five-star quarterback Jared Curtis as the headliner, the Bulldogs are in prime position to finish with another top-three class.
• Penn State added two commitments over the weekend from prime recruiting areas, four-star linebacker Tyson Harley of Gonzaga College High in Washington, D.C., as well as three-star offensive tackle Marlen Bright of DePaul Catholic in Wayne, N.J. James Franklin's class ranks No. 14 nationally with an average player rating of 89.06 — the program's lowest since the 2017 class.
• If the last names of some of Notre Dame's newest commits sound familiar, well, it's because they are. Four-star wide receiver Kaydon Finley, the nation's No. 110 prospect out of Aledo, Texas, is the son of former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley and picked the Irish over Texas, his father's alma mater, on Friday.
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A day later, three-star wide receiver Devin Fitzgerald, the son of former Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald, committed to the Irish. This, after four-star linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., the son of former Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, pledged to Notre Dame in November.
Marcus Freeman is a hit with NFL dads, and the Irish, who now have the nation's No. 4 class, are reaping the benefits.
• Don't look now, but USC has some competition in the race to secure the nation's top class. Hello, Texas A&M. The Aggies picked up three big pieces last week in defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright of Buford (Ga.) High, linebacker DaQuives Beck of Carthage (Texas) High and linebacker Tank King of Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial. Perry, ranked No. 38 nationally, is the highest ranked of the three four-star additions.
Mike Elko's class currently ranks third nationally behind USC and Georgia, and the average player rating of 92.23 is higher than both — and the Aggies surely aren't finished.
• Did Vanderbilt just pick up one of 2026's diamonds in the rough? Three-star offensive tackle Mitchell Smith of Picayune (Miss.) Memorial committed to the Commodores on Friday over Alabama and Florida State. He took visits to all three campuses before picking the Commodores in a ceremony alongside his loved ones. Smith is ranked No. 699 nationally and also picked up offers earlier this year from UCLA, Clemson, USC, Florida, Nebraska and others. The Commodores currently have 16 commits in a class that ranks No. 49 nationally.
• Interim head coach Frank Reich scored quite the win on Monday when Stanford landed a pledge from four-star defensive back Lasiah Jackson of Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County. Jackson is the nation's No. 123 prospect and the No. 17 player in Georgia. He picked Stanford over in-state Georgia Tech, Florida State and Alabama.
• It's been a tough few days for Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian, who, in addition to losing out on Ojo to Texas Tech, also lost Finley — an in-state legacy — to the Fighting Irish. It wasn't all bad news for the Horns. On Friday, they received a pledge from John Turntine III, an offensive tackle from Fort Worth, Texas, who ranks No. 36 nationally. Turntine is one of three top-100 prospects in Texas' class, joining five-star QB Dia Bell and five-star edge Richard Wesley.
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• USC has had its quarterback in place since Jonas Williams flipped from Oregon in February, and on Friday, the Trojans landed one of the nation's top receivers to give him another threat in the passing game. Four-star Ethan 'Boobie' Feaster picked the Trojans over Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU in a big win for USC and a big loss for the in-state Aggies.
Feaster plays at DeSoto (Texas) High and reclassified to the 2026 class in February. He is ranked No. 40 overall and the No. 4 wide receiver. Feaster joins five-star tight end Mark Bowman, the headliner of the class, to give Williams another top pass catcher.
• One of the most fascinating quarterback prospects in the nation is heading to Kentucky. Four-star Cincinnati native Matt Ponatoski chose the Wildcats over Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon and plans to play football and baseball in Lexington.
Ponatoski is ranked No. 280 overall and the No. 21 quarterback in the class. He was named Ohio Mr. Football by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association in 2024, beating out Tavien St. Clair, a former five-star prospect and current freshman at Ohio State. Ponatoski, who plays at Archbishop Moeller, threw for 4,217 yards with 57 touchdowns and only three interceptions as a junior.
Ponatoski, a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, also won the Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year award.
'I think people think it might be too much,' he told local television station WLWT of playing both sports. 'But it's what I signed up for and I'm ready to go.'
Saw Matt Ponatoski at @Elite11 last month. Was really impressed with him. Think Kentucky got a gem: https://t.co/P6BlUfZMFZ pic.twitter.com/MtspLQP4c8
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 7, 2025
• Sacramento State has made it clear it intends to compete like a big-time program, and the Hornets are recruiting like one, too. Coach Brennan Marion recently picked up a commitment from four-star wide receiver Xavier McDonald, who ranks No. 115 in the 2026 class.
McDonald, a Mississippi native, visited Sacramento State officially in June and picked Marion's program over Ole Miss, LSU and North Carolina. Getting this one over the finish line will be huge for Marion to prove his program is for real, but to earn McDonald's commitment in the first place is no small feat.
• Looking ahead, this is another big week for top recruits. Four-star athlete Jalen Lott of Frisco (Texas) Panther Creek is picking among LSU, Georgia, Texas, Oregon and USC. He is ranked No. 49 nationally.
Five-star defensive lineman Lamar Brown of Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab is committing on Thursday and has a top four of Texas A&M, Texas, LSU and Miami. The Aggies and Tigers have been in heavy pursuit, though he originally canceled his LSU official visit last month, only to reschedule it a day later.
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Other top-100 prospects also committing this week: four-star defensive lineman Jamarion Carlton of Temple (Texas) High on Thursday, four-star athlete Samari Matthews of Cornelius (N.C.) Hough on Friday and five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro of Buford (Ga.) High on Saturday.
(Photo of Joey McGuire: Josh Hedges / Getty Images)