Latest news with #DerrekCooper
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia's Confidence Surging on Coveted RB as College Football News Drops This Week
Georgia's Confidence Surging on Coveted RB as College Football News Drops This Week originally appeared on Athlon Sports. One of the top running backs of the 2026 recruiting class re-opened his recruitment after verbally committing to the Georgia Bulldogs. Advertisement But On3's Chad Simmons reported Kirby Smart's program is still feeling good about landing running back Derrek Cooper. "There has been a level of confidence in Athens that they can get Derrek Cooper in this class. Miami is stiff competition," Simmons wrote. "The four-star running back has been committed to Georgia before though. We know there is high interest on both sides. "The mother is a key figure in this recruitment and she likes the staff in Athens. Jared Curtis will be in town and he will make his pitch to Cooper, the playmaker from south Florida." Simmons concluded that Georgia is already a top school for Cooper. But with the running back visiting Athens, Georgia this weekend, Simmons wondered if the Bulldogs could emerge the favorite by Monday. Georgia Bulldogs football head coach Kirby Smart© Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On3 awarded Cooper a four-star rating. The 247Sports composite rankings, though, have Cooper as a five-star recruit. Advertisement The composite rankings also have Cooper as the No. 30 overall prospect in the 2026 class. Cooper posted a picture on X ahead of his weekend visit with the Bulldogs. Cooper is listed as a running back, but on the 247Sports positional rankings, Cooper is included on the list of athletes. On that list, the 247Sports Composite rankings rated Cooper the No. 2 athlete. The five-star recruit is also the No. 2 Florida prospect in the 2026 class. Cooper will play his senior year of high school at Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, Florida. Related: Georgia Approaching Staggering 20th Visit With Highly Touted Star: Insider This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rivals Five-Star: ACC storylines in the spotlight
The Rivals Five-Star, the marquee football event of the offseason, is less than a week away. We continue a conference-by-conference look at which programs should be paying the closest attention to the results from Indianapolis next week. Next up is the ACC. Advertisement RIVALS FIVE-STAR EVENT: Roster | Big Ten programs in the spotlight | SEC programs in the spotlight | Key QB storylines | Key RB storylines | Key WR storylines | Key TE storylines | Key OL storylines | Rivals Five-Star heading back to Indy BEST OF RIVALS CAMP SERIES: The five best QBs of the 2025 Rivals Camp Series regionals | Five best RBs | Five best WRs/TEs | Five best OL | Five best DL | Five best LBs | Five best DBs CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State ALL EYES ON DERREK COOPER Nick Lucero/ The top-ranked prospect in the state of Florida is considering multiple ACC programs near the top of his recruitment, with most of the attention centered on Miami. Derrek Cooper is fresh off of a visit to Florida State, too, following up his Georgia official visit last weekend. Advertisement Ohio State gets the next and final summer official visit out of the five-star running back, who has hinted at a potential verbal commitment sooner rather than later. Cooper is the most coveted recruit in South Florida, often its own storyline heading into any workout. He is also among the most tracked recruits in camp settings, having been a standout at the 2024 Rivals Five-Star after an MVP run at the Rivals Camp Series in Miami event last spring. CLEMSON'S COMMITMENT PARTY Excluding several top undecided targets such as Samari Matthews, Blake Stewart and others, the prospects already on board with Clemson command their own attention heading into the event. There are six Tiger verbal commitments expected to compete, matched only by the half-dozen Texas A&M pledges set to work out in Indianapolis. Advertisement The Clemson group is spread out, too, from quarterback Tait Reynolds to wide receiver Naeem Burroughs and a trio of big blockers up front in Floridians Grant Wise and Chancellor Barclay as well as recent commitment Carter Scruggs. Defensive prospects include many Tiger targets, but at least one pledge will look to make plays on the football in defensive back Shavar Young. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH CLEMSON FANS AT MIAMI DEFENDERS ON DISPLAY Nick Lucero/ Miami is another program with various targets set to work out, but the commitment group is also strong coming into the event with the second most within the ACC at three pledges. Advertisement Linebacker Jordan Campbell is a veteran of the Rivals Camp Series and has flashed as much as any linebacker over the last two years. There is a chance we could see him line up as a pass rusher, traditional linebacker and even play some offense during 7-on-7. The secondary group is big and talented overall, and the Hurricanes will have influence within as top-100 cornerback commit Jaelen Waters works out potentially alongside fellow blue-chipper Jontavius Wyman, who checks into the event as the nation's No. 2 nickel projection. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MIAMI FANS AT MICHIGAN COMMIT ON FLIP WATCH Nick Lucero/ Advertisement Four-star cornerback Brody Jennings, a longtime Michigan commitment, has been coveted by a bevy of other programs since he made his early decision, and two of the top flip contenders are Miami and Florida State. What makes each flip case compelling, beyond official visits to Coral Gables and Tallahassee in the books, is the family connections to each contender. Brody's late father, Bradley, was a star at Florida State while his older brother made plays for the Hurricanes. May the latest Jennings wind up in ACC country as legacy suggests? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MICHIGAN FANS AT SUNSHINE STATE YOUNGSTERS SHOWING OUT Jeff McCulloch/ Advertisement There are just three 2028 prospects expected to work out at the Rivals Five-Star, Jayden Wade, Eric McFarland and Wonderful Monds, each hailing from the state of Florida. West Coast natives Wade and McFarland prep at IMG Academy and already sport national offer lists, including 10 combined ACC offers from the likes of Miami, Florida State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and others. Monds is an Orlando-area standout at the quarterback position with eight ACC offers of his own, with SMU, North Carolina, Pitt, Georgia Tech and all of the in-state programs already to his name.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Three Predictions: Miami, USC, Pitt
Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. has predictions on a key recruiting win for the Miami Hurricanes, a USC commit sticking with his pledge and the Pittsburgh Panthers losing out on one of their recent commitments. MORE: Deion Sanders, Colorado ready to host blue-chippers for official visits CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker 1. MIAMI WILL KEEP TOP RECRUIT IN SOUTH FLORIDA The Hurricanes work to keep top talent home and it finally broke through last cycle with Bryce Fitzgerald, the first No. 1-ranked prospect in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to pick the program since James Williams in the class of 2021. Advertisement Derrek Cooper holds that honor in the 2026 Rivals250 and for several parts of the cycle, it looked like he would follow Jeremiah Smith (2024), Brandon Inniss (2023) and Marvin Jones (2022) to depart the area for out-of-state programs. But the momentum may be in Miami's favor here. Georgia, which briefly held Cooper's commitment, remains a primary contender as do national powers Ohio State, Texas and others, but the local pull with The U has increased some confidence inside the building in Coral Gables. Cooper has a long way to go in his recruitment and he has expanded his visit list in recent weeks, perhaps muddying the water a bit – all the better compared with the most familiar option on the list in Mario Cristobal's program. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MIAMI FANS AT 2. KEENYI PEPE STICKS WITH USC COMMITMENT Nick Lucero/ Advertisement Keenyi Pepe has been at IMG Academy in Florida for his prep football and two of the teams in his current state have been in contact with him since his decision to play for Lincoln Riley came in -- Miami and Florida. The Hurricanes were neck-and-neck with USC for the latter part of this recruitment and Florida made up ground on several suitors with its consistent approach among the programs closest to the blue-chipper's Sunshine State home. Still, the pull at USC was not only always strong -- but the most recent trip offered an element that no other campus visit had prior in Pepe's mother attending the visit. That simple contrast to every other visit Pepe had been on since his recruitment kicked off many years ago changed the perspective of the big man's plans while back out near his native Los Angeles. UM and UF, as well as many others in the coming seven months ahead of National Signing Day, will work to flip the big and polished pass protector but the advantage the Trojans have built in for their side of the argument feels unmatched. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT 3. JACOB THOMAS' PITT COMMIT WON'T LAST Pitt does a great job working early inroads in the Sunshine State, where it currently holds four of its seven total verbal commitments between the senior and junior class, but the moves also signal the alarm for other programs to get eyes on a given recruit. This has absolutely been the case for speedy wide receiver Jacob Thomas, who has added scholarship offers from more than one dozen programs since coming off the board for the Panthers. Advertisement Now the South Florida native has begun taking trips elsewhere. Miami, which was a dream school for the rising-junior, is turning up the heat here but so is Auburn, Florida State, Kentucky, Purdue and others. With so much time left before December of 2026 and an early open mind for Thomas as he navigates new interest and offers, it may be a large uphill battle for the Panthers to hold onto the pledge it looked so smart for attaining to kick off the month of March. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH PITT FANS AT
