Latest news with #JohnGarciaJr
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Three Predictions: Florida, Syracuse, Carsyn Baker
Jeff McCulloch/ Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. has predictions on a potential commitment run for Florida, Syracuse's success recruiting receivers and a speed running back that could be playing college football out-of-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 RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Rivals Five-Star heading back to Indy | Rivals Five-Star roster | Schedule/info THE FLORIDA GATOR RUN HAS ARRIVED Nick Lucero/ Advertisement Official visit season is congruent with commitment season and many programs should see the numbers run up in the class of 2026, especially those with little volume in the rising-senior class to date. Florida fits that bill with just two commitments entering last weekend. The program has already doubled that number and with the group of prospects expected to see The Swamp in the coming weeks, we don't expect that momentum to slow down. The offensive line may be low-hanging fruit in this exercise, with in-state standouts Chancellor Campbell and Javarii Luckas taking official visits in back to back weekends. Whenever Javeion Cooper reschedules his trip to Gainesville, that one will pick up momentum as well. Elsewhere in the state the buzz remains with Florida for blue-chip defensive back CJ Hester after his weekend in town, too. Beyond the state line, Florida is feeling good about recent visitors such as pass rusher JaReylan McCoy and running back Carsyn Baker, among others. We would be surprised if the commitment list isn't sitting in double-digits a few weeks from now. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH FLORIDA FANS AT 1ST AND TEN FLORIDA SYRACUSE WILL HIT BIG AT WIDE RECEIVER The more national recruiting battles Fran Brown and company jump in on, the stronger the confidence behind the pursuit gets. Syracuse holds a top-20 class with multiple blue-chippers already on board, but it has its eye on a major headliner at the wide receiver position to potentially be locked down over the next month. The top in-state recruit, and one of the nation's hottest wideouts on the trail, is one. Messiah Hampton is a Rochester native, some 90 minutes from campus, and he has felt the press from Brown and company since they took over in Central New York. Oregon and Miami are the top contenders working on an upset ahead of a June 13 decision date. Advertisement The big national name SU is pushing for, and also contending with, is Calvin Russell. The two-sport star from Miami won't be an easy win over the Hurricanes, where he has serious family ties, but SU has hosted him a few times and should get a return trip in the form of an official visit as Oregon, LSU, Florida and many others jockey for position ahead of Russell's July 5 verbal commitment date. Those big brands once made these recruitments easier to project, but in this era and with the momentum SU has created, we're calling the shot for the Orange to snag one of these class headliners in the coming weeks. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH SYRACUSE FANS AT SPEEDY RB BAKER PLAYS BEYOND THE STATE OF GEORGIA We mentioned Florida feeling good about Baker coming out of an official visit two weekends ago, and the feeling is mutual as far as we can tell. There is some visit shuffle, with Ohio State now out of the picture, in this one as a potential verbal commitment inches closer. Georgia and Georgia Tech both had a hand on the in-state recruit's list but that momentum seems destined for the past tense at this time. Along the with Gators, Florida State and South Carolina could be among the favorites for one of the nation's fastest running back recruits. Should the timeline remain accelerated and the visits come together as we currently hear they are – with FSU on deck to host Baker this weekend – then playing outside of state lines in college appears to be a safer bet with the blue-chipper. Florida may be the trendy selection as of this writing, but the remaining visits could challenge that notion in short order.
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
