Latest news with #RichardWesley
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
5-star Oregon Football commit schedules official visits to multiple schools
Earlier this spring, the Oregon Ducks received great news on the recruiting trail, landing a surprise commitment from five-star edge rusher Richard Wesley. The 247Sports composite lists the 6-foot-5, 250-pound edge as the No. 14 player overall and the No. 2 player at his position in the 2026 class. While his commitment added a needed boost to the Ducks' recruiting class in 2026, it doesn't appear his pledge ended the process. Reports emerged in the days following Wesley's commitment that name, image and likeness licensing issues still needed to be ironed out, and the commitment came as a surprise to even the player's parents. Advertisement Now, Wesley has announced he will take a number of official visits this summer and fall while he continues to weigh his options. The first official visit will be to Eugene on June 6. A trip to the Texas Longhorns follows on June 20. The date for the visit to the Texas A&M Aggies has not yet been finalized. Wesley will go to see the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, the weekend they host the Longhorns for the season-opener in Columbus. In the world of recruiting, it has generally been beneficial for teams to have the final official visit, giving them the "last word," so to speak. However, in the NIL era, that seems to be less predictable. The highest bidder usually wins out. While Wesley is committed to Oregon, it has become clear this recruitment is far from over. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Football: 5-star Richard Wesley sets multiple official visits
New York Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
College football recruiting thoughts: Slow starters, big-name FCS coaches, unusual suspects
College football has undergone massive changes over the past four years, but one trend has seemingly held steady: June and July have become the most important months on the recruiting calendar. Sure, it's fun to look at wonky recruiting rankings in April and May and see some unusual suspects at the top of the list (Illinois, Kansas and Rutgers all have top-15 classes at the moment), but things don't start to feel real until June and July, when the heavy hitters put in the most work to build their classes. Advertisement With an active couple of months on the horizon, let's examine where things stand nationally. Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite. As we open June, Texas' 2026 class is ranked 26th nationally. Oregon is 27th. Auburn is 33rd. Michigan is 38th, and Alabama is 45th. Each of these programs finished in the top 10 during the 2025 recruiting cycle. Chances are, most of them will finish in the top 10 — or close to it — again. The Longhorns finished atop the national team rankings in 2025. The Crimson Tide had a monster wave of commitments last summer. Last month, we hit on the Ducks' unusual setbacks on the recruiting trail and said it was likely Dan Lanning would have a response. Well, Oregon answered by landing a commitment from five-star edge rusher Richard Wesley, who plays for Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Calif., three days later. But Wesley decommitted less than three weeks after he jumped into a pool with Lanning to announce his pledge. So the Ducks are in the same spot they were a few weeks back. They'll be a compelling team to watch on the recruiting trail because they'll have some urgency to notch some recruiting wins and change the narrative. Elite 2026 EDGE Richard Wesley and Oregon HC Dan Lanning celebrate the big commitment🦆 — Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 11, 2025 The Wolverines' No. 6 ranking in 2025 was their best since they signed the No. 5 class in 2017. Of course, Michigan's ranking was boosted last cycle by adding the top-ranked quarterback and No. 1 overall player in the country, Bryce Underwood. It'll be difficult to deliver that same sort of splash this cycle, but the Wolverines will likely remain consistent recruiting the trenches while trying to add more talent at the skill spots to surround Underwood in future seasons. Advertisement Auburn is coming off back-to-back top-10 classes and just signed an impressive portal class, but it's a critical year for coach Hugh Freeze on the field, so the Tigers will be interesting to watch as the cycle progresses. Oklahoma, South Carolina, Nebraska, Florida and Missouri all sit outside the top 35 of the national rankings after signing top-25 classes last cycle. Kentucky ranks 91st after signing the No. 29 class in 2025. It is the first week of June, so there is still plenty of time, but the building blocks need to be set up relatively quickly. Florida picked up a commitment from three-star IMG (Fla.) Academy offensive lineman G'nivre Carr on Sunday. Carr is only the third commitment for the Gators this cycle, and the only blue-chip pledge in the class is four-star quarterback Will Griffin (No. 218 nationally). The Gators are lacking in high-end prospects so far. Florida (Billy Napier) and Oklahoma (Brent Venables) are led by head coaches who have been constant fixtures in hot-seat discussions this offseason. That uncertainty never helps on the trail, so their slow starts are understandable. We'll see when things kick into gear for South Carolina (five commits), Nebraska (four commits) and Missouri (two commits). None of those programs have more catching up to do than Kentucky, though. The Wildcats have just one commitment — four-star in-state offensive lineman Jarvis Strickland — in the 2026 class. Deion Sanders pulled off the ultimate recruiting stunner when he was the head coach at Jackson State and landed Travis Hunter, who was the No. 1 overall prospect in the country, on the opening day of the early signing period in the 2022 cycle. Following in Jackson State's footsteps, other FCS programs have hired high-profile, former NFL stars, including two notables this offseason: Michael Vick at Norfolk State and DeSean Jackson at Delaware State. Advertisement It'll be impossible to replicate what Sanders did with Hunter, but can either of these programs convince a blue-chip prospect or high-end three-star to sign with them this cycle? Another FCS program to keep an eye on is Sacramento State. The Hornets are led by first-year head coach Brennan Marion, who was the offensive coordinator at UNLV the past two seasons and had stops at Texas and Pitt as an assistant coach before that. Sacramento State's 2026 class is ranked 70th nationally, ahead of some Power 4 programs. It's unlikely that'll hold — and the ranking is propped up by the fact Sacramento State has 17 commitments — but the class includes four players ranked in the top 1,500 nationally. That's a good mark for an FCS school. Five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons, who plays for nearby Folsom (Calif.) High, took an unofficial visit to Sacramento State in March. Even though it's extremely doubtful that it leads to anything more, it's still good for Marion that Lyons took the time to learn more about the program. Sacramento State has displayed it's not afraid to take a swing. We'll see if it leads to a hit on the recruiting trail. We're mainly talking about the Big 12 and ACC schools (outside of Clemson, Miami and Florida State) here. These leagues have to fight the perception they're inferior to the SEC and Big Ten, and most of the time, on the recruiting trail, perception is reality. TCU (twice), Texas Tech and Utah have all finished with top-25 classes in the past three recruiting cycles, but none has finished in the top 15. The Utes ranked 19th in 2023. Georgia Tech had the 21st-ranked class last cycle and is the only ACC school other than Clemson, Miami or Florida State to finish with a top-25 class in the past three cycles. Advertisement There are several ACC and Big 12 schools in the top 25 right now, but if these leagues are going to improve, they'll need more of their schools to consistently finish in the top 25. • USC added five-star tight end Mark Bowman, who plays for Southern California power Mater Dei, to its 2026 class on Friday. That was a significant pickup for the Trojans, who have the No. 1 class in the country. Bowman is also the third USC commit from Mater Dei this cycle. Mater Dei has long been a traditional pipeline program for the Trojans, but that well dried up in recent cycles. USC hasn't signed a Mater Dei prospect since the 2022 recruiting cycle, which was Lincoln Riley's first as head coach. • Lyons is the last remaining uncommitted five-star quarterback, though he's essentially a 2027 prospect because he plans on serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Walker Lyons, his brother who plays tight end for USC, didn't enroll until a year and a half after he signed. USC has been recruiting Ryder pretty intensely for a while, but according to a source briefed on the pursuit, the Trojans are focused on four-star Peyton Houston from Louisiana in the 2027 cycle. Lyons was slated to visit USC this summer, but the Trojans want him to take an in-season visit if one happens at all. Lyons has visits to BYU and Oregon lined up this month. • Washington landed a commitment from four-star safety Gavin Day over the weekend. Day's pledge continues a strong recruiting stretch for the Huskies, who are poised to finish with another top-25 class under Jedd Fisch. • Four-star defensive lineman Carter Luckie committed to Georgia over the weekend. He is the 11th commitment for the Bulldogs, who are currently sixth in the team rankings. • Rutgers is making it a point to collect commitments early in the summer. At this time last year, the Scarlet Knights climbed to the top 10 after they went on a major commitment run. They finished 33rd. Rutgers received six commitments over the weekend and is now 14th nationally. • Minnesota did something similar last year and is following that approach again. The Golden Gophers received six commitments over the weekend and are now ranked 18th nationally. (Photo of Dan Lanning: Soobum Im / Getty Images)
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2026 5-star Edge has decommitted from Oregon before his official visit to Texas A&M
2026 5-star Edge has decommitted from Oregon before his official visit to Texas A&M Texas A&M is officially in the running, along with several other major programs for 2026 five-star edge Richard Wesley, who was recently committed to Oregon, until Tuesday night. According to On3, Wesley has decommitted from the Ducks, which is good news for the teams who will receive an official visit from the California native next month, including Texas on June 20, Ohio State on August 30, and Texas A&M during an undetermined time, likely in September. However, Wesley is still scheduled to take an official visit to Oregon on May 30, giving head coach Dan Lanning a chance to recruit him. Still, Texas, Ohio State, and Texas A&M are also in his sights, as each program now has an opportunity to land the elite pass rusher. What's interesting is that during his recent interview with On3's Chad Simmons, Wesley revealed that Oregon was recruiting him more aggressively than any other program on his list. 'Since the jump, Oregon has been showing me love,' Wesley told Simmons. 'I talk to coaches almost every day, they text me all the time and they were begging me for the prom pictures Saturday night. I love the feeling there and I love everything there.' Well, 17 days after jumping in the pool with Lanning, Wesley feels that another Big Ten or SEC school is his future destination. On the field, Wesley's 2023 season, which included 50 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks, led Texas A&M coach Mike Elko to offer the former 2027 prospect. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Report: 5-star EDGE Richard Wesley no longer committed to Oregon Football
Report: 5-star EDGE Richard Wesley no longer committed to Oregon Football Earlier this month, Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks got the great news that 5-star edge-rusher Richard Wesley was committing to them. Since then, though, things have gone downhill. Just a day after the commitment, Wesley's father made headlines. He explained that there was still a lot of work to be done on the NIL front before signing day with Wesley and the Ducks. Earlier this week, Wesley announced a number of official visits, one being to the Ohio State Buckeyes in August for their game against the Texas Longhorns. Now, a day later, it appears that Wesley has decommitted from the Ducks. According to On3's Chad Simmons, Wesley has asked to be removed from Oregon's commitment list in the 2025 class as he continues to figure out his recruitment. 247Sports no longer has Wesley listed as a member of Oregon's class, either. The 247Sports Composite rates the 6-foot-5, 250-pound EDGE as the No. 14 player in the 2026 class and the No. 2 EDGE in the nation. Without Wesley in the mix, for now, the Ducks have fallen to No. 27 in the 2026 national rankings. While the 5-star EDGE isn't technically committed now, there's still a chance that he reconsiders and comes back to Oregon before all is said and done. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Texas Longhorns will try to flip 5-star Oregon Edge commit during official visit to Austin
Texas Longhorns will try to flip 5-star Oregon Edge commit during official visit to Austin Texas hosted edge Richard Wesley for an unofficial visit at the end of March. He ended up committing to Oregon in May. However, his official visits for the summer were announced this week. The Longhorns will host Wesley on June 20. This is squeezed in between visits to Oregon (June 6) and Ohio State (August 30). He's yet to set a date for Texas A&M. On3's industry rankings have Wesley as one of the top players in the nation. He's a five-star prospect who is the No. 25 recruit and the No. 4 edge. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder is also the No. 5 prospect out of California. Wesley wasn't extended an offer by Texas until January. With that being said, they will have to pick up their efforts and fast if they want to flip Wesley from Oregon or even compete with some of the other suitors. It's been back-to-back super productive seasons for Wesley. He put up 50 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks in 2023. Wesley amassed 44 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and three forced fumbles. Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on X (Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience
