Latest news with #XavierGriffin
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama predicted to land 5-star linebacker following commitment date announcement
Alabama predicted to land 5-star linebacker following commitment date announcement One of the Alabama Crimson Tide's top targets in the 2026 recruiting class regardless of position, highly-touted linebacker prospect Xavier Griffin has now set an official commitment date. Per a report from On3's Hayes Fawcett, Griffin will be announcing his decision June 29 between four programs, which are Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, and Texas. In addition to the report, On3 recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong has also placed a prediction for Griffin to eventually commit to Alabama. According to the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings, Griffin is currently considered as the nation's No. 27 overall player in the 2026 class, as well as the No. 2 linebacker in the cycle. A five-star prospect, Griffin is also ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the state of Georgia where he attends Gainesville High School. Griffin is also a former USC commit who was previously committed to the Trojans from July 2024 through May 2025. At the moment, Alabama's 2026 recruiting class has only five players committed, one of which is a teammate of Griffin at Gainesville in four-star edge rusher Jamarion Matthews. Of those five commitments, three also currently come from the state of Georgia. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Historic College Football Team New 'Program to Watch' for Former 5-Star USC Commit
One former five-star USC commit has become the hottest prospect available for 2026. All after his decommitment. Now, one historic college football team is the "program to watch" for Xavier Griffin. Steve Wiltfong of On3 dropped new intel about Griffin's sudden open recruiting process Tuesday. The recruiting insider unveiled the multiple national title winner gaining steam as Griffin's newest leader. Advertisement "Alabama is positioned well moving forward," Wiltfong began. "From the relationship with Christian Robinson and the staff and the ties to Tuscaloosa with his grandfather working right down the street from campus, a lot of things make sense regarding Griffin and the Tide." USC versus LSU from 2024. Louis Lopez/IMAO The Crimson Tide have recruited Griffin hard for awhile. But the Tide also have a looming threat within the Southeastern Conference. And this team is led by a former USC head coach. "I view Texas as the biggest threat," Wiltfong said. The Longhorns are spearheaded by ex-USC head coach Steve Sarkisian and are known to swipe five-star prospects. Quarterback Dia Bell is Sarkisian's five-star verbal commit for the '26 class. Texas holds zero verbal commits at linebacker -- giving the 'Horns plenty of room to nab Griffin. Advertisement But Alabama and Texas aren't the only powerhouses Wiltfong named off for the Georgia prospect. "Ohio State is in play," Wiltfong adds. "Georgia will try to make up ground. I do think programs will go all out for him." Griffin is visiting OSU soon on May 30. Still, USC could be watching its former five-star head off to Tuscaloosa. "But right now, Alabama is in a great spot for the On3 Industry's No. 2 linebacker and No. 28 prospect overall," Wiltfong said. Related: 4-Star USC Commit Lands on Prestigious List
NBC Sports
20-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Three predictions: Alabama, USC, Oregon
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has three predictions on Xavier Griffin's future destination, USC's recruiting and Oregon's quarterback recruiting after some misses. MORE GORNEY: Recruiting Rumor Mill 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 Griffin and USC parted ways after he was informed to either stay committed to the Trojans and stop taking visits or reopen things if he wanted to stay on the road. The four-star linebacker from Gainesville, Ga., opted for the latter and now he's back on the market with Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and Florida State as the frontrunners. Texas and Ohio State have been coming on strong but there are numerous reasons why my prediction is that Griffin ends up in Tuscaloosa. He's an Alabama legacy. He met with the Alabama coaches twice recently – and some of that prompted his de-commitment from USC. It's a manageable four hours away. There is one caveat: If Georgia gets much more seriously involved then the Bulldogs could have some significant pull here. There's a chance the four-star linebacker makes it to Athens for the Scavenger Hunt this weekend but there is a lot of family stuff going on as well so his absence from that event could be telling as well. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ALABAMA FANS AT Over the last couple weeks, USC had de-commitments from four-star receiver Kohen Brown and four-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. It looked like the start of a repeat from the 2025 class when the Trojans landed all these out-of-region stars only to see numerous five-stars and four-star prospects back off their pledge later in recruiting. This is not the same case. The word coming down is that Griffin and Brown wanted to take other visits and USC is just not going to play that game right now. Maybe it's a reaction to last year's collapse especially from players in the Southeast or maybe the Trojans have a different recruiting philosophy under new general manager Chad Bowden, but this does not look like the same circumstances. Even with the losses of Griffin and Brown, two very talented prospects, USC still has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and has at least 10 more commitments than any other team in the country. Only 10 pledges are from out-of-state. That's a much different mix of recruits from last recruiting cycle so the Trojans should be just fine moving forward, even if there are some inevitable departures to come. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT Oregon lost four-star quarterback Jonas Williams to USC. The Ducks missed on five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, who picked Georgia over Oregon in recent days. The Big Ten powerhouse might still end up winning in the end, especially since this opens a nice pathway to focus on landing five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons. Over the last few days, Oregon offered four-star quarterback Matt Ponatoski from Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller but let's not forget Lyons is basically a 2027 prospect since he's taking a one-year Mormon mission. So offering Ponatoski helps both sides – Oregon gets a quarterback but he's not someone that would necessarily scare off Lyons once he gets to Eugene. Recently, Oregon, Michigan and BYU have emerged as the leaders for the five-star quarterback. USC cannot be counted out while Ole Miss, Ohio State and others are involved. The Ducks have had some painful recruiting losses recently – Curtis, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Jackson Cantwell. But Lyons would be a huge addition and with Williams and Curtis going elsewhere, Oregon might actually win out in the end. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OREGON FANS AT
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
LSU football reclaims top spot in 2026 recruiting class rankings
LSU football's 2026 class ranks No. 1 in the country again, according On3's Industry Rankings. The Tigers reclaimed the top spot after USC moved ahead for a few weeks. Five-star linebacker Xavier Griffin decommitted from the Trojans on Wednesday, which led to the team's drop to No. 2. Head coach Lincoln Riley's team still has the most committed prospects by far in the cycle with 27, including 16 four-stars. Advertisement LSU's group of nine prospects includes two five-stars, wide receiver Tristen Keys and defensive lineman Richard Anderson, and six four-stars. The group sets a new standard as the best recruiting cycle for head coach Brian Kelly during his LSU tenure. Homegrown talent separates LSU's 2026 class from the likes of USC and other highly-rated groups. Six of the Tigers' nine commits hail from Louisiana, including Anderson as well as four-star wide receivers Jabari Mack and Kenny Darby. More are expected to be added as multiple blue-chip prospects are scheduled to make official visits to Baton Rouge this summer. Whether or not LSU retains the top spot nationally, the cycle remains a large success due to the blend of five-star prospects and Louisiana natives, who will be less likely to flip their decisions. This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football recruiting rankings: Tigers No. 1 in college football
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Three predictions: Alabama, USC, Oregon
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has three predictions on Xavier Griffin's future destination, USC's recruiting and Oregon's quarterback recruiting after some misses. MORE GORNEY: Recruiting Rumor Mill 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. XAVIER GRIFFIN WILL CHOOSE ALABAMA Griffin and USC parted ways after he was informed to either stay committed to the Trojans and stop taking visits or reopen things if he wanted to stay on the road. Advertisement The four-star linebacker from Gainesville, Ga., opted for the latter and now he's back on the market with Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and Florida State as the frontrunners. Texas and Ohio State have been coming on strong but there are numerous reasons why my prediction is that Griffin ends up in Tuscaloosa. He's an Alabama legacy. He met with the Alabama coaches twice recently – and some of that prompted his de-commitment from USC. It's a manageable four hours away. There is one caveat: If Georgia gets much more seriously involved then the Bulldogs could have some significant pull here. There's a chance the four-star linebacker makes it to Athens for the Scavenger Hunt this weekend but there is a lot of family stuff going on as well so his absence from that event could be telling as well. Advertisement SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ALABAMA FANS AT 2. USC RECRUITING WILL BE JUST FINE Over the last couple weeks, USC had de-commitments from four-star receiver Kohen Brown and four-star linebacker Xavier Griffin. It looked like the start of a repeat from the 2025 class when the Trojans landed all these out-of-region stars only to see numerous five-stars and four-star prospects back off their pledge later in recruiting. This is not the same case. The word coming down is that Griffin and Brown wanted to take other visits and USC is just not going to play that game right now. Maybe it's a reaction to last year's collapse especially from players in the Southeast or maybe the Trojans have a different recruiting philosophy under new general manager Chad Bowden, but this does not look like the same circumstances. Advertisement Even with the losses of Griffin and Brown, two very talented prospects, USC still has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and has at least 10 more commitments than any other team in the country. Only 10 pledges are from out-of-state. That's a much different mix of recruits from last recruiting cycle so the Trojans should be just fine moving forward, even if there are some inevitable departures to come. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT 3. OREGON STILL SHAPING UP NICELY FOR LYONS Oregon lost four-star quarterback Jonas Williams to USC. The Ducks missed on five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, who picked Georgia over Oregon in recent days. Advertisement The Big Ten powerhouse might still end up winning in the end, especially since this opens a nice pathway to focus on landing five-star quarterback Ryder Lyons. Over the last few days, Oregon offered four-star quarterback Matt Ponatoski from Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller but let's not forget Lyons is basically a 2027 prospect since he's taking a one-year Mormon mission. So offering Ponatoski helps both sides – Oregon gets a quarterback but he's not someone that would necessarily scare off Lyons once he gets to Eugene. Recently, Oregon, Michigan and BYU have emerged as the leaders for the five-star quarterback. USC cannot be counted out while Ole Miss, Ohio State and others are involved. Advertisement The Ducks have had some painful recruiting losses recently – Curtis, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Jackson Cantwell. But Lyons would be a huge addition and with Williams and Curtis going elsewhere, Oregon might actually win out in the end. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OREGON FANS AT
