Training camp starts at most programs across the country this week. Soon, actual football will take center stage. But for now, there are still plenty of recruiting developments to monitor.
Here’s a look at the most notable events from the past week.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
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1. Well, it’s been quite a recruiting stretch for Hugh Freeze and Auburn. The Tigers have picked up commitments from four top-200 prospects in the 2025 cycle since Saturday to bump their class to No. 5 nationally. They also made a big splash in the 2026 class, landing pledges from three top-125 prospects Saturday — each from the state of Alabama.
The headline addition from the 2025 class is in-state safety Anquon Fegans, who ranks No. 44 nationally. Fegans was committed to USC at one point last year after his older brother, Tre’quon, transferred into the program. But Anquon reopened his commitment after a few months, and his older brother has since transferred to UCF.
The Tigers’ in-state success goes beyond Fegans’ commitment. Four-star receiver Derick Smith of Selma Southside flipped from Alabama and pledged to Auburn on Monday. Smith is the No. 51 player in the class.
Freeze also flipped four-star defensive lineman Antonio Coleman from the Crimson Tide. But this recruitment probably isn’t over. The 6-foot-2, 285-pound prospect out of Saraland (Ala.) High initially committed to Alabama in September, flipped to Auburn in December, flipped back to Alabama in March and flipped back to Alabama this weekend.
“Let me cook”🦅 @tjkelly17 @CoachHughFreeze pic.twitter.com/Wcvs4iR8vU
— Antonio “Big Tony” Coleman (@AC9852) July 28, 2024
Auburn has commitments from eight of the top 15 prospects in Alabama after signing six of the top 15, including three of the top six, in the 2024 cycle.
Saturday, the Tigers went outside of the state to land a pledge from top-100 safety Blake Woodby of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. Woodby was committed to Ohio State earlier in the cycle.
Freeze has done an outstanding job of rebuilding the Tigers’ recruiting brand after it slipped in the Bryan Harsin years. He signed one top-five recruiting class during his tenure at Ole Miss. Can he accomplish that with the Tigers in the 2025 cycle?
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2. Tennessee, which is one spot behind Auburn in the team rankings, also had a strong weekend. Saturday, top-100 safety Lagonza Hayward of Toombs County (Ga.) High committed to the Volunteers. This came a week after Tennessee went into Georgia and won a recruiting battle for four-star linebacker Christian Gass of Eastside High in Covington.
Sunday, Tennessee flipped tight end Da’Saahn Brame, a four-star prospect who plays at Derby (Kan.) High, from Oregon. He is one of six top-150 prospects in the Vols’ class. Tennessee added to its class on Tuesday with a pledge from three-star defensive lineman Darrion Smith of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
Josh Heupel’s three full classes at Tennessee have been ranked 17th (2022), 10th (2023) and 14th (2024). There’s still a long way to go, but this could be his best group yet.
3. The SEC is flat-out dominating right now. Four of the top five and seven of the top 10 teams in the national rankings come from the SEC.
The SEC and Big Ten have separated themselves from the other leagues in the sport, but the Big Ten has just three programs ranked in the top 15 (Ohio State, which has the No. 1 spot, Oregon and Michigan). So there’s a considerable gap between the two top conferences in the 2025 cycle.
4. During the media days circuit, there was a lot of conversation about Oregon and its name, image and likeness fortunes. But the Ducks suffered some setbacks on the trail over the past week. As noted earlier, they lost Brame to Tennessee, and a few days before that, four-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma of Folsom (Calif.) High flipped to Texas — the latest in a series of recruiting tussles between the Ducks and Longhorns this summer.
Oregon’s class was ranked in the top five a week ago but now sits at 11th. The average player rating is great (94.06), but there are only 14 commitments in the class.
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The Ducks haven’t faced much adversity on the recruiting trail during Dan Lanning’s tenure. One of the more notable instances was when they lost five-star quarterback Dante Moore to UCLA leading up to the early signing period in December 2022. Oregon bounced back with a stunning close to that cycle.
The Ducks’ response, whether it comes immediately or in December, should be interesting to watch.
5. All 29 blue-chip quarterbacks in the 2025 class were committed entering the week, but that didn’t prevent some movement at the position.
Four-star Adam Schobel of Columbus (Texas) High — ranked No. 242 in the class — flipped from Oklahoma State to TCU on Monday. Schobel was committed to Baylor earlier in the cycle before he flipped to the Cowboys in April.
The commitment to the Horned Frogs seems more likely to stick. Schobel’s father, Matt, played tight end at TCU before being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2002. His uncle Aaron played defensive end for the Horned Frogs. And his cousin John is a three-star edge rusher in the 2025 class who committed to TCU in May.
Landing Schobel was the Horned Frogs’ response after Class of ’25 quarterback Ty Hawkins flipped to rival SMU earlier in the month.
Now, Oklahoma State will have to pivot to find a quarterback in this cycle.
6. Adding Schobel pushed TCU back to the top of the Big 12 recruiting rankings. The Horned Frogs have been going back and forth with UCF for the No. 1 spot in the league — but keep an eye on Baylor, which has inserted itself into the mix for the best class in the Big 12. The Bears rank 26th nationally and hold commitments from five blue-chip prospects, including four who joined the class this month.
Yesterday at the THSCA Convention in San Antonio, Dave Aranda reiterated that NIL is playing a major role in Baylor's recent success on the recruiting trail.#SicEm🐻 pic.twitter.com/ddUxlAF0Dh
— Baylor Bears on SicEm365 (@SicEm365) July 23, 2024
7. USC needs wins on the field and also on the recruiting trail. Well, the Trojans scored a nice victory on Tuesday night when they landed a commitment from four-star linebacker Jadon Perlotte of Buford (Ga.) High. Perlotte, the No. 165 player in the class, had been committed to Georgia. There had been some buzz that Tennessee could flip him. So this is a solid get for USC, which has suffered some recruiting losses to the Volunteers and Bulldogs recently.
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Elsewhere
• Washington coach Jedd Fisch has done a solid job landing in-state talent while going into California to bring in some blue-chip prospects. Last week, Fisch returned to Arizona — where he coached the past three seasons — and added a pledge from four-star safety Rylon Dillard-Allen of Phoenix Mountain Pointe.
• Florida State bolstered a strong receivers class last week with the addition of four-star wideout Malik Clark of Rock Hill (S.C.) High. Clark is the No. 221 overall player in the class and the third blue-chip receiver commit for the Seminoles in this cycle.
• Clemson added four-star linebacker Logan Anderson of Fyffe (Ala.) High, the No. 407 player, to its 2025 class last week. After other programs made big moves, the Tigers’ class sits at 12th nationally headed into August.
• Arkansas went into Mississippi to land a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Reginald Vaughn of Hartfield Academy in Flowood. The Razorbacks sit just outside the top 25 of the team rankings at 27th.
(Photo of Hugh Freeze: John Reed / USA Today)
Antonio Morales covers USC football for The Athletic. Previously, he spent three years at the Clarion Ledger in Mississippi, where he covered Ole Miss for two seasons and Jackson State for another. He also spent two years covering preps for the Orange County Register and Torrance Daily Breeze. Follow Antonio on Twitter @AntonioCMorales
