Big recruiting weekends take shape at Georgia, Auburn, Oregon SMU, Florida and UCLA

Some of the top prospects in the country are taking visits this weekend. On3 gives the latest on where many of these blue-chippers are headed and which programs are hosting big weekends.

Five-star OT David Sanders Jr. headlines the list at the Kirby Smart Scavenger Hunt

Charlotte (NC) Providence Day School five-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. will be back in Athens on Saturday as he strongly considers the Bulldogs alongside his other finalists in Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Sanders was last in Athens in March, a trip that was centered around the academic side of the Georgia program. The family also spent a lot of time with Smart, asking questions pertaining to Sanders and his potential as a student-athlete at UGA.

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Sanders has visited Georgia several times in the past and has highlighted the big-time games, National Championships, developing big-time offensive linemen and the relationship with Stacy Searels, Smart and the staff as all big reasons why he could end up playing his college football between the hedges.

Official visitors heading to Athens

Smart and the Bulldogs are slated to host four official visitors as they build on a class currently ranked No. 8 nationally.

Cleveland (Ohio) Villa Angela-St. Joseph On300 running back Bo Jackson, Mission Viejo (Calif.) High receiver Phillip Bell III and Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei receiver Marcus Harris and Tampa (Fla.) Sumner On300 offensive tackle Ziyare Addison will be in for the weekend.

With Jackson, UGA is battling Alabama and Ohio State. 

Bell is also high on the likes of Ohio State, USC and Tennessee.

Alabama, Georgia and Oregon are a few of the others Harris is high on.

“What really excites me on getting back is to be able to bring my family down and get to connect the coaches and players again,” Harris said.

Addison has Georgia in his top 12, a list of programs from coast to coast.

“Georgia’s recent success is a big reason for my visit,” Addison said. “They’ve been dominating the SEC and producing top NFL draft picks. Their program is one of the most respected in the country and that’s something I value highly. Additionally, my uncle played for Coach Smart at Alabama and speaks very highly of him.”

Other big names coming to Athens

Top receiver targets

Georgia is aiming to take a big receiver class and their top in-state targets in Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton’s CJ Wiley and Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake Travis Smith Jr. will be back on campus. Smith is also high on the likes of Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee. Alabama, LSU and Florida State are a few of the others Wiley is keen on.

Elite front-seven players

USC commit edge rusher commit Isaiah Gibson and the On3 Industry’s top-ranked linebacker Zayden Walker are expected back. Gibson is currently committed to the Trojans but we like Georgia’s position better coming into the weekend. Walker is high on the Bulldogs, South Carolina and Miami. UGA’s track record at the position is very exciting to the Schley County five-star.

Georgia and Miami are two of the programs trying to chip away at Ohio State commit in On300 linebacker Tarvos Alford.

Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian School On300 defensive lineman Christian Garrett will make the short drive over. Clemson and Tennessee is Georgia’s competion.

JUCO defensive lineman Zavion Hardy will also be on campus.

Stars in the Secondary

The On3 Industry’s No. 2 safety Trey McNutt travels down from Shaker Heights (Ohio) High. The Bulldogs will be looking to make a move on Oregon, Texas A&M, Ohio State and USC.

Georgia has always been one of the front-runners for Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson On300 safety Anquon Fegans. Auburn and Miami are a couple others he’s definitely high on.

Georgia has recently offered Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Rockvale High’s Jaylan Morgan. Montvale (NJ) St. Joseph Regional On300 cornerback Jahmir Joseph and in-state cornerback Rasean Dinkins out of Warner Robins (Ga.) High are also expected.

Two more quick hitters

2026 quarterback commit Jared Curtis and the On3 Industry’s No. 3 tight end Brock Harris are the only rising juniors expected.

Don’t be surprised if a couple more big flip targets show up in 2025.

Florida getting its swing at DJ Pickett

Zephyrhills (Fla.) High five-star DJ Pickett will be back in Gainesville. There was a time last fall where may Florida was considered the program to beat. Now they’re trying to work their way back to the top of the list alongside the likes of LSU, Miami and Oregon.

This won’t be Pickett’s last time at Florida as new defensive backs coach Will Harris has been making an impression on the family.

“Just catching up with Coach Harris,” Pickett’s father Damien said of what they look forward to. “Talking Gator football and setting up official visit.”

The On3 Industry ranks Pickett as the nation’s No. 6 prospect overall.

On300 LB also visiting Florida

IMG Academy four-star Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng will be at Florida as well. The No. 4 linebacker in the On3 Industry rankings has been on campus many times. UF is battling the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and USC.

Another big recruiting weekend at Oregon

There will be major Lone Star State flavor in Eugene this weekend.

On3’s No.1 ranked receiver Dakorien Moore is expected back. His mother told On3 weeks ago they’ll be there. The Ducks have had the Duncanville (Texas) High five-star on campus several times as they continue to work on the LSU commit. Texas and Ohio State are also in there for Moore.

On3’s No. 1 ranked safety Jonah Williams makes his way back out to Oregon. The Ducks are in the forefront of this recruitment alongside Texas A&M, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

On3’s No. 1 ranked athlete Michael Terry III will be out. He’s felt the love from head coach Dan Lanning and his staff. Nebraska, Texas A&M and Texas are a few others he’s excited about.

Oregon is also a top contender for Matthews (NC) Weddington On300 defensive lineman Trajen Odom.

Touted trio headed to Auburn

Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest five-star Andrew Babalola will take his official visit and the Tigers are near the top of his list alongside the likes of Michigan and Oklahoma.

Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County On300 running back Ousmane Kromah visited Auburn in March and now returns for his official. Georgia is the program that is picking up momentum in this recruitment, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Tigers gain some steam coming out of this trip.

Paramus (NJ) Catholic On300 offensive tackle Malachi Goodman is also back after a recent visit. Penn State, Alabama, USC and Georgia are also in the thick of this one.

Auburn has On3’s No. 9 class.

SMU hosting studs for Pony Express Weekend

A week after hosting a few top targets including a couple coveted in-state receivers in Daylan McCutcheon and Taz Williams Jr., SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee and his staff will host 24 official visitors.

It’s a list that includes coveted quarterback commit Keelon Russell, the jewel of a class that On3 currently ranks No. 25 nationally. SMU is battling Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida and Oregon to keep the touted Russell in the fold. Russell led Duncanville to a state title last fall.

SMU is trending for On300 running back Michael Turner heading into the weekend. He ranks as the country’s No. 6 running back and is coming off a junior season where he rushed for 1,625 yards and 22 touchdowns for North Richland Hills (Texas) Richland High.

The top-rated prospect expected is Mesquite (Texas) Horn’s Lamont Rogers. He is the No. 6 offensive tackle in the country. Other four-star prospects slated include Houston (Texas) Alief Hastings edge rusher Smith Orogbo, Fort Worth (Texas) North Crowley offensive lineman Henry Fenuku and a trio of receivers in DeSoto (Texas) High’s Daylon Singleton who is already committed, Cibolo (Texas) Steele’s Jalen Cooper and Frisco (Texas) Lone Star’s Bryson Jones.

Besides Turner, SMU is also trending well for Corona (Calif.) Centennial offensive lineman Drew Hill and Turner’s teammate in receiver Xavier Johnson. In his last two varsity seasons, Johnson has averaged over 23 yards per catch turning 41 receptions into 958 yards and 14 touchdowns.

UCLA bringing in nine official visitors

As the Bruins push for its first Top 25 recruiting class since 2018, this will be another weekend that goes could go a long way towards those efforts.

Downey (Calif.) Warren On300 quarterback Madden Iamaleava takes his official visit and the four-star passer is trending towards the Bruins on the On3 RPM. First-year coach DeShaun Foster and his staff aim to close this recruitment out this weekend.

Iamaleava isn’t the only visitor the Bruins are looking good for. UCLA is at or near the top of the list for edge rusher Epi Sitanilei, same goes for Olney (Md.) Good Counsel offensive lineman Gavin Crawford. UCLA could be close on in-state offensive tackle Garrison Blank and they’re one of the top schools for Bellevue (Wash.) High offensive lineman Demetri Manning as well.  UCLA is the heavy On3 RPM favorite for Graham (Wash.) Kapowsin tight end Noah Flores.

Three others UCLA will swing on this weekend include Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman linebacker Landon McComber, Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian On300 edge Hayden Lowe and Spanaway (Wash.) Bethel On300 linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen UCLA have this kind of momentum with this many high-caliber high school prospects.