Weekend Visit Preview: Top targets expected at LSU, Ole Miss

Following a big weekend of spring games across the SEC, both LSU and Ole Miss will hold theirs this weekend. And among those in attendance will be some of the Tigers’ and Rebels’ prime targets in the 2023 and 2024 classes.

Headlining the list for Brian Kelly and Co. is five-star Martin Luther King (Mich.) QB Dante Moore, who will be making the first of his five official visits this weekend. Notre Dame has long been considered the favorite, but LSU and a handful of others are still making a push. Given that he’ll be at LSU for his first official visit is nothing but a good sign in its pursuit of him.

“LSU has a shot in there,” BengalTiger.com’s Billy Embody told On3’s Jeremy Crabtree. “He likes the idea of playing in the South. He has a strong relationship with the coaches going back to when Brian Kelly was at Notre Dame.”

The second official visitor of the weekend for LSU is Chicago (Ill.) IMG Academy WR Carnell Tate. Tennessee previously hosted Tate for an OV earlier this month, and the Volunteers took the lead in his recruitment after, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). LSU hasn’t been considered among the top contenders in his recruitment, but Tate does have strong relationships with Kelly and his staff after being recruited by Notre Dame.

Denton (Tex.) Guyer safety Ryan Yaites and Grayson (Ga.) DB Michael Daugherty — two of the Tigers’ 2023 commits — are expected in town as well. So are Gulliver Prep (Fla.) WR Jalen Brown, The Loomis School (Conn.) TE Jackson Carver, Robbinsdale Cooper (Minn.) EDGE/TE Jaxon Howard, Carver (Ga.) DL Darron Reed, Long Beach Poly (Calif.) DB Daylen Austin, Union Parish (La.) RB Trey Holly, and Oconee County (Ga.) LB Whit Weeks. The latter two are considered heavy LSU leans by the RPM, and it isn’t out of the question that the Tigers could get a commitment coming out of the weekend.

The visitor list isn’t limited to 2023 prospects, with top-65 2024 EDGE KingJoseph Edwards and top-15 linebacker Colin Simmons expected to be in attendance. Likely to join them are Mobile Christian (Ala.) EDGE Sterling Dixon, Grayson (Ga.) ATH Joseph Stone, and Daingerfield (Tex.) ATH Aeryn Hampton, a Texas pledge.

Keep it locked with BengalTiger.com for the full list of attendees and coverage of the weekend.

Another big weekend at Ole Miss

Lane Kiffin and Co. have hosted significant visitors weekends over the past few months, but the Rebels are blowing out the Grove Bowl spring game event in a big way. Roughly 30 prospects between the 2023 and 2024 classes are expected in Oxford this weekend, with some especially big 2023 targets in town. Four-star quarterback Marcel Reed has become one of Ole Miss’ biggest priorities at the position, alongside Jaden Rashada. The Rebels currently lead for both, according to the RPM, but will almost certainly only take one of the two in this class. Rashada could be a surprise last-minute visitor in Oxford or at Oregon, the other school considered to be in main contention for him.

Not too much should be read into who shows up where, but as the quarterback dominoes begin to fall more rapidly in this class, it will be notable to see where Rashada chooses to spend the weekend.

Another big visitor is four-star offensive tackle Wilkin Formby, who will be in town for his official visit. Ole Miss in his first OV, and he’s coming off trips to Clemson and Alabama — two other top contenders — in back-to-back weekends. Four-star running back Dante Dowdell has scheduled his final three visits before a May 13 decision, and the Rebels were among the schools to receive a visit. He’ll head to Oxford before tripping to Arkansas and Louisville the next two weekends, according to On3’s Sam Spiegelman.

For the full list of Ole Miss’ visitors over the weekend, check out OMSpirit’s roundup here.

Pair of five-stars among big visitor list at Oregon

No coaching staff is on more of a recruiting heater right now than Oregon and new head coach Dan Lanning. After reeling in 2022 four-stars Josh Conerly and Kyler Kasper (reclassified) over the past few weekends, the Ducks now turn their attention to 2023 and 2024. Whether the aforementioned Rashada comes to town will be a big storyline, but all eyes will be on elite defenders Jayden Wayne and David Hicks.

Oregon is on the outside looking in right now with Hicks, who is heavily favoring Texas A&M and Oklahoma. They have done enough to get him on campus, though, so there’s possibility for some movement. Wayne is one where Oregon is squarely in the mix, alongside Alabama, according to the RPM.

Four-star Kansas City (Mo.) Raytown offensive lineman Logan Reichert is also expected in, as the Ducks have really made a major push in that area of the country recently. Recent Notre Dame decommit Justyn Rhett is taking his official visit to Eugene this weekend, and while Georgia is considered the favorite, Rhett has a good relationship with Lanning from his days at Georgia.

DeSoto (Texas) four-star wideout Johntay Cook II is expected to make his first trip to Eugene this weekend as well. For full coverage of the weekend, head to ScoopDuck.

2023 commits and targets descending on South Bend

Notre Dame will host nearly its entire 2023 commit list, including five-star Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep EDGE Keon Keeley. He is is hearing regularly from Alabama, Florida and a number of other programs looking to flip him, but right now he is still pledged to the Irish.

Among the uncommitted prospects in town are five-star Hoschton (Ga.) safety Caleb Downs, four-star Mount Pleasant (S.C.) OT Monroe Freeling, Belmont (N.C.) OT Sullivan Absher, Lake Stevens (Wash.) High RB Jayden Limar, Uniontown (Pa.) WR Rodney Gallagher, and Cincinnati (Ohio) IOL Austin Siereveld.

A number of 2024 prospects will also be in South Bend, including top-20 safety Peyton Woodyard. For the full list and coverage of the weekend, head to BlueandGold.com.