Just under half of the top 100 players in the 247Sports Composite in the 2024 recruiting cycle have already issued a commitment. It’s June, so we are likely to see a lot more activity over the next several weeks.
Now is a perfect time for a National Big Board, where we take a closer look at some of the most notable recruitments.
Advertisement
This isn’t only about rankings. This is a list of recruits we consider the most “impactful” uncommitted prospects. Impactful can mean a lot of things, from importance to a specific school, a big regional recruit, a trendsetter or simply a prospect who has an interesting recruitment.
Let’s get started.
1. Five-star DL Williams Nwaneri
High school: Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North
Ranking: No. 2 overall, No. 1 defensive lineman
Height/weight: 6-5, 250
Considering: Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee
Nwaneri has already taken official visits to Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee this month and is expected to be at Missouri this weekend. His last official is scheduled for Sept. 23 at Oregon. One of the most disruptive defenders in the entire country has a unique list of contenders. Of course, Georgia is on that list, but the other programs — Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mizzou and Oregon — are at important points in program builds and could really use him.
Back in Rocky Top this weekend!!🍊 #GBO #Tennessee pic.twitter.com/LADXTyaDW4
— ✞ Williams Nwaneri 🇳🇬 (@NwaneriWilliams) June 15, 2023
2. Four-star CB Bryce West
High school: Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville
Ranking: No. 49 overall, No. 4 cornerback
Height/weight: 5-11, 177
Considering: Ohio State and Michigan
The No. 1 cornerback in Ohio who attends Glenville High? This is an open-and-shut case, right? Ohio State not only gets every player it wants from its home state, but Glenville has traditionally served as a pipeline to the program. Yet here we are, in the 2024 class, and Michigan has already landed one player from Ohio — Cincinnati running back Jordan Marshall — who has an offer from the Buckeyes. The Wolverines had not earned a pledge from a top-100 prospect from Ohio since before the Urban Meyer era. West has visited Michigan multiple times, and the Wolverines are considered a real threat. The rivalry has flipped on the field. Now it seems to be carrying over into recruiting, which means Michigan should have some staying power. A decision is expected this summer.
Advertisement
3. Five-star WR Micah Hudson
High school: Temple (Texas) Lake Belton
Ranking: No. 8 overall, No. 2 wide receiver
Height/weight: 6-0, 190
Considering: Texas, Texas Tech
Hudson has scholarship offers from just about every program in the country, but he recently received a 247Sports “crystal ball” projection to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are a real player here, which is a fascinating development in the Joey McGuire era. Texas Tech is going to find prospects early — predominately in Texas — and try to get commitments before those prospects blow up. In this case, Texas Tech has gone blow for blow with the big boys and is sitting pretty. Watching to see if McGuire can pull this off and keep Hudson — whose dad, Desmond Royal, played defensive line for Texas Tech from 1985 through 1988 — away from Texas (and potentially others) is going to be quite fun. The fact that Texas Tech has gotten this far is a testament to what the Red Raiders are doing.
4. Four-star QB Trever Jackson
High school: Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange
Ranking: No. 431 overall, No. 28 quarterback
Height/weight: 6-3, 185
Considering: Pittsburgh, Miami and others
Last week was quite eventful for Jackson. The Florida native landed an offer from Miami but also found out that Texas A&M, which had emerged as one of his top suitors, had accepted a commitment from a second quarterback in its 2024 class, essentially eliminating the Aggies as a possible destination. Most importantly, Jackson impressed at the Elite 11 Finals, proving that he can compete with the best quarterbacks in the country (despite his relatively low ranking). Jackson has a huge arm and appears to have the right disposition to be a starting quarterback at a big-time program. Pittsburgh already got an official visit. Miami will be a factor. Watching this recruitment evolve is going to be fascinating. There’s always one quarterback who turns into a hot commodity after the Elite 11, and I think we may be looking at him.
5. Five-star DE Elijah Rushing
High school: Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe
Ranking: No. 25 overall, No. 3 edge rusher
Height/weight: 6-6, 235
Considering: Arizona, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA, Miami, Washington and others
Advertisement
Rushing is the first five-star prospect from Tucson since Bijan Robinson, also a Salpointe product, in the Class of 2020. At the time, Kevin Sumlin was the head coach at Arizona, and the Wildcats never had a chance to land Robinson. They didn’t really try all that hard, either. Effort will not be the problem in Arizona’s pursuit of Rushing. Jedd Fisch and his staff signed a top-25 class in the 2022 cycle and are doing all they can to win a national recruitment of a local prospect. Rushing took an official visit to Arizona even though his high school is only 2.2 miles away. He has also taken official visits to UCLA, Notre Dame and Oregon and will be at Tennessee this weekend. Will the Wildcats get their first five-star prospect in program history?
6. Five-star LB Justin Williams
High school: Conroe (Texas) Oak Ridge
Ranking: No. 12 overall, No. 1 linebacker
Height/weight: 6-2, 205
Considering: Oregon, Georgia, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and USC
Williams is scheduled to take an official visit to Georgia this weekend. But when you look at the big picture in this recruitment, it comes down to whether two West Coast schools — Oregon and USC — can steal a five-star defender out of Texas. Oregon is especially interesting because it is viewed as the favorite. Can the Ducks win a battle involving their current Pac-12 rival, coach Dan Lanning’s former school and the three big Texas programs?
7. Five-star CB Charles Lester III
High school: Venice (Fla.) High
Ranking: No. 18 overall, No. 2 cornerback
Height/weight: 6-1, 171
Considering: Colorado, Georgia, Florida State and Alabama
Lester posted to Twitter on Thursday morning that he won’t be taking his official visit to Georgia this weekend for “personal reasons.” Just the fact that Lester won’t be going to Athens allows your mind to get carried away with the notion that Deion Sanders is going to do it again. A five-star cornerback from Florida who has already officially visited Boulder? Lester fits the Travis Hunter/Cormani McClain profile. Being on Prime Time alert with five-star prospects never stops being entertaining.
due to personal issues i will not take an OV to University of Georgia this weekend! still go Dawgs🐶!
— 5🌟charles “CL3” lester III (@cl3slimee) June 22, 2023
8. Five-star DL David Stone
High school: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG
Ranking: No. 5 overall, No. 2 defensive lineman
Height/weight: 6-4, 270
Considering: Oklahoma, Michigan State, Miami, Florida, Oregon and Texas A&M
Stone is originally from Oklahoma, so don’t look at him as a Florida prospect. As Brent Venables tries to build Oklahoma back into a national contender after a rough 6-7 debut season, this is the exact type of prospect the Sooners need to land. Michigan State, though, has turned to the state of Oklahoma as a secondary market and has had Stone up for visits multiple times. Stone will be taking an official to East Lansing this weekend, and Mel Tucker, who has yet to land a blue-chip commitment in the 2024 cycle, could really use a big win on the recruiting front.
Advertisement
9. Five-star ATH/WR Terry Bussey
High school: Timpson (Texas) High
Ranking: No. 28 overall, No. 3 athlete
Height/weight: 5-11, 180
Considering: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama and LSU
Bussey is taking an official visit to Texas this weekend. He has already been to Oklahoma and Texas A&M this month. Bussey is one of eight five-star prospects in Texas. Three have committed — none to Texas or Texas A&M. These bitter in-state battles, which Oklahoma is usually involved in, are going to get more and more interesting as we see which big-time school from the Lone Star State starts to get some recruiting separation.
10. Four-star RB Taylor Tatum
High school: Longview (Texas) High
Ranking: No. 33 overall, No. 1 running back
Height/weight: 5-11, 205
Considering: USC, Michigan and Oklahoma
When Lincoln Riley took the USC job, it was very easy to picture the Trojans dominating recruiting in Southern California. USC, though, knows it has to be able to pull kids from all over the country if it is going to win a national championship. USC has done a solid job in the 2024 cycle in that regard, dipping into the SEC footprint for top-tier blue-chip talent. The Trojans seem to be in a very good position with Tatum, the No. 1 running back in the country. Oklahoma, though, has all of the momentum after an official visit to Norman last weekend. Tatum officially visited USC at the beginning of the month.
(Photo of Charles Lester III: Manny Navarro / The Athletic)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k29qam9gbXxzfJFsZmluX2eAcL7EnKmuoaSeu6h506inZq2emLyuucitq56cXWeBbrzRqKqpnZOpwHA%3D