Auburn, Ohio State add top-100 prospects, Rutgers continues surge: This week in recruiting (2024)

Recruiting activity is picking up as we move deeper into June. Let’s look at the most notable storylines from the past week.

Note: All rankings are per the 247Sports Composite.

1. One common theme from this past weekend was first-year coaches scoring much-needed wins on the recruiting trail.

Mike Elko is off to a good start in his first full cycle at Texas A&M. The Aggies picked up a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Kiotti Armstrong last Friday and now have the ninth-ranked class nationally. Armstrong, a Texas native who is ranked No. 110 in the Class of 2025, visited Baylor and Auburn before committing to Texas A&M.

The Aggies’ class now consists of 14 players, including seven blue-chip defensive prospects.

DeShaun Foster continues to re-establish the UCLA brand on the recruiting trail. The Bruins landed a commitment from four-star safety Jadyn Hudson of Pittsburg (Calif.) High School, the fourth blue-chip prospect in a class that ranks 31st nationally. Foster aspires to make the Bruins relevant on the national front, but getting the job done in the state of California is still the primary focus.

There hasn’t been much to say about Jedd Fisch’s recruiting at Washington. But the new staff earned an impressive recruiting win when four-star offensive lineman Champ Taulealea, who seemed to be leaning toward USC, committed to the Huskies. Washington’s class ranks 59th nationally with only seven commitments.

New Houston coach Willie Fritz picked up the highest-rated player in the Cougars’ class with a commitment from four-star tackle Demetris Dean, who is ranked No. 367 nationally. And Sherrone Moore continued to build his first class at Michigan with a pledge from four-star safety and top-100 prospect Kainoa Winston.

All in all, it was a solid week for the new coaches.

No place like home #GiGem #Aggieland @dctf @AggieFootball pic.twitter.com/VMM0vBiB7B

See Also

Colorado high school football rankings, Week 10: After putting Cherry Creek on the ropes, Arapahoe stands pat at No. 32024 Colorado HS Football Player Rankings | Prep Redzone2025 Colorado HS Football Player Rankings | Prep RedzoneRecruiting roundup: UW football preps for critical weekend

— Kiotti Armstrong (@ArmstrongKiotti) June 15, 2024

2. Luke Fickell’s first recruiting class at Wisconsin ranked No. 23 nationally, one of the program’s best in the modern era. Fickell built his reputation as a head coach with strong player development at Cincinnati, but his first class with the Badgers featured 11 blue-chip prospects.

Wisconsin has quite a way to go before it’s at that number in the 2025 cycle, but it’s enjoyed a good surge over the past few weeks. Since the beginning of June, the Badgers have landed commitments from three blue-chip prospects, including two over the past week and change — four-star linebacker Mason Posa and four-star wideout Eugene Hilton Jr., the son of former Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton.

Wisconsin’s class has been ranked in the top 20 for the past few months, mainly due to the number of commits (19). But now the class is fortified by some legitimate blue-chip talent. The class ranks No. 13 nationally, and Fickell seems positioned to sign back-to-back top-25 classes, which hasn’t been done at Wisconsin over the past 15 years.

3. Auburn received just one blue-chip commitment last week, but it was a significant one — top-100 safety Eric Winters, who was being heavily pursued by Georgia and Miami, among others

That was a big recruiting win for Hugh Freeze, who has the No. 6 class in the nation. The Tigers also hosted five-star quarterback and USC commit Julian “JuJu” Lewis. The Georgia native has been committed to USC since last summer and took a trip to Los Angeles the week before visiting Auburn.

In some circles, Auburn has been viewed as USC’s main competition for Lewis, who still has a visit planned to Colorado this weekend.

4. Rutgers made a splash a few weeks ago with a big recruiting weekend and continues to stay hot on the trail. The Scarlet Knights received commitments from a pair of four-star in-state prospects — Michael Thomas III (No. 193 nationally) and offensive lineman Jaelyne Matthews (No. 246).

The Knights’ lofty ranking (No. 10) is due in large part to their 27 commitments — the most of any team in the nation — but this is still a very solid class that has gotten much stronger in the past week.

5.A couple of weeks ago, there was a lot of movement in the offensive tackle market. This past week, it’s been pretty busy in the receiver world. Let’s start with the kings of receiver recruiting, Ohio State, which picked up a commitment from Quincy Porter, a top-50 prospect and the No. 1 player in New Jersey.

Porter’s pledge strengthens the Buckeyes’ grip on the No. 1 spot in the rankings and is another win for recruiter extraordinaire, receivers coach Brian Hartline.

Oklahoma went into Southern California and came away with a pledge from four-star wideout Marcus Harris, the No. 164 overall player in the class. Sooners fans will savor the fact that the program has landed more commitments from Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., a traditional USC pipeline, than Lincoln Riley and the Trojans over the past two cycles.

Meanwhile, Georgia continued its steady climb up the rankings thanks to a commitment from four-star receiver Talyn Taylor, the No. 71 overall player in the class. The Bulldogs now rank fourth nationally.

6. Utah’s recruiting has been interesting to track over the past few years. In the 2023 cycle, the Utes signed the highest-ranked class in program history (20th nationally). But last cycle — coming off of back-to-back Pac-12 championships — Utah brought in a small class that ranked just 59th nationally.

It’s been a slow start to this cycle for Utah as well, with only seven commitments in a class that ranks 57th. But the Utes had a strong victory over the weekend when they landed four-star linebacker Christian Thatcher, a Las Vegas native whose list of finalists included USC, Oklahoma, Washington, Colorado and Kansas.

Thatcher is one of two four-star commits in Utah’s class, along with four-star quarterback Wyatt Becker of Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon.

There are only two blue-chip prospects in the state of Utah in the Class of 2025, a down year in comparison to recent cycles. So the Utes might have to go elsewhere to find talent.

7. We highlighted TCU last week, and the Horned Frogs jumped Arizona State for the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 rankings after landing a commitment from four-star edge rusher Jared Martin, who had been considering the Sun Devils and Cal.

TCU has done well solidifying the edge of its defense this month. In addition to Martin, the Horned Frogs received a commitment from top-100 edge rusher Chad Woodfork andtwo three-stars (John Schobel and Anthony Williams) at the position.

8. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss picked up a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Andrew Maddox, which vaulted the Rebels’ class into the top 25. Ole Miss has pledges from three of the top seven prospects in the state of Mississippi.

It helped the Rebels that Maddox’s brother, four-star QB AJ Maddox, signed with the program in the 2024 cycle.

Elsewhere

• USC’s 2025 class suffered a significant setback this week when two five-star prospects from Georgia decommitted — edge rusher Isaiah Gibson and defensive lineman Justus Terry.

• Nebraska and Tennessee both received commitments from blue-chip prospects along the defensive front last week. Four-star edge rusher Jayden Loftin committed to the Vols while the Cornhuskers received a pledge from defensive lineman Malcolm Simpson, the second highest-rated player (No. 302) in their class behind quarterback TJ Lateef.

• Two blue-chip offensive linemen found homes over the past week. Four-star Connor Howes of Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola committed to Arkansas. He’s the first blue-chip prospect in the Razorbacks’ class. South Carolina earned a commitment from Shedrick Sarratt Jr., an in-state prospect from Gaffney High School.

• Penn State opened the week with a commitment from four-star corner Jahmir Joseph, a top-250 player from New Jersey. The Nittany Lions’ class is ranked 11th nationally.

• Texas made a big move in the Class of 2026 when five-star quarterback Dia Bell, the son of former NBA defensive standout Raja Bell, committed to the Longhorns on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, top-100 quarterback Brady Hart of Cocoa (Fla.) High School picked Michigan.

(Photo of Hugh Freeze: Brett Rojo / 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