college football recruiting visits

ACC recruiting thoughts: 17 thoughts on 17 teams following June official visits

After another hectic month of June official visits, college football’s recruiting dead period kicked off on Monday. It will run until July 24, meaning now is the time for recruiting departments across the country to finally take a breather before the season starts.

In the meantime, several of the nation’s top prospects are expected to issue commitments in the coming days and weeks, looking to end their recruitment before their senior season of high school football begins.

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Let’s check in on each program in the ACC.

Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

Boston College

Boston College went to work this month, picking up 13 of its 19 commitments in the class since June 3. Most importantly, the Eagles landed their quarterback, three-star Oklahoma native Shaker Reisig. Reisig was previously committed to Utah but took an official visit to Boston College on June 14 and decommitted from the Utes on June 17. One day later, he announced his pledge to coach Bill O’Brien and the Eagles. Reisig is ranked No. 834 overall and the No. 45 quarterback in the class, and he has plenty of experience at the Class 6A-I level of high school football in Tulsa, Okla. As a sophomore, he threw for 2,656 yards with 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. As a junior, he threw for 2,366 yards with 25 touchdowns against six picks. Is O’Brien onto something here?

Go eagles! 🦅 #committed @BCFootball pic.twitter.com/O1NtIa6gLL — Shaker Reisig (@ShakerReisig) June 18, 2024

Cal lost its quarterback in this class when three-star Robert McDaniel decommitted last month and committed to Arizona shortly thereafter. But the Golden Bears hosted their newest target on an official visit over the weekend, and he just might be the most intriguing under-the-radar prospect in this class. Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele is a three-star out of Hawaii, ranked No. 716 overall and the No. 39 quarterback. But the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder dazzled last week at the Elite 11 Finals with his arm strength, physical tools and confidence. And he loved his visit to Cal. “That was truly a blessing,” he said. “The coaching staff is great. Amazing. And everything — they just really checked off a lot of my boxes. I was just so happy that I got to do that.”

Clemson has had a quiet month thus far, picking up just two commitments, but the Tigers recently threw their name into the mix with another blue-chip wide receiver who is one of the top players in Alabama. Four-star Dillon Alfred committed to Ole Miss in April but backed off that pledge on Monday. Also on Monday, Clemson offered Alfred after hosting him for a camp earlier in the month. The Tigers have just one wide receiver in this class in three-star Carleton Preston out of Woodbridge, Va. Landing a receiver of Alfred’s caliber would be a two-fold victory for coach Dabo Swinney: The Tigers would pick up a talented player to beef up the position and it would come at the expense of him playing in the SEC.

The Blue Devils are up to 21 commits in Manny Diaz’s first class, with 11 coming this month. But Diaz’s most critical task between now and December could be hanging onto a commitment he received in February. Four-star linebacker Cameron Smith, out of St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, is ranked No. 257 nationally and is the Blue Devils’ only blue-chipper in this class. If he signs, and if his ranking holds, Smith would be Duke’s first top-300 recruit since defensive lineman Vincent Anthony in the 2022 class. Syracuse is making a run at Smith, and he visited the Orange officially this month. It will go down as a massive recruiting victory if Diaz can hold onto him.

Florida State

Florida State has just six commitments in the 2025 class. No other ACC school has fewer than 10. But give the Seminoles credit: All six are blue-chippers, and four rank among the top 200 players in the nation, including both of FSU’s commits last week. Defensive lineman Kevin Wynn, out of Greensboro, Ga., picked the Noles after taking official visits to Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and, most recently, Florida State. Wide receiver CJ Wiley, out of Alpharetta, Ga., picked the Seminoles over Georgia and LSU )where his father, Chuck, played) after visiting both schools earlier this month. Wynn’s hometown is about 45 minutes from Athens, Ga. Wiley is an hour and a half away. These were two massive pickups for coach Mike Norvell.

Georgia Tech

How about the Yellow Jackets? Georgia Tech picked up 16 commits in June after entering the month with just three players in its class. Nothing was more impressive, though, than securing a commitment from four-star prospect Dalen Penson, ranked No. 148 nationally and the No. 18 cornerback, out of Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Ga. Penson joins interior offensive lineman Justin Hasenhuetl as the two blue-chippers in the Jackets’ 2025 class. And both are in-state prospects.

BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!! FIFTH COMMITMENT OF THE DAY!!! Georgia Tech has landed 4 ⭐️ ‘25 DB Dalen Penson out of Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia! The 5’10” 165 lb. corner was the 2023 Georgia Region 5-AAA Athlete of the Year! Welcome to The Flats, @dalenpenson ! pic.twitter.com/WHrmMy4sMO — Georgia Tech Coverage (@gtcoverage) June 10, 2024

Louisville picked up five commits this month, but the Cardinals have yet to have their breakthrough with this class. Only one of their 10 total commitments is ranked in the top 700 and none are blue-chippers. Coach Jeff Brohm has had plenty of success in the transfer portal and has proven he can develop talent, so it might not be time to panic. But it’s hard to reconcile that the same team that played for an ACC championship just six months ago has the league’s third-lowest average player rating at the moment. The Cardinals are ahead of only Cal and Boston College.

Mario Cristobal is one of the elite recruiters in college football, but it feels like the Hurricanes are still waiting to make their big splash with this class. Miami landed five prospects this month, but only one (four-star cornerback Amari Wallace) is a blue-chipper. Whereas FSU has two of the top five in-state prospects committed, Miami has just one of the top 20. We can expect Cristobal to make some big moves late in the cycle, but it feels like the Hurricanes could have made more headway in the ever-important month of June. It will be fascinating to see if more commitments are coming this summer or if top prospects are in wait-and-see mode to see how Miami fares on the field first.

North Carolina

It has been a quiet month for North Carolina. The Tar Heels’ most recent commitments occurred in April, from four-star edge Austin Alexander, three-star safety Javion Butts, three-star edge Anthony Kruah and three-star defensive lineman Devin Ancrum. Interestingly, the Tar Heels have more commits from Georgia (five) than North Carolina (two). It’s smart to make inroads in the talent-rich Peach State, but the Tar Heels’ pitch has revolved around keeping top in-state talent home. So far, UNC has just one top-10 in-state player committed, four-star quarterback Bryce Baker .

The Wolfpack have 11 total prospects in their 2025 class, and none are ranked in the top 600. That’s a problem, in terms of optics and momentum. But Dave Doeren and his staff are in the mix for four-star cornerback Jontae Gilbert, who would add instant credibility to this class should he pick the Wolfpack. Gilbert, an Atlanta native, is the nation’s No. 124 prospect and No. 14 cornerback. He visited NC State officially over the weekend and has the Wolfpack in his top five alongside Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville and UCF . He is scheduled to announce in August.

Recruiting has changed more than ever in the world of name, image and likeness, but relationships still matter. Pitt experienced that first-hand on Wednesday morning when the Panthers landed a commitment from four-star cornerback Mason Alexander, now the headliner of their class. Pitt was the first program to offer Alexander in April of last year, and he committed this week as the nation’s No. 298 prospect and No. 29 cornerback. That said, the Panthers need more of this if they’re going to build back up after winning just three games a season ago. Alexander is the only blue-chipper in the 15-member class.

100% COMMITTED @CoachDuzzPittFB @ARCHIECOLLINS_ @coachcsanders #RIPPops #HailToPitt #H2P pic.twitter.com/iLFfFFLZMw — Mason “Money Man” Alexander (@MAlexander_15) June 26, 2024

Seven months into his new job, Fran Brown has to be getting close to putting the finishing touches on his first full recruiting class. The Orange already have 25 commits, the second-most nationally behind Rutgers’ 28. Of those 25 pledges, eight are from New York, four are from Pennsylvania and two are from Connecticut as Brown looks to make Syracuse a premier destination for talent in the Northeast. But only one is a blue-chipper, four-star edge Sharlandiin Strange. Brown comes from Georgia, where he learned under Kirby Smart. This is a good start, but it stands to reason he won’t be satisfied until landing blue-chippers is a rite of passage and not a pleasant surprise.

What I'm hearing in recruiting: 5-star updates from Caleb Cunnigham, Andrew Babalola and more

It’s been seven years since Stanford signed a five-star prospect, and it’s a testament to coach Troy Taylor as a recruiter that the Cardinal are even in contention for one in this class after winning three games in each of the past three seasons. Five-star offensive lineman Andrew Babalola spent time with Andrew Luck and Condoleezza Rice during his official visit earlier this month and is eyeing a decision before his senior season starts. The Cardinal will have to beat out Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma and Missouri for his services, but should Stanford pull this off, it’d have to be the biggest recruiting win of Taylor’s career.

SMU is in search of a 2025 quarterback now that Keelon Russell has flipped to Alabama , and on Monday, the Mustangs offered Sagapolutele, the Hawaii native who starred at the Elite 11. There figures to be a lot of competition for Sagapolutele, who recently visited Cal and is likely to land more offers in the coming weeks. If the Mustangs can’t land him, it will be interesting to see if coach Rhett Lashlee and his staff try to sign a developmental quarterback in this cycle or if they use the transfer portal and set their sights on the Class of 2026. All but three of the top 50 quarterbacks in the 2025 class are off the board.

Virginia is on pace to finish with its highest average player rating since the Class of 2021. The Cavaliers’ current average of 86.19 is right on par with Syracuse (86.23), Duke (86.26), Pitt (86.30) and Wake Forest (86.27) and is higher than Boston College, Cal and Louisville, despite the Cavaliers finishing with a 3-9 record in 2023. This won’t be a flashy class nationally, or in the ACC, but it’s encouraging to see the Cavaliers show signs of progress.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech doubled its class size this month, from five commits to 10, but only one of the new pledges is a top-450 prospect: three-star defensive lineman Christian Evans. Virginia Tech had a winning season in 2023 for the first time since 2019, but the Hokies may have to show more on the field before they can start dominating the state in recruiting like they did in the Frank Beamer days. Right now, there are too many other options including Clemson, South Carolina , Penn State and the triangle schools in North Carolina. Clemson has commitments from the top two players in Virginia while South Carolina has secured the No. 4 player. The Hokies have a pledge from only one of the top 10 players in the state: four-star linebacker Brett Clatterbaugh (No. 8).

Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons got some bad news this month when three-star wide receiver Teriq Mallory decommitted and committed to West Virginia and three-star quarterback Cutter Woods flipped to South Carolina. Woods is the second 2025 quarterback to cycle through the Demon Deacons’ class; Florida native Locklan Hewlett decommitted in April and is now part of South Florida ’s class. Wake Forest picked up just one prospect during June in unranked wide receiver Bryce Kania. A reset coming out of the dead period might be just what the Demon Deacons need.

(Photo of Dabo Swinney: Ken Ruinard / USA Today)

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Grace Raynor is a staff writer for The Athletic covering recruiting and southeastern college football. A native of western North Carolina, she graduated from the University of North Carolina. Follow Grace on Twitter @ gmraynor

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What recruits are taking official visits to rutgers football this weekend, share this article.

This is a busy weekend for Rutgers football as the Big Ten program hosts some of the nation’s top recruits for official visits.

It is the first official visit weekend for Rutgers and will feature 21 players…including one committed to a Big Ten rival. Two Rutgers commits will be a part of the group on campus this weekend.

Of the visitors, 18 of the 21 players are currently ranked by either ESPN, On3, Rivals or 247Sports. And 19 of the 21 players hold offers from other Power Five programs.

Rutgers currently has the No. 33 class in the nation according to 247Sports . They have eight players committed in the class of 2025.

Here are the 21 players on their official visits to Rutgers football this weekend. Their recruiting profiles are linked in their name:

• Vernon Allen III (three-star wide receiver)
• C.J. Bell (three-star cornerback)
• Raedyn Bruens (three-star defensive end)
• Michael Clayton (unranked athlete but has a strong offer list)
• Renick ‘Stretch’ Dorilas (three-star defensive back and a top-10 player in New Jersey)
• John Forster (four-star running back)
• Miron Gurman
• Jourdin Houston (three-star wide receiver)
• Bryce Jenkins (four-star defensive lineman)
• R.J. Johnson (unranked but holds five Power Five offers)
• Romando Johnson (three-star edge)
• Talibi Kaba (four-star linebacker and a top-10 player in New Jersey)
• Tyler Kielmeyer (three-star offensive lineman)
• Braxton Kyle (unranked defensive lineman but holds a strong offer list)
• Chase Linton (unranked defensive lineman but holds a strong offer list)
• Jaelyne Matthews (four-star offensive lineman and Under Armour All-America Game commit)
• D.J. McClary (four-star linebacker, committed to Penn State)
• Maxwell Roy (four-star defensive lineman)
• Michael Thomas III (four-star wide receiver)
• Chris Vigna (three-star offensive lineman)
• N’Kye Wynn (three-star offensive lineman)

The official visit weekend begins on Friday morning and will run through Sunday afternoon.

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Where is new jersey 4-star linebacker kamar archie heading on3 has a prediction, big ten power rankings - what acc and big 12 schools are conference expansion targets, espn 300 wide receiver travis johnson, a 4-star, talks recent rutgers football offer, what four rutgers football commits are in the espn 300, five under-the-radar schools as big ten expansion candidates in college football re-alignment, exclusive: five-star ace bailey talks about rutgers basketball head coach steve pikiell's impact in his recruitment, commitment, college football expansion: who will join the big ten next.

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NCAA approves rule allowing prospects to take an unlimited number of official recruiting visits

Prospects were previously limited to official visits at five schools.

High school athletes will be able to take an unlimited number of official visits as part of their recruiting process starting July 1, according to new rules passed by the NCAA Division I Council on Thursday . Recruits will be limited to one official visit per school, unless there is a coaching change. 

Official visits allow schools to pay for transportation, a two-night stay, meals and "reasonable entertainment" for an athlete and up to two family members. Previously, prospective athletes were limited to five total official visits as part of their recruitment process. 

"For young people considering where to go to college, visits to campus -- both official and unofficial -- are an integral part of the decision-making process," said Lynda Tealer, chair of the Division I Council. "This was an opportunity to modernize NCAA rules in a way that provides greater and more meaningful opportunities for prospects going through the recruitment process."

The decision could provide a significant victory for schools outside of the recruiting hotbeds who often struggle to get athletes on campus. For example, 15 of Oregon's 29 high school recruits came from outside the Pacific Time Zone. With the new rules, it will be easier for Dan Lanning and his staff to bring more players to campus. 

Additionally, non-power programs could more easily treat local prospects to official visits without costing blue-chip recruits one of their visits. However, it also gives an advantage to well-monied programs that can afford to hand out numerous official visits. Georgia, for example, spent 30% more on recruiting than any other program in college football over the past three years. 

The new rule is part of a sweeping transformation to college recruiting instituted by the NCAA in April. The NCAA has shifted the recruiting calendar to allow coaches to contact recruits starting June 15 after a recruit's sophomore year of high school, moved up from Sept. 1 of their junior year. Additionally, coaches will be able to have in-person contact with recruits after Jan. 1 of their junior year, vastly increasing the number of days available, but cutting the amount of total allowable total recruiting days by 37 between the spring and fall contact periods. 

Updating the recruiting calendar has become a major priority for coaches as recruiting becomes essentially a non-stop activity . Staffs in December often deal with bowl prep, high school recruiting and navigating the transfer portal at the same time. Many of these new rules are focused at trying to ease the demands on staffs later in the year by opening the process up earlier in the year. 

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2024-25 NCAA Football Recruiting Rules and Calendar

The NCAA football recruiting rules and calendar outline when and how college coaches can reach out to athletes. These rules are in place to protect elite athletes from getting overwhelming amounts of contact from college coaches. However, they can be a little misleading as they don’t accurately represent when recruiting really starts for football. When student-athletes start the recruiting process, one of their first questions is: “When can college coaches contact high school athletes?” For Division 1 football, the NCAA recently updated the recruiting rules to allow college coaches to start reaching out to recruits June 15 of before the start of their junior year of high school via all electronic communications, which includes texting, emailing and social media direct messages.

D2 coaches can reach out to recruits starting June 15 after the athlete’s sophomore year via electronic communications, recruiting materials, phone calls and in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts. D3 and NAIA coaches don’t have any restrictions on when they can begin contacting recruits, but they generally wait until around junior year unless a recruit is reaching out to them and showing interest in their school. 

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How can you use the ncaa football recruiting rules and calendar in your recruiting.

Families can use the NCAA football recruiting rules and NCAA football recruiting calendar to make sure they’re on track in their recruiting. For example, if it’s June 15 of the athlete’s junior year of high school, they can receive emails, texts and DMs from D1, D2, D3 and NAIA coaches. If they haven’t heard from any coaches at this point, they know you have some work to do to get on their radar! The recruiting calendar is also a good way for athletes and their coaches to organize their recruiting efforts for the year. For example, if an athlete is a senior in high school during a contact period, they should arrange campus visits and maximize coach contact during this time.

Related articles

• Read about the NCAA’s name, image, likeness rules
• When is college football signing day ?
• What are the benefits of high school football rankings ?

NCAA Division 1 football recruiting rules

D1 football coaches can send athletes  recruiting questionnaires,  camp brochures and non-athletic institutional publications freshman and sophomore year. Effective for the 2023-24 school year, the NCAA now allows contact between coaches and athletes to begin June 15 of the athlete’s junior year.

Junior Year:

• June 15 before junior year: Athletes can receive any form of private, electronic communication. This includes emails, recruiting materials, texts and direct messages on social media.
• April 1 through the Sunday before the last Wednesday in June: A college may pay for a prospective student-athlete and two family members to visit campus. After this date, a college may offer an expense-paid visit after Sept. 1 of senior year.

Senior Year:

• July 1 before senior year: Coaches can contact athletes off-campus, but only during the contact periods. Coaches are only allowed six off-campus contacts with each student-athlete.
• First day of classes: Athletes can take unlimited official visits. Only one per school.
• September 1: Coaches can call athletes once a week after this time, and they can call recruits unlimited times during the contact period.

Evaluation days: Coaches can evaluate each recruit three times. They can take one evaluation per recruit in the fall, and then two evaluations from April 15 to May 31.

NCAA Division 2 football recruiting rules

The NCAA football recruiting rules for Division 2 are the same across all sports. For football, the rules are slightly more relaxed than those for Division 1:

• Any time : Athletes can receive brochures for camps, recruiting questionnaires, NCAA materials and non-athletic recruiting publications.
• June 15 after sophomore year: Athletes can begin taking official visits. Coaches can also communicate with recruits electronically (via private texts, social media DMs, instant messages, etc.). Athletes are able to receive calls from coaches, and coaches can conduct in-person, off-campus recruiting contact. Finally, after this date, coaches can approach a recruit’s coach at a competition (game, camp, etc.) throughout the contact periods.
• Evaluations : Coaches are not restricted in how many times they can evaluate a student-athlete at the D2 level. Coaches just have to make sure that they don’t communicate with the recruits until their practice/competition has ended and they’ve been released by their coach or the proper authority.

NCAA Division 3 and NAIA football recruiting rules

D3 and NAIA colleges are generally left to create their own recruiting rules and schedules. They don’t have limits on when coaches can contact recruits. The only standardized rule for D3 schools is that coaches are not allowed to meet with recruits or their families off-campus until the athlete has completed their sophomore year of high school.

2024–2025 NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 football recruiting calendar

Throughout the school year, specific types of contact with college coaches are permitted during certain times at the D1 and D2 level. Layer the 2023-24 NCAA recruiting calendar on top of the recruiting rules to determine what type of contact to expect based on your age and the time of year.

Dead period : During the dead period, coaches may not have any in-person contact with recruits and/or their parents. They are not allowed to talk to recruits at their college campus, the athlete’s school, an athletic camp or even the grocery store.

Division 1 FBS

• Except for: the 48 hours prior to a home game during August and September 1–2 through the 48 hours after the game. This is a quiet period.
• Except for: the seven days before the first day of classes. This is a quiet period for student-athletes enrolling midyear.
• Feb. 4 – Mar. 3, 2024
• May 26 – 29, 2024
• Jun. 25 – Jul. 24, 2024

Division 1 FCS

• Nov. 27–30, 2023
• Dec. 2 (7 am) – Dec. 4 (7 am), 2024 (only for two-year prospective athletes who intend to enroll midyear)
• Jan. 13 – 15, 2025
• Feb. 3 ( 7 am) – Feb. 5 (7 am) 2025

Quiet period : The quiet period is a time you can talk to college coaches in-person on their college campus. However, the coach is not allowed to watch athletes compete in-person, visit their school, talk to them at their home—or talk to them anywhere outside of the college campus.

• Dec. 17, 2023
• Mar. 4 – Apr. 14, 2024
• Jun. 1–23, 2024
• Jul. 25-31, 2024
• During August and September 1–2, 2023: the 48 hours prior to a home game through the 48 hours after the game. This is a quiet period.
• Except for: coaches can take 56 evaluation days during September, October and November.
• The seven days immediately before the first day of classes of the institution’s second academic term.
• Jan. 3 – 7, 2024 for midyear enrollees only
• All days in April and May not used for an athletic or academic evaluation are quiet periods.
• May 30 – Jul. 31, 2024

 Division 2

• Jun. 1 through the start of recruit’s first regularly scheduled football practice

Evaluation period : This is a specific time of year when college coaches are allowed to watch an athlete compete in person or visit their school. However, coaches are not allowed to communicate with that athlete (or their parents) off the college campus. 

Division 1 FBS and FCS

• Sep. 1 – Nov. 26, 2023

Contact period : The NCAA contact period is exactly what it sounds like—all communication between athletes and coaches is fair game. In other words, the communication floodgates are open, so take advantage of this opportunity to get unlimited access to coaches.

• Dec. 1 – 16, 2023
• Jan. 12 – Feb 3, 2024 (National Service Academies only)
• Apr. 15 – May 25, 2024

Insider tip : While it’s always helpful to be familiar with the NCAA recruiting rules and calendar, it’s really up to the college coaches to comply with the rules. As an athlete, you can email, call or DM a coach at any time. It’s the coach’s responsibility to check the rules before they respond.

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What coaches look for on official and unofficial visits, share this article.

USA TODAY High School Sports has a weekly column on the college recruiting process. Here, you’ll find practical tips and real-world advice on becoming a better recruit to maximize your opportunities to play at the college level. Jason Smith is a former NCAA DIII athlete and college coach at all three division levels. Jason is just one of many former college and professional athletes, college coaches, and parents who are part of the  Next College Student Athlete  team. Their knowledge, experience, and dedication along with NCSA’s history of digital innovation, and long-standing relationship with the college coaching community have made NCSA the largest and most successful athletic recruiting network in the country.

For many student-athletes, setting foot on campus is the moment everything clicks. They take in the culture, meet with college-athletes in person, walk through the dorms, and then they just know—this is where I want to go to school.

That’s why official and unofficial visits play such an important part in the recruiting process. It helps families picture the next four years, and gives them a sense of clarity—good or bad—on whether they want to pursue that college. Plus, it’s an opportunity to get some one-on-one time with the coach and team and tour the athletic facilities.

Read more: How official and unofficial visits work

That being said, the coach is also evaluating your athlete— and even you —by essentially bringing your family onto their turf. Recruiting is a two-way street, and they want to make sure that your athlete is a fit for them just as much as the school is for your child.

And now, with the NCAA rules that went into effect this year , D1 college coaches can invite student-athletes on official visits starting Sept. 1 of their junior year. Previously, recruits had to wait until their senior year to go on official visits.

So as you prepare for visits this fall, here’s what college coaches look for—and how your family can make a great impression.

Does your child have real interest in the program?

It seems like a no-brainer, but it’s worth pointing out that coaches can spot pretty quickly when the student-athlete has no interest in the school, especially smaller schools or D3 programs. In most of these scenarios, the parents thought it was a great opportunity, helped set up the visit and pressured the athlete to attend. So, begrudgingly their child obliges, but doesn’t put any effort forward once there.

Make a great impression : Before you visit any school, make sure your whole family is on the same page, and help your child do their research on the program. The best way to show coaches they have genuine interest is by asking good questions. For example, what are the most common majors on the team, and what is the team’s average GPA? What do the offseason and holiday commitments look like? What does a typical week of practice look like?

You want to fully understand what your child’s experience would be like if they attended that school, and the coach will respond positively to these questions as they show your athlete did their research and has real interest in the program.

Read more: Questions to ask college coaches

How are you behaving?

Don’t forget: coaches are actually observing you, too. They know this is a family decision, which means not only are they bringing your athlete onto the team, but you’re also a part of the deal. So, they like to see how you blend into their culture as well. Plus, they want to see how independent recruits are around their parents. For example, if you’re answering every question for your athlete, it signals to coaches your child may need some hand-holding once they’re on their own.

Read more: How college coaches recommend parents help with recruiting

Make a great impression : Let your child lead. When you think of an official or unofficial visit, think of it this way—the coach is walking side-by-side with the athlete, talking to them about the program and the school, and the parents are just behind them, supporting and adding to the experience. You never want to answer the questions for your child and be the only one asking them. Instead, think of this as an opportunity for your athlete to show the college coach that when they leave the comfort of home and go off to school for the first time, they are mature enough and independent enough to handle the transition.

Read more: Questions college coaches ask

What does your child’s body language say?

There are far too many stories about coaches really looking forward to a prospect visiting and then being completely turned off by the athlete’s attitude and body language. Whether they’re on their phone the entire time, looking down or not answering questions, they’re signaling to coaches that they’re uncomfortable or don’t want to be there.

Make a great impression : College coaches realize that high schoolers may be shy around authority figures. They don’t expect every recruit to be super outgoing, but they do want to get to know your child on this visit, and they can’t really do that when your athlete is displaying negative body language. This is a chance for your student-athlete to show the coach they are independent and have leadership qualities. So, to help your athlete prepare for this visit, remind them to answer questions directly and confidently, shake the coach’s hand, and keep their phones in their pocket at all times.

Does your child bond with the team?

Whether it’s a team dinner or an overnight visit, if the coach has serious interest in your athlete, they will make sure they meet with the team. After all, most of your child’s time will be spent with these players. They’ll travel with them, train with them, take classes with them, and even live with them. So it’s really important for the college coach to analyze a recruit’s personality and see how they vibe with other players.

Make a great impression : Relax! Remind your child that a visit isn’t an interview—it’s an opportunity to picture what life would be like on campus and being a college-athlete. If it isn’t meant to be, it isn’t meant to be. That’s why you go on them—to discover your best fit and find the right program for your family. Bonding with the team and talking with the coach can seem overwhelming, but if you’re prepared, have done your research, and know what factors matter to you when selecting a college, you’ll surely have that “aha” moment.

Read more: How to get recruited

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When michigan football top 2025 uncommitted targets will decide, share this article.

The summer official visit season is over and the recruiting dead period of July — prior to the annual BBQ at the Big House — is set to kick in. But with 12 commitments in the 2025 class, the Wolverines still have about half of the class to fill out. And thus, the calendar will tick down and targets will either choose the Wolverines or head elsewhere.

With that in mind, while we don’t have specific dates for each and every uncommitted recruit (we’re not counting those that Michigan is working to flip from previous commitments like Shamari Earls or Ivan Taylor), we do have some as well as general timelines for most of them.

Here is when each of Michigan football’s top uncommitted targets are set to announce their college choice:

• Santa Ana (Calif.) four-star RB Jordon Davison – June 28
• Alpharetta (Ga.) four-star EDGE Julius Holly – June 29

Destrehan (La.) three-star WR Phillip Wright – within the next week

• Princeton (N.J.) Hun School four-star LB Kamar Archie – late June, early July

Brookline (Mass.) Dexter School four-star OL Hardy Watts – July 1

Danville (Calif.) San Marcos five-star EDGE Marco Jones – July 2

• Winston Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor four-star S JaDon Blair – July 5

Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh four-star TE Andrew Olesh – within the next few weeks

• Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman five-star WR Derek Meadows – within the next few weeks
• Fulshear (Tx.) Katy Jordan four-star WR Andrew Marsh – August or Veteran’s Day

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star LB Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng – late summer or early signing day in December

Monroe (N.C.) four-star S Jordan Young – October 12

• Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest five-star OT Andrew Babalola – unknown

Michigan is in a very good spot for many of the aforementioned players.

To see our most recent 2025 best guess list of what the class will look like, click here.

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Top 2024 College Football Recruit Dylan Raiola Visits USC, New Favorite Emerges

• Author: James Parks

The consensus No. 1 quarterback and near-consensus top overall player in the 2024 college football recruiting class was on the road again, as Dylan Raiola took a visit to USC over the weekend.

"Every time I go back I just love it more and more," he said via 247Sports.

More: Ranking the Top Consensus College Football Recruits in 2024

Dylan Raiola at USC

While on site on USC, the quarterback met with head football coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams and took in the Trojans' spring football practice.

Raiola told On3 Sports recruiting analyst Chad Simmons, "I ask him questions about football-related things, not really about USC, but really just about their plays, any favorite plays, and just what he likes to call on certain downs and distances."

The visit went so well that USC has now replaced Nebraska and former favorite Georgia as the team currently in the lead to earn Raiola's commitment, according to analysts.

Nebraska also trending for Raiola

The five-star quarterback out of Arizona was also one of the most high profile visitors to the Cornhuskers program since the hiring of new football coach Matt Rhule this offseason.

And he was welcomed by a familiar face once he got there: Raiola's uncle Donovan is Nebraska's current offensive line coach.

Dylan's father Dominic was an All-American and Rimington Trophy winner at Nebraska and his No. 54 jersey is retired by the school.

Related: 2024 College Football Recruiting Team Rankings

Raiola was an Ohio State pledge

Initially, the quarterback announced he had committed to Ohio State as the most high-profile get for the Buckeyes' 2024 recruiting class.

But Raiola changed his mind at the start of the new year and revealed that he de-committed from Ohio State .

That surprising news re-opened the player's recruiting process in a big way and changed the course of the 2024 football recruiting cycle.

Starting from scratch

"Everything is back on the table," Raiola's father told 247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong at the time.

He added, "His process is almost like it's re-starting. It's not closed off to anybody."

Standing at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds from Phoenix, Raiola has made a name for himself as a superstar in the 2024 football recruiting class.

Dylan Raiola recruiting profile

He passed for 3,241 yards with 32 touchdown passes and rushed for nine additional scores in 12 games as a sophomore.

Raiola hit over 64 percent of his throws for 2,435 yards with 22 touchdowns with five interceptions in his junior campaign.

Predictions for Dylan Raiola recruitment

Three main contenders have emerged for the quarterback, with USC, Nebraska, and Georgia the apparent favorites in the race.

247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong — who has a 100 percent record making Crystal Ball predictions in the 2024 cycle — projects that Raiola will sign with USC, flipping from his original pick, Georgia.

Overall between the seven 247 analysts who made predictions, USC is receiving 55.6 percent of the vote, followed by Nebraska with 33.3 percent, and Georgia with 11.1 percent.

On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine is now siding with USC as the current favorite to land Raiola, with 39.9 percent likelihood.

RPM places Nebraska and Georgia is a close 2-3 race, with the Cornhuskers at 28.8 percent and the Bulldogs at 19.4 percent.

Ohio State places fourth at 9.7 percent on the On3 Prediction Machine.

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

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Coaches differ on the best official visit strategy

• Graduated from Kansas State Follow on X

What's the secret to the best time to bring recruits to campus for official visits? The secret is that there aren't any secrets, as coaches at schools from coast-to-coast will tell you there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for the timing of official visits.

Any visit to a campus by a college-bound student-athlete and his parents or legal guardians paid for by the college is considered an official visit. During an official visit, the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the prospect, lodging and three meals per day for the prospect, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses -- including three tickets to a home sports event.

December and January and the run-up to national signing day have traditionally been when schools bring recruits and their families to campus for visits. The NCAA's Football Recruiting Ad Hoc Group estimated around 75 percent of official visits take place in the eight weeks before signing day. But with the expedited recruiting cycle, the committee found more and more schools have been bringing recruits in on game weekends in September, October and November.

"I've had a little bit of a change of heart on when you should bring kids to campus over the years," Nebraska coach Mike Riley said. "I used to believe December and January were the only times you should bring players to town. But over the past few years, I've started to see many of the benefits bringing recruits in on visits for game days can have for your program. Both approaches have advantages, but they can also have some pitfalls you need to be aware of."

One of the biggest benefits for bringing recruits to town in December and January is that you can usually get larger groups of players together and use some strategy on uncommitted targets. SMU defensive coordinator Van Malone said he likes to group guys who are definitely coming to his school with a small handful of guys that are still not sure.

"You sprinkle him in with the guys that are locked in, because they're talking 'we and us,'" Malone said. "The guy that hasn't made a decision, he's 'you and them,' and by the end of the weekend, we hope he's talking 'we and us,' too. It also gives the parents a good feel to be around other parents that are sold on the school already. It gives parents time to bond. You suddenly start seeing parents talking about how they could someday ride to the games together and talk about tailgating together. That's easily one of the best reasons to bring kids in for December visits instead of earlier in the season."

Another big advantage of December and January visits instead of game day trips is the coaching staff and players who are hosting visits can pay full attention to the recruits and their families instead of having to work around final game prep, the actual game itself and the ramifications of losing the game.

"When you bring kids in on game day weekends, you have to really hope that your players can be your best recruiters," Mississippi State assistant recruiting coordinator Niel Stopczynski said. "The team is doing a lot of recruiting for you, because you don't have a whole lot of time to sit around and talk to the recruit and his family. Recruits that come in on game weekends might be lucky to get only an hour or two with your head coach, but when you bring them in January or December, you can ensure big blocks of time with your coaches. That's why we always push later visits.

"And God forbid if you lose the game. You might as well send the recruits home after you lose a big game in front of a bunch of official visitors."

"Your fan base is one of your biggest selling points, and what better thing to showcase to a recruit than your game days." Nebraska coach Mike Riley

But there are plenty of potential drawbacks to waiting for postseason visits. Texas coach Tom Herman said there's always concern if you wait too long to get a kid to campus, he could be influenced by another school, and it could be too late to "play catch-up." And unless you're at a school like USC, UCLA or Miami, you always run the risk of having weather affect recruiting weekends in December and January.

Count No. 2 defensive tackle LaBryan Ray as a fan of taking visits in December and January. He said he was asked repeatedly by coaches to take visits during the season, but he elected for a visit schedule of Ole Miss in December, Tennessee on Jan. 13, Alabama on Jan. 20 and Florida on Jan. 27.

"I owed it to my team to be focused on them during the season," Ray, who had 124 tackles and 13 sacks at Madison (Alabama) James Clemens High School. "If you're flying around all over the country, you're missing practices, film review and putting yourself ahead of the team."

Yet the numbers do tell us that more and more schools are using official visits on game weekends, especially at places where there is an outstanding setting on Saturdays or if there's a marquee game.

"Your fan base is one of your biggest selling points, and what better thing to showcase to a recruit than your game days," Riley said. "The crowd. The band. The tailgating. The electricity that's created on game days can be awfully appealing and make big impressions on a recruit. It's hard to replicate that, even when you have a home basketball game in December or January."

But still coaches said they have to be smart with the type of players they bring in on game weekends. Instead of spending an official visit during the season on a local prospect, many schools will use it on players from outside their state or from a different region. For example, Nebraska brought in 31 of its available 56 official visits this recruiting cycle on game weekends and 30 of them were from out-of-state players.

"Say we had a juco kid from California that had never stepped foot in the state of Mississippi, that's never been to a game, probably never watched us on TV and has zero clue about what life is like in Mississippi on game day. We'll bring that guy in during a game day visit," Mississippi State's Stopczynski said. "I think the most emotionally charged you get on your visits, is when you come in on a game day, especially if we do a good job and we win. The crowd is happy. The cowbells are ringing and everything else. It does something to you."

Herman agreed and said that Texas will likely employ that philosophy as the he goes through his first full cycle in Austin with the 2018 recruiting class.

"With out-of-state kids, most of the time it's important to get them in during the season so they can see a game day atmosphere," Herman said. "... I think if you've got interest from one of the top players in the country, and he's out of state and wants to come see game, we'll certainly accommodate that."

That's exactly what Penn State, Florida, UCLA and Ohio State did for top-ranked inside linebacker Anthony Hines III of Plano (Texas) East. Hines took all five of his official visits during the season because he said it was important for him to see what it was like on campus on a typical game day.

"Living in Texas, you don't get too many opportunities to see places like Los Angeles, State College, Gainesville or Columbus other than what you see on TV," Hines, who committed and is already enrolled at Texas A&M, said. "So I wanted to get on campus at those schools, walk around and see what the environment was like, what were the fans like. I also liked seeing how the coaches interacted with the players on game day. For me, the game day visits were vital."

It's the differences between Hines and Ray and how schools like Nebraska or Mississippi State use their official visits that make it one of the most fascinating parts of the entire recruiting process. For every argument for in-season or out-of-season visits, there's a counter for why it's not a good idea.

"... I think every kid is a little bit different when you're out there recruiting them," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. "There are some kids that you say 'Hey, they like every school.' If they like every school, then you want to be the last school they visit, so that's the last thing on their mind. Others you want to get them on campus as soon as you can, so they'll commit.

"It's more complex of an issue than you think, and there's no right or wrong answer. You just hope your coaches recruiting find out from the people involved in the process when that right time is."