College Football's Most Important Offers of the Week
The uncertainty surrounding Brady Hoke’s future as the head coach at Michigan continues to hurt the Wolverines' 2015 class.
Last week, 4-star running back Michael Weber announced that he is reopening his recruiting process.
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It didn’t take long for the interest to pick up in the 5’10”, 205-pounder.
The U.S. Army All-American picked up offers from Georgia, Notre Dame and Alabama.
Those three powerhouses join the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State, USC and Wisconsin in addition to the Wolverines as schools that Weber is still considering.
According to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports, Weber—who has plans to announce his commitment on Jan. 3 at the U.S. Army All-American game—was excited to receive his latest offer from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.
“They are the No. 1 team in the country that always wins and they put running backs in the league every year,” Weber told Wiltfong.
The Irish will lose starting running back Cam McDaniel to graduation, while Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon and Georgia’s Todd Gurley are juniors with potential to test the NFL draft waters.
With a little more than a month left until he plans to make a commitment, Weber figures to receive more interest and take some trips between now and when he leaves for San Antonio.
Can the Irish deal a further blow to the rival Wolverines by swiping Weber away, or will he be tempted to head to the SEC to play his college football?
Stay tuned.
Alabama Hits Sunshine State
In addition to offering Weber, Saban and his staff were active in Florida last week.
The Tide tendered 2015 3-star wide receiver Ryan Davis and 2017 4-star corner Stanford Samuels III.
Davis has offers from the likes of Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Tennessee, among others. However, according to ESPN’s Derek Tyson, Davis plans to visit Tuscaloosa after his season concludes.
Meanwhile, Samuels is rated as the No. 3 corner in the 2017 class, and he possesses early offers from schools such as Georgia, Miami, LSU, Oklahoma and Tennessee, among others. Per Barton Simmons of 247Sports, UCLA also offered Samuels last week.
His father, Stanford Samuels Jr., played corner at Florida State from 2000-03.
Tennessee Offers Multiple Underclassmen
Butch Jones and the rest of his staff at Tennessee have been one of the surprises of the 2015 cycle, as the Vols currently have the nation’s No. 5 class.
Last week, the Vols turned their attention to some of the top underclassmen in their backyard.
Jones and his staff offered 2016 3-star athlete Ikenna Okeke, 2017 running back Chase Hayden and 2018 receiver Camron Johnson—all of whom are Tennessee natives.
The Vols also offered 2017 4-star rusher Cam Akers, per Demetric Warren of Varsity Preps.
Hayden’s father, Aaron, was a standout running back for the Vols in the early 1990s.
Miami after California, Texas Talent
Another program who was busy last week in scouting the future classes was Miami.
Al Golden and his staff hit the fertile grounds of California and Texas to offer some of the top underclassmen in those states.
The ‘Canes offered 2016 4-star offensive lineman Frank Martin, per Adam Gorney of Rivals. They also offered 2016 3-star defensive end Marcus Moore from the Golden State, according to David Lake of InsideTheU (subscription required).
Meanwhile, they also tendered 2016 4-star offensive lineman Jean Delance, who committed to Oklahoma earlier in the week.
Given this level of aggressiveness early, it’s clear that Golden and his staff are extending their reach by identifying top talent across the nation.
Best of the Rest
- LSU offered 2015 4-star athlete and current Florida pledge Derrick Dillon, according to Shea Dixon of Geaux247.
- 2015 JUCO 3-star corner Justin Martin received an offer from Auburn.
- 2015 3-star athlete John Petrishen picked up an offer from Penn State.
- Iowa is the latest offer for 2015 3-star athlete John Kelly.
- Clemson offered 2015 3-star corner and current Virginia Tech commit Mook Reynolds.
- 2016 4-star safety Damar Hamlin picked up an offer from Maryland. The Terps also offered 2016 4-star athlete Robbie Robinson.
- Michigan State offered 2016 linebacker Cameron Brown.
- Gorney reports that Arizona State offered 2016 4-star athlete Jack Jones.
- 2016 4-star receiver Tyler Vaughns picked up an offer from Utah, per Gorney.
- Duke offered 2016 4-star linebacker Brendan Ferns, per ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren.
- N.C. State is the newest offer for 2016 4-star receiver Binjimen Victor.
- 2016 4-star running back and current Florida commit Chauncey Gardner picked up an offer from Notre Dame. The Irish also offered fellow 2016 Sunshine State native and 3-star receiver Tre Nixon.
- Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports reports that Clemson has offered 2016 4-star receiver and current LSU pledge Stephen Sullivan.
- Mississippi State offered 2017 4-star offensive lineman Adrian Ealy.
- 2017 4-star receiver Emmanuel Greene was offered by Ohio State, per Ryan Bartow of 247Sports.
- Pittsburgh offered 2017 offensive lineman Robert Hainsey.
- Josh Edwards of CatsPause reports that Kentucky offered 2017 4-star corner Shaun Wade.
- Oklahoma State offered 2017 4-star quarterback Shawn Robinson, per Bartow.
- Miami offered 2018 linebacker Merlin Robertson, per Gorney.
- North Carolina is the newest offer for 2018 running back Ricky Slade.
Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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