College Football's Most Important Offers of the Week
With signing day a little more than two weeks away, teams across the country are putting their best foot forward in the hopes of meeting their needs with the last few scholarships they have left.
Take the case of the Georgia Bulldogs, for instance.
After the hire of new offensive line coach Rob Sale, the Dawgs have been busy handing out a flurry of offers to 2015 offensive linemen.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
In all, Mark Richt and his staff extended offers to four 2015 offensive linemen who are committed to other schools—three of whom are in-state targets.
Current Tennessee pledge and 3-star Venzell Boulware received an offer on Tuesday. Boulware initially considered taking a trip to Athens at the weekend before scrapping those plans, according to Ryan Callahan of Vols247 (subscription required).
Marquel Harrell, a 4-star offensive guard prospect who is committed to Auburn, also received an offer from the Bulldogs on Tuesday. According to Justin Hokanson of AuburnUndercover, Harrell shot down any talk of him flipping to the in-state Bulldogs and reaffirmed his commitment to the Tigers.
The final in-state linemen targeted by the Dawgs is 2-star prospect and current California commitment Nick Buchanan. The 6’4”, 280-pound tackle prospect was also offered by South Carolina.
Finally, 4-star Florida product and current Miami commitment Tyree St. Louis earned a Georgia offer. According to Luke Stampini of GatorBait, Tennessee and Florida are among the schools who will host St. Louis on visits in an effort to flip him before national signing day.
For Georgia, it will be interesting to monitor whether they can gain traction with any of the four players they offered last week or if they continue to target other prospects along the offensive line until they meet their goal.
Michigan Hits Florida, Georgia 2015 Prospects
Now that Jim Harbaugh is settled in Ann Arbor, the Michigan Wolverines figure to be one of the more active teams between now and national signing day.
Harbaugh and his staff were aggressive last week in targeting 2015 prospects in Florida and Georgia.
In the Peach State, the Wolverines joined the race for one of the nation’s hottest prospects in 3-star athlete Chris Williamson.
The Wolverines also offered a trio of 2015 standouts in 4-star wide receiver Ryan Davis, 3-star corner and current Rutgers commitment Jarius Adams and 3-star defensive end Shelton Johnson.
With only six current commitments in their 2015 class, expect the flood of recent activity on the recruiting trail to continue.
Michigan/MSU Offer 2016 In-State DE
One of the top prospects in the state of Michigan for the 2016 cycle is 3-star defensive end Khalid Kareem.
Before last week, the 6’4”, 240-pound pass-rusher had 18 offers—but none from in-state powers Michigan and Michigan State.
That changed last week, as the Spartans offered on Wednesday, and the Wolverines followed a day later.
"Even though I haven't made a final decision on where I want to go to school, it does feel good to have in-state schools as options," Kareem told Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. "The U of M offer is huge for me. To get it from Coach Harbaugh personally was a good feeling."
Will Kareem stay in-state, and if so, which school holds the upper hand?
The answer to those questions is likely to play out in the next few months.
Auburn Offers Elite 2018 ATH
With most schools already having the majority of their 2015 classes filled, coaches are hitting the road with an eye toward scouring talent in future classes.
Auburn hit the Sunshine State hard last week and offered 2018 athlete Tyreke Johnson.
According to Fred Marion of 247Sports, Johnson—whose older brother De’Andre Johnson is a 2015 quarterback who enrolled at Florida State earlier this month—has more than 10 offers despite just completing his freshman year of high school.
Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Miami and Ohio State are among the other schools pursuing the 6’1”, 175-pounder.
Best of the Rest
- According to Brian Perroni of GigEm247, Nebraska offered 2015 3-star Willie Sykes.
- Ohio State offered 2015 3-star corner Kareem Orr.
- Penn State offered 2015 3-star offensive lineman and current Wisconsin commitment David Moorman.
- Oregon offered 2015 3-star linebacker Fotu Leiato, according to Adam Gorney of Rivals.
- West Virginia is the latest offer for 2015 3-star running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
- 2015 3-star JUCO linebacker Jonah Moi, who is committed to Washington State, picked up an offer from TCU, per Scout’s Greg Biggins.
- According to Chris Smith of Vandy247, Georgia commitment and 3-star offensive lineman Sage Hardin received an offer from Ole Miss.
- Georgia offered 2015 4-star defensive end Prince Tega Wanogho Jr., per Andrew Bone of Rivals.
- South Carolina offered 2015 3-star JUCO corner Toure Boyd, who committed to the Gamecocks shortly afterward.
- Texas A&M offered 2015 4-star running back Chris Warren.
- 2015 3-star receiver and current Miami commitment Lawrence Cager picked up an offer from Auburn.
- Miami offered 2015 3-star defensive tackle Kevin Scott.
- According to Ryan Snyder of Rivals, Clemson offered 2016 3-star offensive lineman Will Fries.
- Kentucky offered 2016 4-star offensive lineman Willie Allen.
- Alabama offered 2016 5-star offensive lineman and current Texas A&M commitment Gregory Little.
- 2016 4-star corner Joejuan Williams earned an offer from Texas A&M.
- Smith reports that Auburn offered 2016 4-star linebacker Tre Lamar.
- According to Woody Wommack of Rivals, Ole Miss and West Virginia offered 2016 4-star corner Rontavius Groves. The Mountaineers also offered 2016 wideout C.J. Riley, per Scout’s Corey Bender. The Rebels also offered 2016 5-star safety Eric Monroe, according to Brian Perroni.
- Bender reports that TCU has offered 2016 4-star safety Devin Bush Jr.
- Miami and Baylor offered 2016 4-star defensive tackle Michael Williams, per Ryan Bartow of 247Sports.
- According to Adam Friedman of Rivals, LSU offered 2016 3-star defensive end Terrell Hall. Sean Fitz of 247Sports reports that Kentucky also offered Hall.
- 2016 3-star receiver Joshua Hammond picked up an offer from Ohio State.
- Michigan offered 2016 5-star linebacker Caleb Kelly.
- Oregon State is the newest offer for 2016 4-star receiver Jack Jones, per Mike Farrell of Rivals.
- 2017 4-star running back D’Andre Swift received an offer from Alabama.
- Georgia offered 2017 4-star quarterback Bailey Hockman.
- 2017 athlete JaCoby Stevens picked up an offer from Texas A&M, per Wommack.
- Florida State and South Carolina offered 2017 wide receiver OrTre Smith, per AthleteVault.
Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
