Georgia, Baylor, Washington, Clemson, and More!

CFB Roundup – July 8, 2024

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4-Star CB Shamari Earls Flips from South Carolina to Georgia

After having previously committed to South Carolina back in April, 4-star CB Shamari Earls has flipped his commitment to Georgia.

Aside from South Carolina, Earls also held offers from Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and others.

Earls originally committed to South Carolina, but then felt like he might have committed too fast. After visiting Georgia, he realized that it was the place for him given the competition that Georgia has because of the great players and great coaches.

Earls is considered to be a Top 75 recruit nationally by 3 of the 4 major recruiting services and is 105th overall according to the On3 composite ranking.

This is Georgia’s 16th Blue Chip commitment, and 18th commitment overall for a 2025 class which now ranks 4th nationally and 2nd in the SEC.

4-Star Edge Kamauryn Morgan Commits to Baylor

Consensus 4-Star Edge Kamauryn Morgan committed to Baylor yesterday over SMU and Texas A&M, among others.

Morgan officially visited the Bears the weekend of June 14th, and is now the highest rated recruit in Baylor’s 2025 class.

247Sports and Rivals are the most bullish on Morgan as a prospect, ranking him as the 12th and 10th best edge rusher, respectively. Overall, the On3 industry composite places Morgan as the 131st overall prospect and 19th ranked edge rusher.

This marks Baylor’s third 4-star of the class and 15th commitment overall, which ranks 44th nationally and 7th in the new look Big 12.

4-Star WR Chris Lawson Commits to Washington

Consensus 4-Star WR Chris Lawson committed yesterday to Washington over Oregon and Cal, among other offers.

Lawson gave Washington his first official visit back in late May / early June. After taking visits to Oregon and Cal, too, Washington evidently did enough to earn his commitment.

The On3 industry composite ranks Lawson as the 231st overall prospect and 33rd ranked WR.

This marks Washington’s sixth 4-star and 21st commitment overall, for a 2025 class which ranks 22nd nationally and 8th in the Big Ten.

2026 4-Star QB Tait Reynolds Commits to Clemson

2-sport athlete and unanimous 3-star (but composite 4-star) QB Tait Reynolds committed yesterday to Clemson (both football and baseball) after previously committing to Arizona State baseball.

Reynolds visited Clemson in early June and loved Clemson from the minute he got there.

He particularly liked how Clemson made him a priority from the beginning, offering him in the 2026 class before any other 2026 QBs.

As of now, he is unanimously the 2nd rated 2026 prospect from the state of Arizona and is ranked as the 254th overall prospect and 16th best QB for 2026 according to the On3 industry composite rankings.

Consensus 5-Star CB DJ Pickett Down to 3 Schools

Unanimous 5-Star CB DJ Pickett has narrowed his recruiting process down to 3 schools prior to his commitment date, July 17th.

According to 3 of the 4 major recruiting services, Pickett is the top CB prospect (247Sports places him 3rd) and the top overall prospect in the talent-rich state of Florida (ESPN places him 2nd).

Right now, 247Sports has no crystal ball picks in for Pickett, and the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine also cannot give a clear favorite for the DB. LSU currently leads with a measly 27.9%, followed by Miami (14.3%), and Oregon (8.8%) with other schools having a combined 49% despite Pickett narrowing his recruitment down to those 3 schools already.

Athlon’s Preseason All-SEC Team

Athlon released its preseason All-Conference Team for the SEC recently.

Georgia leads the conference for the 4 teams combined, with 17 total players. Georgia is also tied with Alabama for most players on the 1st Team, with 6 total.

Of note, Ole Miss has three pass catchers on the 1st Team, with TE Caden Prieskorn and WRs Tre Harris and Juice Wells all getting recognized. Alabama’s K/P battery of Graham Nicholson and James Burnip were also 1st Team selections.

Consensus 5-Star OT David Sanders Jr. Sets Commitment Date

Unanimous 5-Star and best player in North Carolina, David Sanders Jr., has set a commitment date of August 17th.

Sanders has narrowed his decision down to Ohio State, Tennessee, Georgia, and Nebraska.

3 of the 4 major recruiting services ranks Sanders as the top OT in the 2025 class (On3 ranks him 2nd) and his composite ranking according to On3 is 2nd of all recruits in the 2025 class, only behind LSU commit QB Bryce Underwood.

Back in March, 247 National Recruiting Analyst Tom Loy placed a crystal ball in for Sanders to land at Clemson – not one of his finalists – albeit with a confidence of only 1. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, however, gives Tennessee the best chance at 28.8%, followed by Georgia (18.3%), Ohio State (13.3%), and Nebraska (3.1%).

Athlon’s Top 10 Games of the 2024 Season

Athlon recently released its Top 10 regular season games ahead of the 2024 season.

Leading the way, unsurprisingly, is The Game between Ohio State and Michigan. Given Michigan winning each of the last 3 contests and the National Championship last season, it’s key for Head Coach Ryan Day to win a big game like this.

Next, Athlon lists Georgia v. Alabama in late September. Following that is Georgia v. Texas, Texas v. Michigan, and new conference foes Ohio State v. Oregon.

Ultimately, the consolidation of power in the sport has led to most of the same few teams being mentioned in this article, with 4 schools (Texas, Georgia, Ohio State, and Michigan) being referenced 3 times.

Phil Steele’s Top 25 DB Units in 2024

Phil Steele released his Top 25 DB units for 2024.

Leading the way is a DB group for Ohio State that was already talented before adding top transfer safety (and arguably the top safety in the country, period) Caleb Downs.

Following Ohio State is Oklahoma, Georgia, Clemson, and Iowa to round out the Top 5.

As for the conference breakdown of the Top 25, the Big 10 actually leads the way with 7 mentions, while the SEC, Big 12, and ACC + ND all have 6 mentions.

3-Star IOL Keiton Jones Commits to Missouri

3-Star IOL Keiton Jones committed to Missouri yesterday over Arkansas, Kansas State, and others.

Jones knew after an unofficial visit to Columbia in the spring that he loved Missouri. Based on the relationships he built, it felt like an easy decision for the OL.

Missouri’s 2025 class now holds 16 commitments and is also ranked 16th nationally according to On3’s team rankings, which places the Tigers 9th in the SEC.