College football recruiting thoughts: USC's staying power, UNC's in-state struggles

The contact period opened back up Tuesday for college football coaches and official visits are already underway.

That can only mean one thing: The fun is about to really start.

As top prospects continue to issue commitments and whittle down their lists, we figured now would be a good time to check in on the recruiting landscape and whats going on with college footballs top programs and future stars.

Advertisement Without further ado, some thoughts and notes: USC has the nations top class at the moment, and this feels like a group that might actually have some staying power.

The Trojans have 13 blue-chippers (among the 22 commitments) and perhaps most importantly, 14 prospects from California.

Thats more than triple the number of in-state players they signed in the Class of 2025 and should give coach Lincoln Riley and staff a much better chance of keeping this group together down the stretch after the program saw a staggering nine top-150 prospects decommit during the 2024 cycle.

New general manager Chad Bowden hired away from Notre Dame has his fingerprints all over this class .

He has said on multiple occasions that USC will once again make recruiting its backyard a priority.

All eyes have been on Tennessee this week on the heels of the Nico Iamaleava saga .

There is no drama, however, with the Vols quarterback commit in the Class of 2026.

Five-star Faizon Brandon, ranked No.

5 overall and the No.

2 QB in the 247Sports Composite, has remained locked in with the Vols since his August commitment.

As we know, a lot can change between now and December, but the Greensboro, N.C., native appears to be a safe bet to end up in Knoxville.

Speaking of quarterbacks, five of the top 10 in the 247Sports Composite are already committed in Brandon, five-star Texas commit Dia Bell, five-star Houston commit Keisean Henderson, four-star USC commit Jonas Williams and four-star Arizona State commit Jake Fette.

That number will grow over the next few months with prospects heading out on official visits.

The top quarterback in the class, Nashville native Jared Curtis, is getting close.

Hes down to two schools: Georgia and Oregon.

Youll remember that Curtis was previously committed to Georgia from March through October 2024.

He decommitted after realizing he wanted to explore his options, but the Bulldogs were always very high on his list.

Kirby Smart vs.

Dan Lanning for this one should make for a fun resolution one way or another.

Advertisement Sticking with Oregon, the Ducks have only eight commits, but this is again a very top-heavy class for Lanning, who already has two five-stars and four top-100 prospects.

Five-star tight end Kendre Harrison, who also plans to play basketball for the Ducks, is the headliner.

The North Carolina native is the nations No.

13 prospect and has remained committed to the Ducks despite living about an hour away from UNC and getting a visit from coach Bill Belichick in January.

Offensive tackle Kodi Greene, out of powerhouse Mater Dei in Southern California, is the other five-star, while four-star running back Tradarian Ball and local four-star defensive lineman Tony Cumberland are the other top-100 prospects in the class.

The Ducks average player rating of 93.55 ranks third nationally, behind only LSU and Alabama.

One thing to watch: How much if at all will USCs improvements on the recruiting trail impact Oregon? The Ducks have clearly had the upper hand on USC in recent years, but as noted above, the Trojans are punching back.

They have already flipped two Class of 2026 commits from Oregon Williams, the four-star QB, and defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui out of Mater Dei.

Should Houston sign Henderson, it would go down as the biggest recruiting win of coach Willie Fritzs career.

Henderson committed in May 2024, and as a general rule, the earlier a recruit commits, the harder it can be to hang onto him.

But Henderson has been vocal on social media about recruiting top talent to join him and recently told ESPN he hasnt thought about other schools flipping him.

That doesnt mean they wont try, though, especially if he only gets better as a high school senior.

Of all the quarterback recruits in this class, he may be the most intriguing.

He is a superb athlete who committed to Houston in part because Fritz promised him the opportunity to play quarterback.

Another interesting prospect to track: four-star tight end Brock Harris, the top player in Utah.

Harris committed to BYU last week over Georgia, Oregon, Michigan, Utah and Miami, but wont enroll until after he serves a year-and-a-half mission with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Harris has already been featured on an electronic billboard in his BYU uniform and is the type of prospect the Cougars can build their future around.

But theyll have to wait for his pass-catching, pancake-blocking services until 2027.

Brock Harris next to his video Billboard after his hat ceremony The top TE prospect in the class of 2026 selected BYU & will be joining the team after his mission Learn more about why Brock picked BYU & whats coming next by clicking his link down below https://t.co/NXnlu5RyGg pic.twitter.com/7SMJKpnl0r CougConnect (@CougConnect) April 8, 2025 The nations top prospect, five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, is issuing a commitment at the end of this month.

Cantwell is down to four schools: Miami, Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State.

Thats particularly notable because it means Missouri, his in-state program, is out.

The Tigers had a run of keeping top talent home in five-star wide receiver Luther Burden (from nearby East St.

Louis, Ill.) and five-star defensive end Williams Nwaneri, but they also lost out on five-star wide receiver Ryan Wingo to Texas, and Nwaneri has since transferred to Nebraska.

Advertisement North Carolina has started to pick up some steam on the recruiting trail with 13 commits, although just three are blue-chippers: defensive lineman Trashawn Ruffin out of Mt.

Olive (N.C.) North Duplin, running back Jaylen McGill out of Spartanburg (S.C.) Mountain View Prep and cornerback OMari Johnson from Jackson (Miss.) Academy.

Belichick continues to make inroads in California, with three commits, and the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, with four total commits (from Maryland, New York and Massachusetts).

But the Tar Heels havent quite broken through in-state yet.

North Carolina doesnt have a commitment from any of the top 12 players in the state.

Three are committed to Notre Dame.

Its early, but UNC also still needs a quarterback in this class.

Top prospects may be in wait-and-see mode until Belichick has something to show on the field this fall.

Dont be surprised when traditional powers such as Georgia, Alabama and Texas get rolling into the summer and fall and finish with some of the nations top classes again.

But for now, these schools are off to a bit of a slower start from a numbers standpoint.

The Bulldogs have just six commits with no five-stars (although Curtis would change that), the Crimson Tide have just five commits with one five-star (cornerback Jorden Edmonds), and the Longhorns have only four commits with Bell as the lone five-star.

Look for all three programs to use summer official visits to bulk up their classes significantly.

Stanford figures to be one of the most fascinating programs to watch on the recruiting trail this season.

Frank Reich is the programs interim coach after general manager Andrew Luck fired Troy Taylor last month.

Reich, who coached Luck in his final year with the Indianapolis Colts, hasnt coached at the collegiate level before and, therefore, is new to recruiting.

Add in the reality that he will be tasked with recruiting players who dont know who their head coach will be in 2026, and it gets all the more complicated for the Cardinal.

Stanford currently has three commits in the Class of 2026, none of whom is ranked higher than No.

700 nationally.

Luck, who became the general manager in late 2024, may have to be the programs figurehead this year.

After signing the nations No.

26 class in 2025, Clemson has had some early fireworks with a 2026 group that currently ranks No.

3 nationally.

The Tigers have 13 commits, including three top-200 prospects.

Four-star offensive lineman Chancellor Barclay out of Orlando committed last month and pulled a nice little prank on Clemson coach Dabo Swinney when he started off his call by pretending he had bad news.

The Tigers are famous for building their rosters through high school prospects instead of the transfer portal, which is fine if they sign top-10 classes regularly.

Bouncing back after a (relatively) down 2025 cycle would bode well for a program eager to win a third national title under Swinney.

The Commitment Call @ChancellorB2026 @chadmavety55 @daboswinney #ALLIN @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/THoi8PaJOk Chris Anne Barclay (@ChrisAnne2817) March 10, 2025 Only two Power 4 schools have no commits at all: Wake Forest and Colorado.

Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert is still getting to know high school football coaches in the south, while Colorado coach Deion Sanders is known for building his rosters through the portal.

Theres still plenty of talent left for the taking.

Of the 28 five-star prospects in this class, 17 are still uncommitted.

And of the top 100 prospects, 64 are still on the board.

Buckle up for a fun summer.

(Photo of Lincoln Riley: Sean M.

Haffey / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6281134/2025/04/16/college-football-recruiting-usc-clemson-north-carolina/