2026 five-star wide receiver/tight end Kaiden Prothro has been one of the more highly sought-after recruits in the junior class, accumulating 27 offers thus far, including from a bevy of SEC schools.
2026 5-star Kaiden Prothro gives update on his upcoming recruitment decision
We break down the latest on the the talented five-star’s recruitment and which schools are in consideration.
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Rohan Chakravarthi is the site manager at Bucky’s 5th Quarter, contributes to Niners Nation and covers high school recruiting for SBNation.com.
Checking in at the Under Armour All-America Game this week, Prothro provided an update on his recruitment as things are starting to heat up ahead of the spring.
Things kick off in January with a Junior Day visit to the Florida Gators, which is the lone junior day that Prothro plans to visit at the moment. Alabama could also be in the mix for a Junior Day visit, but it’s likely on to the spring after that for the five-star.
What schools could get an unofficial visit ahead of the summer?
“I’d probably say Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Miami. Florida State, they’re getting their new facility built. So I probably want to go down there and see that.”
Relationships are going to be a major factor for the five-star, who has the strongest connection to the staff at Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Miami.
“I’d probably say, you know, how the coaches love on the players and just how the coaches coach the players, really, Prothro said. “Because at the end of the day, I feel like once you go off to college, it’s about you and the coaches and relationships. So I feel like that’s gonna be a real important factor for me.”
On Georgia: “Just the way they work hard [and] get after it in the weight room and just Georgia football really. [Strength & Conditioning Coach] Markell [Clark], he’s not the one to mess around with. So, he gets after it at practice and the players get after it, and they practice hard. So that’s awesome.”
On Alabama: “I’d probably say Coach DeBoer is just really changing the program. He’s just trying to find the right guys and just the missing pieces for the program, so it’s just a different era of football now. I feel like the tight end coach, he’s just coaching the tight ends up. [C.J.] Dupree, he’s doing well. I think he declared for the NFL draft, so he had a bunch of catches. The games I went to, he made some big, explosive plays for them. So, that’s just awesome to see their Washington offense just moving to Bama.”
On Florida: “I’ve built a relationship with them, and [tight ends] coach [Russ Callaway] has really showed me he loves me and wants me down there. I feel like Florida has always had some good tight ends, so I feel like coach is really coaching the players up well. He talks to me, and I talk to him. Just man-to-man talks. Just what it’s like, checks in on me. I feel like he really loves me, and he shows that.
“He’s talked to me about [having a unique role] before. Talked about what Kyle [Pitts] did at Florida. He’s telling me I can do what he did at Florida, and maybe even better. He’s talked to me about that, and how I can be that type of player. Someone to come in and catch passes for him.”
Georgia, Alabama and Florida are the schools that Prothro expects to certainly take an official visit to, but there are still a number of suitors looking to push for the five-star receiver.
A native of the Peach State, the 6’6”, 210-pound skill position threat could be versatile at his next destination. Taking part in the Under Armour All-America festivities this week, Prothro lined up primarily as a receiver on the outside and was a standout over a few of the practices.
Now heading into the spring, Protho is looking to narrow down his list of schools after some unofficial visits, with Georgia, Alabama, Florida seeming like the top three at the moment.
