College football recruiting roundup: Commitments flying close to Signing Day

The Eagles added a defensive tackle and a safety from Northeastern states. Both had other BCS offers, and BC Interruption has the scoop.

The biggest recruiting news of the weekend for Clemson was that Richard Yeargin III, a talented defensive end from South Florida, decommitted from Notre Dame. Many expect him to end up with the Tigers.

Lots of news from the folks at Tomahawk Nation, with much of it concerning four-star wide receiver commit Travis Rudolph. Fellow Seminole wide receiver commit C.J. Worton took a visit to Florida, and tweeted Rudolph asking if he was going to do the same. Rudolph also tweeted to the public that he’s “all about the Seminoles.” Florida State is making a push at another 2014 wide receiver as well -- five-star Malachi Dupre, who took a picture with Jameis Winston.

Bobby Petrino picked up an important recruit in JuCo offensive lineman Kelby Johnson, and Card Chronicle expects him to push for playing time at the right tackle spot from day one. Petrino’s first verbal commitment, defensive end Shaq Jones, also released highlights from his senior season.

The Irish are not technically in the ACC, but almost half of their games are against the league, so I put them here. Notre Dame blog One Foot Down has a nice look at the updated Irish recruiting board.

The Hokies are looking to close strong and Gobbler Country has a great preview of what is to come. Their staff will be doing daily position previews leading up to National Signing Day.

The new Demon Deacons staff landed a big recruiting coup, scoring a commitment from three-star South Carolina defensive tackle Zeek Rodney. Rodney is the top-rated player in Wake’s class, and will help fill the role opened by the departure of Nikita Whitlock.

The Hawkeyes have struggled on the trail in their 2014 recruiting class, but have added a new player to the fold -- offensive guard Ross Reynolds, unrated by the 247Sports Composite. Black Heart Gold Pants has more on Reynolds:

As for Reynolds, he’s going to be a project. Iowa occasionally unsurfaces a guy like Dominic Alvis or Nate Meier late in the process, a two-star FCS prospect simply overlooked by everyone else. That template doesn’t really apply to Reynolds. Where Alvis and Meier (and Brett Van Sloten, who was identified and offered earlier but had a similar resume) were at small high schools largely unrecruited by big college football programs, Reynolds is a 300-pounder who plays for the state’s second-largest high school, a team that went 10-1 and made the state quarterfinals in Iowa’s top class. In other words, he didn’t get missed.

Five-star tackle recruit Damian Prince, a local, was in town checking out the school again. He will not visit Penn State, and a Florida visit is on deck.

The Terrapins added two local recruits to their 2014 haul -- Baltimore outside linebacker Nnamdi Egbuaba and Virginia cornerback Daniel Ezeagwu. Ezeagwu is a promising prospect who boasts size (6’2, 200 pounds) and speed (4.4 40-yard dash), and Testudo Times thinks Egbuaba could be a nice sleeper pickup:

Egbuaba is a nice pickup for the Terps this late in the game. He’s unrated now, but I expect him to pick up three stars when the tape is re-evaluated -- he’s a legitimate power conference outside linebacker with very good tackling ability. I imagine Egbuaba and one of the three names Pat mentioned above will be placed at linebacker (my guess would be Burke), with the other two sent down to the line. Maryland graduates four different outside linebackers this year, so while I expect Egbuaba to redshirt this season, he could make an impact as soon as next year.

Anthony Mammel has a fantastic rundown of Michigan’s recruiting efforts at Maize n Brew.

The Cornhuskers added a four-star running back from Chicago and a two-star receiver from New Orleans. See how they’ll fit into Nebraska’s offense in Year 1 at Corn Nation.

Don’t miss this huge blowout recruiting update on the Buckeyes by Land-Grant Holy Land.

Land-Grant Holy Land was able to catch up with two 2015 targets -- safety Ben Edwards and wide receiver Van Jefferson. Edwards said his recent offer vaulted the Buckeyes “very much” into his top five schools, while Jefferson said he’s rooted for the Buckeyes since childhood. LGHL also took a look at who is left on Ohio State’s 2014 big board (including one five-star), and noted that four-star offensive tackle commit Jamarco Jones will be taking a visit to Michigan State.

Penn State is on fire right now, as the Nittany Lions grabbed a former Rutgers star receiver commitment. This was one of the biggest commitments of the weekend.

And Saturday, James Franklin flipped yet another recruit, but this one came via Cal -- three-star safety Koa Farmer has committed to the Nittany Lions. Black Shoe Diaries has the details:

Farmer will be enrolling at Penn State at an ideal time to help this team early on in his career. He is a dynamic athlete who could pair with Marcus Allen to form a formidable safety duo in the future (Don’t forget McSorely, either). While it’s easy to see what attracted Koa to Penn State, it’s still pretty exciting to see a Californian ready to travel out to State College, where we had temperatures below 0 twice last week. Seeing Penn State pull a 4* recruit away from Cal is certainly an exciting pull, and Penn State fans everywhere should be very excited to have him.

The Badgers got some non-scholarship work done, adding a pair of preferred walk-ons to the program -- tight end Sam Eckert and offensive tackle Brett Connors. Eckert is expected to be the only tight end in the class for the Badgers, and received an offer from Colgate (as well as interest from a host of other Big Ten schools).

The Sooners still have some work to do on their class, and Crimson and Cream Machine took a look at the five or six players who might end up committing to the school. Leading the way are four-star athlete Michiah Quick and four-star safety Steven Parker.

Vanquish the Foe took a look at how BYU’s recruiting class stacks up, and particularly how it fills (or doesn’t fill) the team’s needs.

One area in which the 2014 class is disturbingly light is at defensive back, especially considering the fact that the Cougars will be graduating the enforcer Daniel Sorenson and utility DB Mike Hague, who it seems, has been on the team since before I left BYU in 2007. BYU also loses about four more reserve DBs, and projected starters Craig Bills, Robertson Daniel and Jordan Johnson will all be seniors next year, underscoring the importance of the secondary in recruiting. One thing that has me optimistic about this class is the fact that young players are often drafted at different positions than they end up playing, and linebacker recruits Fred Warner and Tyler Cook both have the speed to look at possible conversion to the safety position, even as BYU looks for a replacement for Kyle Van Noy.

Defensive end Randy Anyanwu switched his commitment from Western Kentucky to Buffalo on Sunday, giving the Bulls an athletic end to add to the mix as they look to replace All-American defensive end Khalil Mack. It is the third defensive line commit of the class for Buffalo and UB Bull Run took a look at what Anyanwu can bring to the table.

Anyanwu was a Georgia Sports Writers Association all-state second team selection on the defensive line as he helped lead the Lovejoy Wildcats to a perfect league season and an appearance in the 2013 Georgia Boys State Football Playoff Brackets.

The recruiting site Hudl list Anyanwu as standing 6-3 and weighing in at 235. He clocks the 40 in 4.7 seconds, has a 30” Vertical, benched 360 and squats 515 pounds.

The Broncos have been busy on the recruiting trail, attempting to make up for lost time after the coaching transition. First, they flipped two-star wide receiver Jeremy McNichols, who was previously committed to Utah. Then, they received a commitment from three-star Georgia athlete Zavior Hoxie, who will likely play cornerback. The folks at One Bronco Nation Under God also took a look at recent JuCo quarterback commit Thomas Stuart:

Stuart comes with the Cam Newton pedigree of leading his team to the JC national championship and the Aaron Rodgers pedigree of going to Butte Community College. He is the prototypical Boise State quarterback in that most teams overlooked him because of his size. Some day, other teams will learn, but let’s hope it’s not until a few more Fiesta Bowls.

The Trojans added a blue-chip quarterback into their future fold, as former Alabama commitment Ricky Town has pledged to the Trojans. One of the top players in the 2015 class, Town is a five-star prospect and considered the second-best pro-style quarterback in the class via the 247Sports Composite. Conquest Chronicles asked SB Nation recruiting editor Bud Elliott for his thoughts on Town:

First, he has a consistent, compact stroke. I’d like to see him hold the ball a bit higher, but a consistent throwing motion that is mechanically sound is one of the keys to good quarterbacking. Without it, a quarterback will make bad throws under pressure. His motion actually reminds me a bit of Jay Cutler’s. And indeed on tape we are able to see Town be pressured a lot, because his offensive line is not great. He does drive the ball with authority, and is able to quickly release it to get it to his playmakers.

USC also hosted four-star Damien Mama and five-star John “JuJu” Smith, two local prospects I expect to commit to USC.

Speaking of Los Angeles, UCLA hosted Budda Baker, an electric playmaker out of Washington who I expect to commit to Washington. Follow all UCLA recruiting news at Bruins Nation.

Cal added a talented linebacker recruit in Noah Westerfield. The Bears have not done a great job of recruiting California under coach Sonny Dykes, but Westerfield helps.

The Tide hosted major target Marlon Humphrey, a five-star cornerback from Birmingham. Alabama is his presumed leader according to many, with FSU chasing. Roll Bama Roll has a great breakdown of the happenings in Tuscaloosa. Could Alabama be offering a former UGA tight end?

The Tigers hosted three big-time players over the weekend, and College and Magnolia has the breakdown.

The Razorbacks added a defensive weapon to their class, as three-star South Florida prospect Randy Ramsey committed to Bret Bielema and the staff. Even though he’s listed as a safety, he played cornerback and defensive end in high school and is expected to play outside linebacker with the Hogs. And Arkansas also beat out Louisville for a three-star receiver. The Hogs continue to do well in South Florida.

The Gators have a large visit weekend coming up, and are trying to add more pieces to their new spread offense. Alligator Army even offers a mock class.

Head coach Mark Richt will visit Norcross (Ga.) five-star defensive end Lorenzo Carter Monday before Carter takes his visit to Athens over the weekend. UGA is probably the favorite for Carter, who visited FSU last weekend. How will Georgia’s class shake out? Who are the top remaining targets? Dawg Sports has the answer.

The Tigers added another piece to their recruiting class, as three-star wide receiver Keyon Dilosa committed to the school.

Ole Miss picked up a much-needed offensive line commitment, keeping him away from Mississippi State.

Speaking of Ole Miss, New Orleans’ Malachi Dupre, perhaps the best receiver in the country, tweeted that he would take a visit to Ole Miss for a few days. Dupre is considered a battle between LSU, FSU, UCLA and Alabama, but Ole Miss has certainly pulled off some shockers in recent years.

Four-star running back Derrell Scott, of Havelock (N.C.) will decide Monday afternoon. I expect him to pick Tennessee over South Carolina.

Texas A&M flipped a major linebacker from the Longhorns. And the Aggies also landed a commitment from a 2015 offensive lineman. Have to keep the No. 1 2014 QB recruit Kyle Allen protected. I really like what Texas A&M is doing, and with one or two more classes like 2014, the Aggies will be right around the mark of having more four- and five-star commitments than two- and three-stars.

The Commodores flipped three-star safety Khari Blasingame from Minnesota.

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