USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.
As an unpredictable 2023 NFL draft unfolds in Kansas City, the best high school football players around the country continue their climb to the next level. On this week’s edition of Friday Night Notes, we will be playing the proverbial point guard – or game manager quarterback – if you prefer.
Instead of going through a deeper dive on a few recruiting updates, we will take a scrolling tour of the landscape through over a dozen links to recruiting stories from around the College Wires network.
First, we will share a few quick notes on five college football programs that stood out this week in the 2024 recruiting race.
1. Michigan
There’s a new leader in this recruiting cycle. By picking up commitments from a pair of blue chip prospects earlier this week, the Wolverines knocked off arch-rival Ohio State from the No. 1 spot in the country.
2. Arkansas
While top billing went to Ann Arbor, no school made more overall progress this past week than Arkansas. Last weekend the Razorbacks picked up commitments from four new recruits for their class of 2024. Arkansas now ranks No. 14 in the nation.
3. Notre Dame
Just yesterday two more blue-chip recruits made commitments to Power 5 programs. The Fighting Irish got one in Warner Robins (Ga.) four-star wide receiver Isiah Canion. Going by the composite rankings, he’s No. 29 at his position, also No. 29 in the state and No. 194 nationally.
4. Oklahoma
The Sooners also got themselves a four-star wide receiver on Thursday in Zion Kearney from Hightower (Texas). Kearney had offers from 33 other schools, including Arkansas, Colorado, LSU, Oregon and Washington. His arrival pushes Oklahoma into the top 25 (more on that later).
5. LSU
Last but not least, LSU also picked up a pair of four-star recruits. Over the weekend, they got Denham Springs (La.) safety Dashawn McBryde to commit. On Wednesday they followed that up by recruiting East Feliciana (La.) four-star tight end Trey’Dez Green.
1
How each first round selection rated as college recruits
“On Thursday night, 31 college football players achieved the first part of their childhood dreams… Overall, we saw 11 five-star prospects get drafted in the first round. Two were the No. 1 overall prospects, who were drafted back-to-back. Of the remaining 20 selections, 10 were four-star prospects leaving 10 that were three-star or unrated.”
2
Ohio State recruits trashing Michigan football already
“On Tuesday night, with Jerod Smith becoming Michigan football’s 14th commitment in the 2024 class, the Wolverines overtook Ohio State as the top-rated recruiting class in the cycle. And though the Buckeyes have the higher per-recruit average, the maize and blue have the edge in total score with more players in the class overall… That didn’t stop OSU offensive line commit Deontae Armstrong from getting in a little dig.”
3
Florida coach to visit blue-chip 2025 QB recruit
“Billy Napier and Co. have been busy hosting top prep prospects from around the country over the past several weeks but the efforts of Florida football’s recruiting staff have not been limited to the Gainesville city limits. Among the many young student-athletes the Gators have their eyes on is four-star quarterback Ryan Montgomery out of Findlay (Ohio)…”
4
No. 12 ranked DL in Georgia commits to Tennessee
“The 6-foot-9, 285-pound defensive lineman is from Model High School in Rome, Georgia. Heard is the No. 986 overall prospect and No. 95 defensive lineman in the class of 2024. He ranks as the No. 100 player and No. 12 defensive lineman in the state of Georgia, according to the On3 Sports industry rankings.”
5
Son of Miami icon commits to Nebraska
“Nebraska’s spring game Saturday is off to a hot start by securing the commitment of a 4-star linebacker from Miami, Florida. Willis McGahee IV announced his commitment to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday morning, and if the name sounds familiar, there’s a reason.”
6
4-star safety has Ohio State in top 5
“The Buckeyes are trying to find the best prospects that fit the scheme and 2024 Florida safety Zaquan Patterson does that. The 6-foot, 1-inch, 195-pound defender has narrowed his list to five schools: Florida State, Miami, Auburn, Michigan and Ohio State.”
7
Buffs make 4-star ATH Brauntae Johnson's top 10
“The Buffs have made the top 10 list of Brauntae Johnson, a four-star athlete in the class of 2024 from North Side High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Johnson, who projects as a wide receiver, is ranked as the No. 127 overall player, No. 8 athlete and the No. 3 player in Indiana, according to 247Sports.”
8
Oklahoma into top 25 after Zion Kearney commitment
“Oklahoma’s off to a faster start in the cycle than they were a year ago when they had just four players, and one blue-chip prospect, committed at the beginning of June. If last year was any indication, there will be a number of commitments coming over the next few months for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’re in a great spot for several top 100 prospects in the cycle…”
9
4-star TE Dylan Mesman puts Auburn in top 5
“He is the No. 390 overall player and No. 19 tight end in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 8 player from Michigan in the 2024 recruiting cycle.The Tigers have already landed one tight end in three-star Martavious Collins but are expected to try and land multiple high school tight ends in the 2024 recruiting cycle.”
10
Wisconsin QB commit in Madison this week
“Mettauer stands at 6-foot-5 and is one of the dynamic arm talents in the 2024 class. He is the lone quarterback committed at this early stage of the class, and plays his high school football at The Woodlands in Texas. He had a number of big-time offers, including from Baylor, Colorado, and Arkansas.”
11
Most star-studded spring game in Oregon history?
“There have been certain weekends over the past year, be it for a regular season game, the annual spring game, or a big-time recruiting weekend in the offseason, where we’ve seen a loaded group of players flock to Eugene, with a handful of 5-stars and numerous high-end 4-stars coming to check out the Ducks.”
12
Where every recruiting service ranks LSU
“On3 values average prospect ranking more than the total. So, that’s why LSU sits at 13th despite having a higher total score than several peers. LSU’s average commit has a 91.168 but its 13 commits are more than any team that sits in front of them. This could even out over time with several five-stars considering LSU.”
13
Why did 4-star Josiah Brown put Rutgers in top 7?
“Josiah Brown included Rutgers football in his top seven, a cutdown of schools that happened this week. A four-star recruit out of Holy Trinity (Hicksville, N.Y.), Brown is one of the top recruits in the nation. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Brown is the No. 219 recruit in the nation, the ninth overall athlete and the top player in New York.”
