Recruiting Spotlight: Nos. 21-40 in the 2022 Rivals250

The final stretch before the Early Signing Period is underway and there is tons of recruiting news across the board. This week we’re taking a look at all the latest rumors and updates from the top 100 prospects in the Rivals250.

We move to 21-40:

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The five-star all-purpose back from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei committed to Oklahoma in February and is stronger than ever in his pledge to the Sooners. USC continues to try to flip him but Brown has shown marginal interest and says his recruitment is basically over.

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The five-star linebacker committed to Ohio State on the first day of August 2020 and has not looked back. He’s an in-state kid, the Buckeyes are one of the best teams in the country and Powers is part of an outstanding five-star linebacker tandem with CJ Hicks.

Michigan, Notre Dame and others were on the fringe here but it was always Ohio State for him.

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Florida, LSU, Ohio State and Penn State all had a shot at Murphy but the five-star linebacker picked Alabama in late July.

Assistant coaches Pete Golding and Sal Sunseri did excellent work to get the Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed standout to commit and there are no signs he’s reconsidering.

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Texas is still considered the front-runner for the five-star offensive guard and the Longhorns could hold a significant edge. Oklahoma would be considered in second place and there’s no doubt the Sooners could still land him but Texas is the team to beat now despite this season’s struggles.

Alabama, LSU and USC round out his top five.

Oregon, USC, Florida State, Texas and Alabama are the five schools remaining for the five-star receiver from St. Louis (Mo.) St. Mary’s but his recruitment is interesting because some schools have made him priority No. 1 while others have a whole host of receivers still on the board. The Ducks have shown tons of interest and that was the dream school for Coleman growing up so that’s something to watch.

Florida State has also had him on campus numerous times and pairing up with Travis Hunter could be interesting. There still might be a lot of road ahead before Coleman makes his choice.

The five-star quarterback from Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More has been committed to LSU since June 2020 and while this may be much ado about nothing, there have been some interesting developments in recent weeks.

First, coach Ed Orgeron won’t return after the 2021 season so a new regime will be in place. And secondly, while Howard remains committed to the Tigers he is taking visits, to Notre Dame and now Ole Miss is poking around. That may be because he hasn’t seen other schools and wants some game-day experiences or it could be to see what else is out there.

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The five-star defensive end from Columbus (Ga.) Hardaway was committed to USC for about four months, making that decision after an excellent summer visit and sticking with the Trojans through most of the fall.

But then coach Clay Helton was fired and a new staff will be coming in and during all this time, Georgia kept recruiting Williams hard. He eventually flipped in late October and is now helping recruit other players to the Bulldogs as well.

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It feels like ages ago that the Tiger (Ga.) Rabun County five-star quarterback was committed to South Carolina for five months but he flipped to Georgia in January and is completely firm with the Bulldogs.

There have been rumors that West could look at other schools and Florida State has been one of them but by all indications, the five-star defensive lineman is sticking with his Georgia commitment that he made in December 2020.

The Tifton (Ga.) Tift County standout has been to Athens numerous times this season furthering the belief he’s locked in.

The Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson high four-star defensive end committed to Alabama early over Georgia, LSU and others only to back off that pledge. The Crimson Tide stayed heavily involved and Clemson and others made a serious run at him but in July, Alexander decided again to make his commitment to Alabama.

Since that time, Alexander has been having a huge senior season and has basically shut down his recruitment.

Notre Dame scored big when the Irish beat out Oregon and others for the high four-star linebacker from Hilton Head, S.C., not only plucking him from SEC territory but beating the Ducks, who have been hot on the recruiting trail nationally.

Sneed has been committed since mid-July.

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Not a fan of the recruiting process, the high four-star receiver from Anaheim (Calif.) Servite committed to Oregon over Arizona and USC among many others in mid-August. The Wildcats made a serious run at one of the top receivers in the 2022 class and got him to visit right before making his decision. Also, Servite teammates Noah Fifita and Keyan Burnett have pledged to the Wildcats. But Oregon was always a top school and the Ducks recruited him hard.

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In late July, Lulus committed to Clemson over North Carolina and many others but it felt like the Tigers were always the team to beat. The Mauldin, S.C., four-star cornerback lives less than an hour from Clemson’s campus.

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The four-star cornerback from Little Elm, Texas, committed to Ohio State after another visit to Columbus in late June and he’s shown no significant signs that he’s thinking about playing at any other school. There have been reports that Texas is actively trying to flip him and that assistant Terry Joseph is in charge there.

Alabama was also a top team for Brooks but it seems unlikely that there’s any possibility of that happening now.

Georgia has long been considered the front-runner for Wilson but the four-star safety from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy doesn’t talk about his recruitment much so it can be difficult to figure out sometimes.

Texas A&M is trying to make a run at him but every sign points to Georgia right now especially with its defense playing so incredibly well.

Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina and Oregon are the four front-runners for the four-star receiver from Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher’s but this very much feels like another battle between the Tigers and the Tar Heels.

Receivers with his physical makeup and skill level have routinely gone to Clemson over the years but North Carolina has become an offensive juggernaut and that appeals, too.

The four-star defensive end from Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove has not talked as much about his recruitment recently and a visit to Alabama was definitely interesting this past weekend but all signs still point to Ohio State.

Indiana might have been able to make things interesting if the Hoosiers could have built off their success from last season but that has not happened. The Buckeyes remain the team to beat here with Clemson, Oregon and others not counted out yet.

According to CaneSport, Stewart is no longer as high on Ohio State and so Texas A&M, Georgia and Miami are the primary front-runners. The Aggies are definitely the team to beat and could be tough to overcome but the four-star defensive end from Opa Locka (Fla.) Monsignor Pace might be one of the few elite players to wait until February to make his decision.

Texas A&M looks good but Georgia and Miami are going to battle for him.

Texas A&M battled Oklahoma until the end but the Sooners won out for numerous reasons, some being his close relationship with coach Lincoln Riley and that both of his parents attended Oklahoma as well.

Since his commitment in October, the four-star defensive tackle from Lakeland, Fla., has shown no signs of wavering.

The four-star linebacker from Mobile (Ala.) Faith Academy was committed to Florida and that was a huge pledge for the Gators because James is one of the best defensive players in this class.

But after four months, James reopened his recruitment and it now looks like a battle between SEC heavyweights Alabama and Georgia for his services. It remains pretty even between those two schools.