College football recruiting: Penn State, Texas A&M, more have major targets up for grabs as June rolls on

The first big weekend summer’s college football recruiting calendar fell, but there are still three to go. We saw a lot of big news materialize after last week’s visits. Georgia signed five-star linebacker Zayden Walkerwhile Alabama traded four-star quarterback Keelon Russell from SMU.

What does this weekend have in store? As they say in recruitment: Follow visits – appointments usually follow. 247Sports experts from coast to coast break down the biggest visits they are tracking during the June 7-9 recruiting weekend. Don’t wait for Class of 2025 recruiting rankings look the same in a few days.

Top-10 recruit Elijah Griffin returns to Coral Gables

“Five stars Elijah Griffinthe nation’s top-ranked defensive lineman and No. 8 overall prospect, will make his first official visit to Miami this weekend. Griffin made his first visit to Coral Gables in March. Led by the efforts of the defensive line coach and NFL Hall of Fame inductee Jason Taylor, the Hurricanes have been a top contender for Griffin ever since. However, Mainstay is not synonymous with front-running.

Georgia is the clear leader, even if Griffin hasn’t said so outright. The ‘Dawgs aren’t expected to host Griffin on an official visit until the fall — closer to his late fall or winter decision period. But expect the Peach Stater to make an unofficial visit to Athens (and possibly Clemson) this month or next. USC will host Griffin on an official visit later this month. It won’t be simple to dethrone the ‘Dawgs, but Miami will take a photo this weekend.” – Anna Adams, 247 Sports

Can the Wolverines get the ball rolling?

Michigan convinces 4-star DL to cancel Miami visit

“Michigan was able to sign the four-star defensive lineman from Palatine (Ill.) Jaylen Williams exit your planned visit to Miami and instead set one with the Wolverines. This is a fundamental development Michigan’s Chances to Take Advantage of Crystal Ball to Williams, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound combo forward who played inside and outside. The nation’s No. 20 defensive lineman still plans to officially visit Tennessee and Nebraska and is coming off an unofficial job with Texas A&M and could set an official one with the Aggies. Miami is probably no longer in the picture.

Williams has long held Michigan in high regard and has a connection with Wolverine commanding officer Nate Marshall, a fellow Illinois defensive lineman. The key here is that he quickly built a relationship with new defensive line coach Lou Esposito, who took over later in this recruitment but has steadied the ship since Michigan’s end. The Michigan class ranked 41st a week ago. Because of the rise of other schools, Michigan now ranks 47th. I’d love to see a compromise get the ball rolling.” -Allen Trieu, 247Sports

Notre Dame looks to strike gold – again

Fighting the coveted sponsor of California’s Irish elite

Can the Notre Dame Fighting Irish land an elite linebacker from California for the second cycle in a row? This weekend could be crucial for Marcus Freeman in this endeavor, when Top247 Madden Faraimo Prospect arrives in South Bend for his official visit. The physical defender from San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic is planning a summer decision and still has trips to Ohio State (June 14) and Texas (June 21) after starting the hectic run with a stop at Washington (31 of May) .

Neighboring USC is also involved — as was former Bellflower (Calif.) star St. Louis. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa — but the Irish got the job done there and could take many of the same angles with the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Faraimo, who is ranked 12th overall in the state of California in the 2025 class. -Blair Angulo, 247Sports

Ohio State seeks second-class building block

6-foot-5 OT Jackson Lloyd wastes no time returning

“This is the first official visit scheduled for the Carmel (Calif.) offensive lineman jackson lloyd and it will take you to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the most recent school to offer the 6-foot-2, 290-pounder, but Chip Kelly was the first coach to do so when he was the head coach at UCLA. Alabama has scheduled an official visit for him next weekend and he will cap it off with a visit to USC, but the Buckeyes have the first chance, just three weeks after he took an unofficial visit to Columbus in mid-May. The feeling is that Alabama has had the lead for some time, at least since Kalen DeBoer took over; Washington was at the top of Lloyd’s list a year ago.

Ohio State’s offer to Lloyd in March earned the Buckeyes a quick, unofficial visit and now their first official visit puts them in a good position to make a late advance to the prospectus number 146 in the country. The Buckeyes currently have the second-ranked class nationally but that only includes one committed offensive lineman, so Lloyd would be a huge boost.” — Brandon Huffman, 247Sports

Penn State desperate for WR help

Lions try to capture first class of 2025

“None of the three receivers Penn State brought in via portal or high school in class of 2023 are in the program, lost leading receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith to the portal in the spring and the class of 2024 players is not ready to take on a significant role. That’s why the Nittany Lions brought in Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming to lead the group this year, but a game-changer has yet to develop on the roster. Which means fans are eager for something good to materialize at the position in 2025.

Penn State has 13 commitments and his class ranks 10th in the country but is light on receivers. The only committed receiver is Lyrick Samuel of Brooklyn Erasmus Hall. However, a priority target will be on campuss in Norfolk (Virginia) Norcom’s Matthew Outtena four-star prospect who is listed as the No. 5 athlete in the country but is being recruited as a receiver.

Conventional wisdom says Penn State could go a long way toward securing a weekend visit commitment with Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Maryland also involved. It’s imperative that Penn State receivers coach Marques Hagans and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki put on a great show for Outten. – Brian Dohn, 247 Sports

Can Texas A&M close a deal with 5 stars?

Aggies could score big weekend

“Texas A&M is primed for a big weekend with several of the country’s top prospects, but this really looks like an opportunity to close the deal with five-star Galveston (Texas) Ball linebacker Jonah Williams. The Aggies are gaining momentum this spring recruitment, and sources we spoke to are more optimistic about the Aggies signing the dynamic defenseman. I just changed my Crystal Ball prediction for Williams from Oklahoma to Texas A&M.

Baseball could play a big role in his recruitment as Williams is a legitimate MLB prospect on the diamond, and the Texas A&M baseball program, which hosts a Super Regional this weekend, is one of the best in the country right now. Mike Elko and the Aggies currently have the 7th ranked class in the countryand closing the Williams deal could kick off what Aggie fans hope will be a big summer on the recruiting trail while also providing Elko with his second five-star in the 2025 cycle. -Mike Roach, 247Sports

USC has ground to make amends with state star

Last chance for Trojans and 4-star LB Noah Mikhail

“This is a extremely important weekend for the USC Trojans when it comes to recruiting La Verna (California) Bonita Top 100 linebacker Noah Michael. The 6-3, 227-pounder, who is the No. 83 overall player in the class of 2025, is closing in on a June 30 decision. His bottom three include USC, Oregon and Texas A&M. Mikhail goes to College Station next weekend and ends up in Eugene the weekend after that.

At first, most had Mikhail tied to USC. Things eventually changed and Oregon gained momentum. After the visit this spring, it was Texas A&M that had the momentum. Most see this as a race between the Ducks and Aggies, so now is the time for USC to do everything they can to get this one back in their favor. This is your last visit to Lincoln Riley and his team, so we’ll see if the Trojans can make a convincing proposal. USC has the 5th class in the country and Mikhail would be an excellent addition.” – Tom Loy, 247 Sports

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