College football had an exciting first week back with some upsets, big games and exciting finishes. With the season starting, it means recruiting is going to pick back up from a break and a dead period in August, with visits and upcoming commitments.
There isn't much time left until the early signing period in December, so schools are going to make their last push with 2022 prospects, while also trying to get a jump on the 2023 recruits, as well.
This week's recruiting notebook takes a look at a prospect scheduled to announce his commitment, a top list released, teams who helped themselves in recruiting this past weekend, big visitors for rival teams and quarterback recruit reactions to Quinn Ewers' million-dollar NIL deal.
Five-star Shazz Preston's top four
Shazz Preston is the No. 13-ranked recruit in the class and the No. 3 wide receiver overall. He's a 5-foot-11, 180-pound prospect from Saint James High School in Saint James, Louisiana.
He recently released his top four, which consists of Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas. Preston has an older brother, Shawn, currently at Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs didn't make the cut.
Being from Louisiana, it's often difficult for other schools to beat out in-state LSU, but Preston plans to continue to take visits before making a commitment.
Justice Finkley committing soon
Justice Finkley is the No. 133 recruit overall in the 2022 class. He's a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive end from Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama, and he is going to announce his commitment on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. ET.
He lists his final three schools as Alabama, Texas and Colorado. He visited each school in June or July, narrowing his list down from his original 12, which also included Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford and UCF.
Finkley is the No. 6 recruit in the state of Alabama, and if he chooses the Crimson Tide, he would give the staff 11 ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 cycle. A commitment to Texas would give the Longhorns 12 ESPN 300 commits, and the first from Alabama; and if Finkley chooses Colorado, he would be the first ESPN 300 prospect to join the class.
Big weekend to visit Ohio State
Recruits weren't allowed to visit for games last season during the NCAA's dead period. Bringing recruits to campus for a big-game atmosphere is an important part of the process, and Ohio State will have quite a few Class of 2023 prospects in attendance Saturday against Oregon.
ESPN Junior 300 offensive lineman Luke Montgomery will be in attendance. A tackle from Findlay, Ohio, Montgomery is the No. 63 prospect overall and is receiving more and more offers from some of the biggest national programs each week.
Montgomery will be joined by Caleb Downs, the third-ranked safety and No. 61 prospect overall in the 2023 class. He's a 5-foot-11, 185-pound defensive back from Hoschton, Georgia.
It won't just be 2023 recruits in attendance, as the staff is also hosting defensive tackle Caden Curry, the No. 90 prospect in the 2022 class, from Greenwood, Indiana, and Ohio offensive tackle Aamil Wagner, the No. 118-ranked recruit, among a handful of other big prospects.
Michigan making moves for five-star names
The biggest name visiting Michigan this weekend is five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen. He's the No. 1-ranked recruit overall and a 6-foot-4, 325-pound prospect from Powell, Tennessee.
What's interesting about the visit is that Nolen left the Wolverines out of his top list, which was only a top three of Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M. Michigan was thought to be in the mix for Nolen, but leaving the Wolverines off of his top list cast obvious doubt into where they stood.
If the coaches can get him on campus and get some quality time with Nolen and his family, it might help get Michigan back into his top group. Outside of Nolen, Michigan is also expecting another top-five recruit on campus in cornerback Domani Jackson.
He's the No. 4 prospect and a 6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. He's currently committed to USC, but has developed a friendship with Michigan defensive back commit William Johnson, and is now going to check out Ann Arbor for the game against Washington.
Teams who helped themselves in recruiting this week
A loss on the field doesn't impact recruits as much as a win does. Recruits know teams are going to lose, but in some cases, a win can give teams a recruiting boost.
Typically, when there are questions about a new coach and how they'll perform, or a program looking to take the next step, a win or a close game can help. We saw that impact with a few teams this past weekend, where a positive performance could end up helping on the recruiting trail.
Florida State took Notre Dame to the wire in overtime, and though the Seminoles didn't win, recruits have been waiting to see what the product would look like on the field after coach Mike Norvell's first season was disrupted by COVID-19.
The Seminoles have done an excellent job recruiting, currently with the No. 8 class overall, but landing recruits and holding on to them until they sign are two different things. It was imperative that the team show progress this season and show recruits the program is moving in the right direction.
That game against Notre Dame was exactly what the coaches needed to help elevate recruiting and keep pushing it forward.
ESPN 300 quarterback commit A.J. Duffy was in attendance and tweeted about the experience, saying Florida State is "special."
I love it here... this place is special🍢
— Aj Duffy (@anthonyjduffy) September 6, 2021
Offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham told ESPN over the summer that Florida State has unique opportunity to sell recruits on the fact that they are needed to help turn the program around, but that they know they can win at the highest level at Florida State, because it has been done before.
"We're in that grey area that not many programs in the country have, where you can sell immediate playing time at a blue blood where you can win a Heisman," Dillingham said this summer. "Now, we have to show those guys that we are on the way back up. If we win some games and show progress, you're going to be the person in this class that takes us from six wins to nine and then 10 or 11, and the end of your career, you're going to look back and say you helped bring Florida State back."
The first game was a good start to that blueprint and if the coaches continue progressing, they could see another step up in their recruiting.
UCLA is another program starting to turn heads with how it has played on the field after beating LSU 38-27. Under Chip Kelly, the Bruins signed the No. 38 class in 2021, the No. 35 class in 2020, No. 53 in 2019 and No. 19 in 2018.
Those numbers aren't great, considering the Bruins were ranked as high as No. 11 in the 2015 class and had top-20 classes the next two years.
Kelly and his staff have a pro model to their recruiting style and have stuck to it despite criticism on the results. Those recruiting efforts are starting to show on the field now, and while it might not make a big impact in the 2022 class, where UCLA is ranked No. 35 in the class rankings, the 2023 cycle could see a boost if UCLA finishes the rest of the season on a high note.
Quarterback recruit reaction to Quinn Ewers' NIL deal
When Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers signed a name, image and likeness deal with an autograph company for $1.4 million over three years, recruits took notice.
Ewers reclassified from the 2022 class to 2021, leaving high school early and enrolled at Ohio State in August, to take part in NIL deals presented to him. Because he was living in Texas, state laws prohibited him from profiting off of his name, so he left early and is now a millionaire.
"Through a group chat, me, Arch Manning, Ty Simpson and Quinn, we were all messing with him," LSU quarterback commit Walker Howard said. "We were all texting him, saying he needs to take us on vacation."
He can probably afford a few vacations once the season is over, but the NIL deal for Ewers made the whole idea of making money very real to a lot of the quarterback recruits across the country.
Dante Moore is the No. 17-ranked prospect in the 2023 class, a quarterback from Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Detroit, who said he wasn't really sure what NIL opportunities would be afford to college athletes at first. Once he saw the numbers being thrown around with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who reportedly has signed over $800,000 worth of NIL deals, and now with Ewers, it all became real.
"I was just shocked, who doesn't want $1 million?" Moore said jokingly. "I wouldn't leave my senior year, because we never get those memories back, but a million dollars, you're making star money now."
Moore doesn't believe it will become a big trend, and says even for himself, hearing those numbers from other quarterbacks, he wants to stay his senior season and win a state championship for his team. He is interested in NIL deals and says it will be a part of his thought process in choosing a school, but he's more focused on where he can win a national championship and even the Heisman Trophy.
He sees both sides of the conversation, though: Turning down an extraordinary amount of money at such a young age would be a difficult thing to do.
"It's going to be a big thing, because with my family living in Detroit, some living in Ohio, I'm hoping I can really help them all and get out from where they're at right now," Moore said. "It's going to be a part of it, but it's not going to be the main part."
When North Carolina 2023 quarterback commit Tad Hudson saw the amount Ewers would make, he thought, "It was crazy." He didn't know how much quarterbacks would be worth, so to see a peer gain that much money, he was shocked.
Similar to Moore, however, Hudson said he doesn't think those opportunities would change anything for him or his recruiting process. He plans to stay in school and finish out his high school career.
In fact, most of the top quarterbacks have a similar mindset, that they're happy for Ewers and the opportunities in front of him, but it doesn't change how they'll approach their college careers.
Duffy has been committed to Florida State since April, and as the No. 38 recruit overall, he will likely have NIL deals come his way. Despite the fact that he has a chance to be the face of a big-name program, he didn't really ask many NIL questions when talking to the Florida State coaches.
He's taking the approach of letting his parents handle anything that might come his way, and says he needs to take care of business on the field before any of those big deals will enter the picture. He believes that if he earns the starting job at Florida State, everything will fall into place, so it's not something he is concerned with at the moment.
That said, Duffy sees how this could change the way some high school prospects go about their decision making to take advantage of those contracts, especially in states where NIL deals are allowed for high school prospects.
"It's going to change a whole lot for high school football, because I know a lot of guys are going to want to start making money at early ages," Duffy said. "Money makes the world go round, so why not. If they can play in high school and make money, I think some will do that."
If nothing else, it has increased the awareness of how important their personal brands are and how they should focus on increasing their reach and online presence. Howard says he isn't too focused on securing any contracts right now, but is highly aware that he needs to start building the foundation of his brand now to be able to capitalize once he gets to LSU.
For Pierce Clarkson, one of the top uncommitted quarterbacks in the 2023 class, he has already started to think about how he wants to navigate the NIL process and how it has added another layer to the recruiting process.
He's going to take it slow, but understands it shouldn't just be about making as much money as possible, rather making the right deals and staying focused on what matters most.
"You have to be smart with who you associate your name with, what brands and everything, make sure it's something that's really right for you," Clarkson said. "I want to be smart with who I associate my name with and who I represent, because technically, they'll be representing me too. I'm going to do what's best for me, whatever that is, and just try to stay focused on football as much as I can."