June 19 Recruiting Rundown: New Offers Rolling In

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we've been in the midst of rankings updates, we haven't done much on the recruiting side of things. While we're first and foremost a scouting service, we also want to provide relevant recruiting content when we can.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While we never spoil an athlete's commitment, we do pick up nuggets here and there. In the early summer, there's been a flurry of commitments and offers from across the state. Here, we're breaking some of those down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">June 19 Recruiting Rundown</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early summer is a time of evaluations, offers, and ultimately commitments (and some decommitments). A few high-profile athletes are approaching commitment dates and seeing out the end of their recruitments. Here, I'll break some of those announcements down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Family Ties (Sometimes) Come Into Play</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a trio of players with family ties to the Georgia Bulldogs to note in the 2026 class, but not all of them will end up in Athens. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='284098' first='Thomas' last='Davis Jr.']</strong> reaffirmed his commitment to Notre Dame amidst heavy pressure from the Bulldogs. He joins several other Tar Heel state products in Notre Dame's 2026 class, a class that features more players from North Carolina than any other Power Four school, with guys like Myers Park's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1002307' first='Rodney' last='Dunham']</strong> and South Garner's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1156972' first='Ebenezer' last='Ewetade']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of South Garner, offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615340' first='Ekene' last='Ogboko']</strong> also has a tie to Georgia as his older brother, <strong>Nnamdi Ogboko</strong>, plays defensive line for the Bulldogs. While Ogboko took a measured approach to the recruiting process (and was very open as recently as a month ago), those relationships won out when Ogboko committed to the Bulldogs on Wednesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's another North Carolina lineman whose brother played on the opposite side of the ball at Georgia, but the Bulldogs are in a dogfight for West Forsyth's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='953021' first='PJ' last='Dean']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dean is a guy who moved up in our rankings as soon as he officially switched sides of the ball. A two-way player, many assumed Dean would play offensive line, like his brother Jared Wilson. However, it became clear in early spring that he'd play defensive line and it brought clarity to his recruitment. There seems to be a final three of Ohio State, South Carolina, and Georgia. While some sites have the Buckeyes as favorites, I'd consider this more of a Georgia-South Carolina battle. He's reportedly at South Carolina again on Thursday, and this one might be winding down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of South Carolina, twin brothers <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='823700' first='Aiden' last='Harris']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='951444' first='Andrew' last='Harris']</strong> both committed to the Gamecocks on June 7. The Harris twins are the nephews of former Georgia linebacker Thomas Davis. The Gamecocks were among the first schools to recruit Andrew as a linebacker, a factor that played a key part in his recruitment.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">New Offers Roll In</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been over a week, but we haven't done a recruiting piece in a while and we want to highlight one of our favorite quarterbacks in the state. West Carteret quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='870217' first='Tanner' last='Payne']</strong> earned an offer from North Carolina A&amp;T, the first in what should be a flurry of recruiting activity from our No. 7 QB in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Similarly, after putting up some ridiculous testing numbers, No. 5 QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612118' first='Brody' last='Norman']</strong> earned several offers and committed to Temple. East Lincoln QB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1671861' first='Grant' last='Lawless']</strong> had an excellent workout with Wake Forest, earning a huge offer from the Demon Deacons and committing quickly after.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GrantLawless17/status/1930675514072523051","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GrantLawless17/status/1930675514072523051 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest offer of the cycle has been Seventy First DL/TE <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1693969' first='Makijah' last='Latiker']</strong>'s Georgia offer earlier this week. A massive two-way player, Latiker has flown under the radar, but the Bulldogs reached out and offered.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tight ends are hard to find earlier in cycles and North Carolina just offered 2027 Ambassador Christian pass-catcher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1608324' first='Troy' last='Alderfer']</strong>, a scouting favorite of ours. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, RB/ATH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='378921' first='Christian' last='Freeman']</strong> from Southeast Raleigh earned his first Power Four offer a few weeks ago with an NC State offer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Random News and Notes</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Former Tennessee commitment <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='945238' first='Tyran' last='Evans']</strong> decommitted from the Volunteers Wednesday night.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Talented 2027 DB/ATH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1693987' first='Alex' last='Haynes Jr.']</strong> (Offers from Arkansas and Southern Miss) transferred from Nation Ford (SC) to Metrolina Christian</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Davie County WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1148569' first='Ethan' last='Driver']</strong> is starting to see his recruitment take off, with offers from Army, Marshall, and Cornell.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Rolesville DB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1693992' first='Cannon' last='Marshall']</strong> landed a Rutgers offer on Wednesday, his first Division I offer.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Two defensive linemen committed to FBS schools earlier this month. Hickory Ridge edge <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1159997' first='Jace' last='McCallum']</strong> committed to Vanderbilt while Havelock defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612252' first='Christopher' last='Bispham']</strong> committed to James Madison.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Want to make sure we don't miss an offer or commitment? Tag and DM me on Twitter (@<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">whelms21</a>)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->