Friday Recruiting Rundown: Division 1 Dead Period Ends

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>February was one of the few FBS dead periods, when prospects weren't allowed on college campuses, and in-person recruiting took a rare break. But March is here, and just like that, recruiting is once again ramping up. So too are our Friday recruiting pieces, which should come more consistently. Here, we're breaking down what happened during a busy first week of the spring quiet period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">March 6 Recruiting Rundown</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While we're first and foremost a scouting site, we don't live in a world isolated from recruiting. In these pieces, we highlight offers, visits, and storylines on the college recruiting side of high school football. If you'd like to see our more traditional scouting and rankings pieces, our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/north-carolina/">home page</a> is full of content.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Recruiting Picks Up For 2028s</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While the 2027 class was in the spotlight in January, several teams are pivoting to the 2028 class in March. High-upside Southeast Alamance receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2145139' first='Joseph' last='Gibbs']</strong> didn't have a ton of production in an injury-riddled season last year, but he's 6'2" with speed, and he's off the mark on the recruiting trail with offers from Wake Forest, North Carolina, and NC State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Also in the Raleigh-Durham area, Southern Durham defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2112037' first='Jayden' last='Bowman']</strong> earned his third Group of Five offer of the offseason, this time from East Carolina, a team that has become more active in its home state in the last two seasons. The Pirates also offered Southeast Raleigh offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2110441' first='Zamir' last='Jackson']</strong>. This comes a month after Jackson received his first Power Four offer from Virginia Tech.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Shouting Out Recent High-Academic Offers</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My background is in test prep, so I know how prestigious offers from Ivy League and other high-academic schools can be, especially earlier in the process. Two players have picked up such offers recently and deserve special recognition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 tight end/H-Back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1665263' first='Braeden' last='Vetter']</strong> from Williams High School in Burlington earned his first FCS offer in January, and followed it up with a couple of Group of Five offers last month. On Thursday, Columbia offered, while he was on a visit, an impressive offer from a staff that is both focused on academics and has a proven record of talent evaluation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northside-Jacksonville defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1607071' first='Matthew' last='Smoot']</strong> followed up a six-interception sophomore season with a seven-pick senior year, and now he's red-hot on the recruiting trail. Harvard stepped up as his first offer a few weeks ago, followed by historic institutions like Navy and Army, plus half of the Ivy League.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Garner running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1225217' first='Amir' last='Wallace']</strong> earned an offer from Patriot League power Lafayette College. He's a guy who could take off on the recruiting trail.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One more impressive offer of note. Willow Spring kicker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2145391' first='Moses' last='Barker']</strong> could end up as the top player at the position in 2027, and at the end of February, he received an offer from Air Force, his first.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hot Prospect of the Week:</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2104464' first='Amir' last='Moore']</strong> | Edge | Harrells Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smoot has an argument here, but Moore gets the nod. The 6'8" edge defender was offered by South Carolina and UConn after several offers last week. The high-upside pass rusher had 5.5 sacks for Harrells Christian as a junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Other News &amp; Notes</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>We've mentioned in the past that among a bunch of players with FBS offers, Hough safety <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1788073' first='Jackson' last='Heath']</strong> is wildly underrated. Memphis stepped in with an offer earlier this week after FIU and North Carolina A&amp;T offered last month.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='254550' first='Ethan' last='Royal']</strong> was offered by the South Carolina-heavy staff at Samford. He also visited South Carolina for a practice on Wednesday.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Cardinal Gibbons linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1044292' first='Skylar' last='Alston']</strong> has received plenty of college attention for his play on the field. As he's started making visits, we're told that interest has gotten stronger at virtually every school he's visited, as staffs have fallen in love with his "intangibles." He earned a trio of SEC offers this week (Georgia, Missouri, Texas A&amp;M) and is in the middle of a round of visits to South Carolina, Georgia, and NC State, among others.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Grimsley RB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1815393' first='Ty' last='Shoemake']</strong> was offered by East Carolina this week.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>This state is big, and it's easy to miss something. Want to keep us updated on your recruitment? Tag and/or DM me on Twitter/X (<a href="https://x.com/whelms21">@whelms21</a>) to make sure I know what's going on.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->