Important Recruiting Links

Scout's Signing Day HQ

EAST

Devon Hunter, the nation's top safety and No. 5 overall prospect, is nearing his Jan. 20 decision, and a key visit takes place this weekend as he heads to Florida. In the spring, the Gators looked to have a very good chance to land Hunter, but North Carolina and Virginia Tech seemed to move to the top of the list. This is a chance for Hunter to re-connect with Florida. The interesting part is he was supposed to officially visit Auburn on Jan. 20, and Alabama on Jan. 27. However, with a decision coming, those visits are not likely.

Elijah Conliffe's busy January starts with this weekend's official visit to Tennessee. The nation's No. 20 defensive tackle already made an official visit to Penn State, and he has trips to Florida (Jan. 20) and Alabama (Jan. 27) on his schedule before he makes his decision. Penn State and Alabama are doing the best with Conliffe.

Olakunle Fatukasi, the top outside linebacker in New York, is committed to Rutgers but is slated for an official visit to Indiana. Former Grand Street teammate Taysir Mack is a receiver at Indiana. Even with the coaching staff changes, Fatukasi remained high on the Hoosiers' list. He made an official visit to Rutgers in December.

Dalyn Wade-Perry, the No. 35 defensive tackle in the nation, will conclude his official visit schedule with his long-anticipated trip to Stanford. He already made official visits to Florida State and UCLA, which sent coach Jim Mora and defensive line coach Angus McClure to see him Thursday morning. Stanford has long been Wade-Perry's leader, and a commitment during or just after the visit could happen.

Tariq Castro-Fields, the No. 27 cornerback in the 2017 class, will spend his birthday (Jan. 14) at Penn State before announcing his decision Jan. 23. He made official visits to Maryland and Alabama, and actually delayed his choice so he can make the Penn State trip. This one is up for grabs, but expect the Nittany Lions to put on a full court press during the visit. He is the only official visitor due on campus.

Victor Dimukeje began his official visit to Michigan State on Thursday, and will leave Friday to go to Pittsburgh for an official visit. He will be at Duke on Jan. 20, and is contemplating a Jan. 27 trip to Rutgers or Baylor. Dimukeje said Virginia Tech and Duke were standing out, but he expects to elevate the Spartans on his list after the visit.

SOUTH

Aubrey Solomon has cut his final four to Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and USC. This weekend will belong to the Trojans. He has always liked USC and he spent time on the west coast before moving to Georgia. He is a one-time Michigan and Solomon recently named Alabama as his leader.

This is a big visit for the LSU Tigers. Devonta Smith is still considered to be an Alabama lean, but the in-state school has made a move. LSU was clearly on the outside looking in a few months ago and now they are in his final three. It will come down to Alabama, LSU and Miami.

This is the Florida Gators chance to make up some ground and try to keep Jarez Parks at home. Alabama is the favorite at this time, he visited the Crimson Tide officially in November, and it may be tough to beat them in the end, but Florida is a school still being considered. This is a big weekend for the Gators.

Yes, Maleik Gray is a Tennessee commit, but Florida State is lurking and he is set to visit the Seminoles next weekend, so this is a big visit for the Volunteers. They would love nothing more than to convince Gray not to visit Tallahassee (Fla.) and to completely end his recruitment before he leaves Knoxville (Tenn.).

Since de-committing from Ole Miss, there has been a lot going around about Willie Gay. Some feel Michigan is still in a good spot, others feel LSU has taken over at the top, and then you have Mississippi State, the college in his backyard that all know will be there until the end. The Bulldogs are a true contender here.

Could Markaviest Bryant pull the trigger this weekend in Athens? The numbers are getting tighter by the day at Georgia, he knows he is a top target and Georgia is at least in his top two. Alabama and Auburn are still in this race too, but Kirby Smart to show this Scout 300 talent why he should not leave his home state this weekend.

Chris Allen is an Alabama commitment, but he lives just a few miles from the LSU campus. The Tigers have been working hard to convince Allen to give the local school an official visit and he will this weekend. He is still considered to be strong to the Crimson Tide at this time, but the Tigers hope to change that this weekend.

MIDWEST

Iowa City West four-star wide receiver Oliver Martin will be at Michigan State this weekend. The Spartans are one of the schools who are still heavily in the mix along with Notre Dame. Iowa, Oregon, Michigan and others remain as possibilities as well. The Spartans have one commit from Iowa, quarterback Rocky Lombardi, who has known Martin since they were kids and will be in town with him as well. Martin currently has no decision date set.

One of the most dynamic performers of All-Star season, East St. Louis (Ill.) wide receiver Jeff Thomas will be on an official visit to Louisville this weekend. Thomas was considered a heavy Illinois lean but his performance in Orlando drew new attention and he will visit the Cardinals, Tennessee and Miami (Fla.) officially before Signing Day casting some doubt as to where he will end up.

A recent de-commit from Indiana, Carmel (Ind.) tight end Kurt Rafdal is slated to be at Nebraska this weekend. The Huskers were a primary contender for the 6-foot-7 prospect prior to his Hoosier commitment. He is also considering Iowa, who recently offered.

Another Indiana tight end commit who is looking around is Peyton Hendershot. Hendershot is scheduled to take official visits to Purdue and Penn State, but his Indiana up first this weekend as the Hoosiers look to keep him in the class.

MIDLANDS

The No. 1 rated defensive tackle from Bellaire (Texas) Episcopal, Marvin Wilson, will be making his fourth official visit to LSU after making previous stops in at Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State. Many feel like LSU could be his landing spot, so this will be a big visit.

LSU was the first school to offer K'Lavon Chaisson before he even made his first start as a varsity player. The Galena Park (Texas) North Shore product will be making his first official trip. Texas will be next weekend, so the Tigers will be looking to hit a home run.

The longtime Oklahoma commit, Tre Brown, confirmed on Thursday with Scout that he would be making the trip to Arizona State. It may be a long shot for the Sun Devils to get him to flip, but this late in the recruiting process anything can happen. Brown is from Tulsa (Okla.) Union.

Chevin Calloway is one of the highest rated prospects left on the board for Texas and this is a major visit for the Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne standout. He has a top three of Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas, but he has already used his visit to Oxford, Miss.

Levi Jones is not one who has a whole lot of interesting commentary as it relates to his recruitment, but there is no doubt that the visit to UF will be a big one as it relates to his process. The Austin (Texas) Westlake standout has some good ties to Randy Shannon and that could factor in.

Evan Fields has put UCLA in his top six and feels like he will fit in with the schemes there well. He has a visit to Notre Dame penciled in for next weekend, but added an offer from TCU on Thursday. Could the Big 12 get back into play for the Midwest City (Okla.) High defender?

New head coach Matt Rhule and his staff will be hosting its first big recruiting weekend and the big fish in campus will be four-star Oklahoma WR commit Charleston Rambo. Rambo played for newly named BU assistant Joey McGuire at Cedar Hill (Texas) High and that relationship may play a factor in how this recruitment plays out.

WEST

Fontana (Calif.) Summit running back Stephen Carr will take an official visit to Oregon this weekend. Carr, a five star prospect ranked the No. 3 back in the nation, is a long time USC commit but has always wanted to take a few of official visits. UCLA could also get a visit but the Trojans will be very tough to beat here. He'll likely visit USC next weekend and it wouldn't surprise us if he shuts down his recruitment following that trip.

South Jordan (Utah) Bingham defensive lineman Jay Tufele will visit BYU this weekend. Tufele is coming off a great showing at the Army AA Game and is easily among the top interior linemen in the nation. He has already visited Michigan and Ohio State and will close out the month with trips to USC and Utah. We think Tufele will stay out West but it looks too close to call right now.

Los Angeles (Calif.) Salesian defensive back Deommodore Lenoir will take a visit to North Carolina. The Tar Heels don't recruit out West very often and we were a little surprised when Lenoir locked in the visit but it does sound like he has genuine interest. The former Oregon commit is still looking at the Ducks and will visit Nebraska and USC later in the month and he could take an unofficial visit to UCLA.

Fresno (Calif.) Central defensive back Jaylon Johnson will check out Arizona State. The Utah commit is also looking to visit Georgia and we know Oregon is making a big push as well. Johnson's commitment to the Utes does seem solid but we do think he'll go in to these visits with an open mind and give every program a real shot.

Sumner (Wash.) athlete Connor Wedington will take an official visit to Stanford. The former Washington commit de-committed from the Huskies the day he passed Stanford's admissions and we think the Cardinal are in a very good spot right now. UCLA should get a visit and Baylor and Notre Dame are also involved and a decision may not come until Signing Day.

Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe defensive back Isaiah Pola-Mao will take his visit to USC. The Trojans and Arizona State are the two leaders for the gifted safety and Washington is in this one as well. The Sun Devils are the hometown school and could be a slight leader heading on to this visit so the Trojans could have some work to do if they want to reel in the talented athlete.

National recruiting analysts Allen Trieu, Brandon Huffman, Brian Dohn, Chad Simmons, Greg Biggins and Greg Powers contributed to this notebook.