If you’re a fan of college football recruiting, buckle up. Things are about to get fun.

Official visit season is here and will pick up in earnest next weekend, when programs across the country roll out all their flashiest bells and whistles.

Photoshoots. Fancy dinners. Snacks-galore. Meetings with coaches. All are part of the official visit experience, which often leads to a wave of summer commitments as recruits look to make their college decisions before their final seasons of high school football. And of course, in this era of college football, schools are talking money with prospects now, too.

Here’s what’s going on as we inch closer to June.

Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

Watch out for the scare tactic

Money has been a big part of the recruiting process ever since name, image and likeness entered the mix in 2021, but the financial piece has become even more prominent for prospects over the past year, after the House settlement ruled in June 2025 that schools can directly share revenue with athletes.

Schools can’t formally present high school prospects with revenue-sharing offers until November, the month before the early signing period. But financial conversations are happening much earlier than that.

And in some cases, high school prospects are being spooked into committing earlier than they otherwise might have, according to one Power 4 personnel staffer.

“That’s been a common theme,” the staffer said. “There’s one school out there that’s telling kids, ‘Here’s your number. If you don’t commit within a week and you take an official visit elsewhere, that number that I presented to you is now half.’

“I know one particular school that’s been doing a lot of it, but I think it’s becoming a pretty common practice across the P4 realm.”

The staffer said this type of fear-mongering also comes into play with transfer prospects, but acknowledged it makes some sense with portal players, given how quickly schools have to move during the transfer window.

If and when one portal prospect turns a school down, the program has to have someone else waiting in the wings. Unlike the high school recruiting process, the portal window lasts about two weeks — not months (or in some cases, years).

“A guy will be on an official visit to School X, and the car service will be outside to pick him up to take him to the airport to fly him to his next visit, and they basically say, ‘Hey, if you get in that car, this offer is no longer on the table.’ Or ‘It’s shrunk. If you come to us tomorrow, it might be 25 percent less or something,’” the staffer said.

“In portal life, that’s accurate. In high school life, I think it’s more just a scare tactic than anything. But it’s becoming more common. It just is. It’s unfortunate, but it’s just becoming more common.”

Blue-chip QB carousel

There are 26 blue-chip quarterback prospects in the 2027 recruiting cycle. Colton Nussmeier, whose older brother Garrett recently finished his career at LSU, is the only one who is not committed. So after Peter Bourque, the No. 82 overall prospect and the No. 7 quarterback, pledged to Virginia Tech last week, it feels as though most of the blue-chip QB dominoes have fallen.

But there are still some situations to monitor, mainly with Southern California native Brady Edmunds, who has been committed to Ohio State since December 2024. While the Buckeyes have Edmunds in their class, they’re still recruiting other quarterbacks in this cycle. Ohio State has demonstrated some level of interest in three-star prospect Dane Weber, who had a list of finalists that includes Cal, Cincinnati and UCLA.

The Bruins have also displayed some interest in Edmunds, so that could be a potential landing spot if the Ohio State commitment falls through.

Edmunds is the only blue-chip quarterback prospect in the state of California, usually one of the more QB-rich states in the country, this cycle. His situation will be worth keeping an eye on over the coming weeks.

USC’s follow-up

After signing the No. 1 recruiting class, with 35 prospects, in the 2026 recruiting cycle, the assumption was that USC’s 2027 class would be much smaller.

That’s played out true to form for the most part, but the Trojans are still doing really well with the 13 commitments they’ve taken so far, with an average player rating of 93.43 that ranks fourth nationally.

USC’s overall class rank is No. 5, with four-star safety Gavin Williams, the No. 159 player nationally, being the latest blue-chip prospect to join the list of verbal pledges.

General manager Chad Bowden is sticking to the plan that worked for the Trojans last cycle: Keep the best local prospect at home. Nine of USC’s 13 commits are from California, and six of those nine are blue-chippers from Southern California.

The Trojans hold commitments from six of the top 20 recruits in the state. That puts them in line with their 2026 class, when they signed seven of the top 20 in-state prospects.

USC did suffer a setback earlier this week with the decommitment of four-star wideout Eli Woodard, a Southern California prospect. The Trojans still have two top-100 receivers in the class, Quentin Hale and Roye Oliver III, and they signed six receivers last cycle.

Texas A&M on a tear

Mike Elko led Texas A&M to the College Football Playoff in just his second year in charge, and the Aggies’ head coach is recruiting like someone who intends to win it all in the near future.

The Aggies’ class, featuring 14 commits, is ranked No. 2 in the nation, and the average player rating of 95.85 is first. The class includes seven top-50 prospects and four five-stars: offensive tackle Mark Matthews, safety Kamarui Dorsey, offensive tackle Kennedy Brown and cornerback Raylaun Henry.

Landing Matthews, the No. 5 overall player and the top offensive tackle in the country, was particularly significant for Elko, considering that Matthews is the top player in Florida and plays at St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, about 15 miles from Miami’s stadium.

Miami coach Mario Cristobal, a former offensive lineman, is known for his ability to recruit and develop the position. The Hurricanes signed the nation’s No. 2 prospect and the top offensive tackle in the Class of 2026 in five-star Missouri native Jackson Cantwell.

But Matthews chose Elko and his staff. And if his commitment ceremony— arguably the most entertaining of the year — is any indication, it’s going to be difficult for other schools to change his mind.

5 Star OL Mark Matthews commits to Texas A&M!

Alot of energy during this commitment. pic.twitter.com/vCxRDSuTbc

— Grant Reacts (@GrantReacts1) May 15, 2026

Notable commitments

• Four-star cornerback Ai’King Hall flipped from Oregon to Miami on Sunday. Hall originally committed to the Ducks on April 6 but made the switch this week, giving Cristobal another key piece in the secondary. Hall, ranked No. 73 overall, joins five-star cornerback Donte Wright in the Hurricanes’ defensive backfield of the future.

• Also on Sunday: Four-star offensive tackle Wyatt Smith, the son of former Missouri star and five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Justin Smith, committed to Ohio State out of St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

• Auburn got a major pickup on Monday, when four-star offensive tackle Layton von Brandt, the nation’s No. 64 prospect, committed to coach Alex Golesh out of Delaware, giving the Tigers their highest-rated offensive line commit since the Class of 2017. Florida added another piece on Monday, when the Gators got a commitment from four-star in-state receiver Elias Pearl, and Arizona State earned a big win when four-star offensive tackle Jake Hildebrand decided to stay in his home state, as well.

• Rounding out top-150 commitments this week: Clemson dipped into Georgia and landed four-star running back Gary Walker (No. 145) as well as four-star wide receiver Jamarin Simmons (No. 106), right from Florida State’s backyard in Tallahassee. Nebraska received a commitment from four-star offensive lineman Jordan Agbanoma, a top-100 national prospect out of Georgia.

Keep an eye on these prospects

Three-star Rutgers wide receiver commit Jamar Taylor, from Wilmington, Del., is a state championship-winning high jumper who committed to the Scarlet Knights last week. But before he committed to Rutgers, Georgia paid him a visit earlier this month, and Nebraska swung through late last month. Taylor is also heading to The Opening Finals — featuring some of the nation’s top recruits — next month in Oregon, where he’ll only get more exposure to schools potentially looking to flip him.

Also keep an eye out for unranked linebacker Jordan Matthewson, from Williamston, N.C. Matthewson has some Group of 6 offers, but also picked up offers from Duke in June of last year and Wake Forest in January, as he continues to try to work his way onto the radar of more schools.

Sa Rex, out of Richmond, Va., is another interesting prospect. He’s an unranked athlete and has mostly Group of 6 offers, but notably picked up a Penn State offer from Matt Campbell’s staff earlier this month. Campbell, of course, was known at Iowa State for his ability to identify and develop under-the-radar talent.

“That’s a good player. I like him,” a Power 4 personnel staffer said of Rex. “He’s an intriguing prospect overall. Just a dynamic athlete — a little bit needs to physically develop, but a dynamic athlete that I think in a couple of years, multiple years, you’ll probably see him making plays in the back end of a secondary just with an ability to run, change direction, ball skills. He’s somebody that’s definitely worth considering.”