Intel: Powerhouse programs emerge for the top-ranked recruits in the 2029 cycle
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Rivals unveiled its Top100 for the 2029 class on Monday with Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day cornerback James Allen topping the list.
Allen holds over 50 scholarship offers heading into his sophomore season and he’s certainly not the only prospect to already reach blue-chip stats. The nation’s No. 5 overall prospect in receiver Sip Cooper has already committed to SMU, and top quarterback CJ Cypher has given Miami his pledge.
Things are picking up fast with their peers and Rivals has the latest on where things stand early in the process for the top-ranked recruits in the 2029 cycle.
4-star cornerback James Allen
The Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day standout grew up attending games at Florida and Miami and has spent a lot of time around the Gators program early in his process. But those are just two of the many he’s excited about. Ohio State and Auburn are two more getting out of the gate fast for Allen.
“Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Georgia, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon, USC,” Allen listed.
Allen looks forward to making the rounds for games this season. He’ll open the season at Florida for the FAU game before hitting Georgia Tech on Sept. 12 for the Tennessee game. Allen will be back at Florida for the Ole Miss game on Sept. 26. He’ll head to Georgia for the Vanderbilt game on Oct. 6. Miami is set for the rivalry game against Florida State on Oct. 17. Auburn is doing a great job recruiting Allen and he’ll be at the game against LSU on Oct. 24. Allen has loved his experiences at Ohio State and will attend the Oregon game on Nov. 7. Allen has a lot of interest in Notre Dame and will visit Nov. 21.
“Somewhere I can see myself going and having life after football and obviously having pro potential. Somewhere they’re going to develop me the right way, prepare me to be an NFL player, teach me the game and be able to learn every day. And somewhere I’ll have relationships with the coach after football.”
Allen’s father Moses also gave insight on how they’re attacking the process.
“Development,” the elder Allen highlighted. “I think for James when we talk about it, his end goal is the NFL. I don’t think it’s get to college for one year, get a NIL check and come home. His end goal is to get to the NFL. We pay attention to a lot of the coaches that are kind of putting guys into the league. We’re really excited about that. Coach (Tim) Walt(on) at Ohio State has a very impressive background, obviously Corey Raymond at LSU has an impressive background. You go to Notre Dame, they have Leonard Moore slated to go the league. He has an impressive background. It’s not to say a lesser-known coach can’t say those things but I’d say that’s No. 1.
“No. 2 to be on a team that has a chance to compete for a National Title. We feel he has ability to be a contributor to that sooner than later. You only get one chance in college. He’d love to take a shot to help a team make it to the title.
“We’re also high on academics as well. We want James to have a very successful football career but after this ends we’re hopeful when this ends he can be a strong contributor to society whether that be a continuing career in sports or helping the next James Allen find his way. Those are the things important to us.”
4-star offensive tackle Landon Ghea
Rivals No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 2 prospect overall Landon Ghea is pushing Allen as the top-rated player in the country.
Meanwhile college programs are already pushing hard to get the Milton (Ga.) High product in the program.
“Florida, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee,” Ghea highlighted.
“All of them I connect with multiple times a month. I’ve also camped at all of them so I can see the way they coach and their vision for the position.”
Ghea’s older brother Ryan plays at Auburn and Landon will be on The Plains for the Tigers season opener Sept. 5. From there he’ll hit Florida on Sept. 26, Tennessee is locked in for Oct. 3, Ohio State return comes Oct. 10, Georgia is on the calendar for Oct. 17, Texas A&M gets a game visit Nov. 14 and the Iron Bowl at Alabama is Nov. 28.
Braelyn Allen
4-star receiver Braelyn Allen
The San Antonio (Texas) Johnson standout is the nation’s No. 1 receiver and No. 3 prospect overall.
“SMU and TCU have shown lots of love,” Allen said. “UT is my dream school. Miami would come in a close second. Headed to a visit at A&M September 5 after our Vandergrift game. Ole Miss sent a game-day invite for September 12 also.”
Allen is looking forward to building his relationship with Texas.
“I like how they use receivers and how they give them opportunities to make plays,” Allen said. “I want to be coached by great coaches and compete. UT’s tradition is big, and I want to be part of a program that expects to win championships.”
Miami has offered and Allen knows the standard in Coral Gables is to win it all.
“Miami had big success,” Allen said. “They play fast with a lot of energy and confidence. I want to play with the best and get better every day.”
4-star receiver Maddox Porter
Out of Nashville (Tenn.) Battle Ground Academy, the nation’s No. 2 receiver and No. 4 prospect overall has a handful of schools creating intrigue.
“I’m really thankful that I’m in the position to start my recruitment early,” Porter said. “Many schools have reached out and I’m enjoying getting to know them all. But the ones that I’ve gotten to know the best so far would be Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and Georgia. These are in no particular order. I’m still working on game day visits but I do have a few confirmed with Tennessee, Notre Dame, Oregon, Georgia, and Texas A&M.”
The Irish get the first visit of the season the weekend of Sept. 19. He’ll be at Tennessee on Oct. 17, Oregon on Nov. 14 and Texas A&M on Nov. 28.
Miami is another program Porter highlighted as one he’s excited about heading into the fall.
4-star defensive lineman Zayquan Dozier
The Butler (Ga.) Troup County product checks in as the No. 1 defensive lineman in the country and No. 6 prospect overall.
Georgia is already off and running for Dozier.
“I’m going to UGA’s All-White game versus Western Kentucky and I’ll be going to Athens a few more times this year. Georgia Tech, Florida, South Carolina, Florida State are all on my list this year as well for schools that have offered me.”
The love from the Bulldogs and pedigree of the program have Dozier excited to see where things go moving forward.
“Georgia’s staff and Coach (Tray) Scott show me a lot of love, so I really appreciate that. They were the first to reach out to get a game-day visit scheduled.”
4-star athlete Ryder Flugence
A terrific quarterback with the athleticism and potential to play other positions, the nation’s No. 7 overall recruit out of Boerne (Texas) Champion highlighted the programs that are strong for him.
“There are a lot of programs that have caught my mind including Texas Tech, A&M, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, FSU, Baylor and Oklahoma. I am going to an A&M game and Georgia game and no other colleges have reached out yet about games.”
4-star linebacker Austin Phillips
The No. 1 linebacker in the country and top-rated recruit in the Midwest is definitely high on his offers from Notre Dame and Ohio State. The East Noble (Ind.) standout has set game visits for those programs after attending camp on both campuses during the summer.
Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee and Purdue are other offers Phillips has with game visits set. Defending National Champion Indiana has not offered yet, but Phillips has camped and will attend the season opener.
Following his visit to Indiana, Phillips will be at Notre Dame for the Irish’s home opener Sept. 12. He’ll return to ND on Nov. 7 against Miami. Phillips has already spent a lot of time in South Bend.
Phillips will be at Ohio State for the Kent State game on Sept. 19. His visit to Penn State is the weekend of Sept. 26 for the Wisconsin game. Phillips heads down to Tennessee on Oct. 3 for the Auburn game. He is excited to be at Michigan State for the Northwestern game on Oct. 17. Purdue gets the last visit of the season Nov. 21 for the Minnesota game.
Phillips ranks as the nation’s No. 8 prospect regardless of position.
4-star receiver Jacorey Shockley
Three programs are already making the Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern standout feel like a priority.
“It’s definitely still early, but a few programs have stood out to me so far,” Shockley said. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on Oregon, Miami and UGA this season. They’ve done a good job getting in early and building relationships. I haven’t set up any game visits yet, but I’m planning to once the season gets underway.”
Shockley is the No. 9 prospect in the Rivals300.
4-star safety Captain Munnerlyn
The No. 1 safety in the country and No. 10 prospect overall hails from Mobile (Ala.) Williamson.
The schools to highlight for the NFL legacy recruit right now are “LSU, Miami, Georgia, Florida Gators, Oklahoma.”
“Game visits haven’t been finalized yet but LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida and Memphis have reached out.”
The Tigers, Hurricanes, Bulldogs, Gators and Sooners are programs Munnerlyn emphasized have his eye.
4-star edge Sekou Toure
The No. 1 edge and No. 11 prospect overall out of Pleasantville (NJ) Columbus looks forward to setting up his trips.
“The schools I’m feeling a strong connection with early on are Miami, Alabama, Texas A&M and Penn State. Those are just the schools I talk to the most right now. I’m still building connections with others.”
Toure has yet to set up game visits.
4-star interior offensive lineman Xavier Fowlkes
Tabbed as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman and No. 12 prospect overall, the Toms River (NJ) Donovan Catholic road-grader gave an update on his process.
“Last year Rutgers played a big part in recruiting me,” Fowlkes said. “They are definitely one of the top recruiters for me. I don’t have any confirmed visits but I would like to try to get to games at Penn State, Rutgers, NC State and Ohio State.”
4-star cornerback Amarian McRae
The nation’s No. 2 cornerback and No. 14 prospect overall from Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney says there are no standouts early in his process.
McRae does plan on being at Florida for the FAU and Ole Miss games. He’ll hit Georgia for the Auburn game and Auburn for the LSU game. Notre Dame is set for the Miami game.
McRae is also eyeing game visits at Miami and Ole Miss.
4-star cornerback Brayley Manning
Texas A&M has locked in a visit for the Arkansas game as they jump out early for the Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman standout.
The Aggies aren’t the only school in the picture.
“Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Arizona,” Manning said. “These are just the schools showing a lot of love currently.”
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos