SI

Best Available 2022 Recruits Overton, Conerly Headline National Visit Weekend

Oregon, LSU hosting top prospects despite spring break barriers

John Garcia Jr.

Spring break has put some of the top college football campuses on a bit of pause as it pertains to hosting recruits, but not in Eugene, Los Angeles or Baton Rouge. 

With elite 2022 prospects still available, 7-on-7 circuits hitting major metro areas and spring practice underway at plenty of programs, the weekend visitor slate is still quite strong from a national perspective. 

Sports Illustrated dishes on the country's biggest recruiting visits to take place this weekend. 

2022 DE Lebbeus Overton - Oregon

The top defensive recruit still on the board in the senior class is kicking off his visit tour in Eugene, Oregon for a closer look at Dan Lanning's new digs in the Pac-12. The former Georgia defensive coordinator was of course one of many trying to keep Overton, who played at Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton High School, within state lines and SEC country. Now, Lanning and his staff has the chance to pull what would be a shocker early in his tenure if the pass rusher ends up in green and gold for good. The reclassified recruit's older brother, Micaiah Overton, picked up an Oregon offer in February and will also head to Eugene this weekend as a transfer visitor. The duo has made it no secret they plan on playing together in the Power 5 this fall. Lebbeus will eventually visit Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Georgia to wrap up his recruitment. 

2022 OL Josh Conerly - Oregon

Oregon happens to be the next destination for the top available offensive prospect in the senior class, too, in SI99 recruit Josh Conerly. Working with a top group of Washington, Michigan, USC, Oklahoma and Miami in addition to UO, visits to each will be wrapped up by month's end after Conerly sees Los Angeles one more time. A source says he has been focused more on basketball than picking a college program at this time, but once the next two visits are behind the big two-sport star, a final call could come soon after. 

2023 DE Matayo Uiagalelei - Oregon

The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco two-way standout has looks as a tight end and defensive end from programs all over the country, but Oregon getting him back on campus is a big deal in and of itself. Per the rising-senior's father, the Ducks previous staff was more up and down with Uiagalelei but Dan Lanning's staff has created tangible momentum with the family. Dave Uiagalelei reports similar with USC, where Matayo recently visited. The national programs like Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama and others remain in the mix here, but so do the new staffs in the Pac-12 following changes at the top.

"It actually made the schools more attractive because of the coaches change," Dave Uiagalelei told SI last week. "USC and Oregon were not on Matayo’s radar at all until they had the coaches change."

2023 WR Brandon Inniss - USC

A Friday stop by the vaunted South Florida Express 7-on-7 team features droves of elite prospects, but Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage wideout Brandon Inniss is the most intriguing relative to USC because he was of course committed to Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. Riley and his staff haven't slowed in pursuing the productive wide receiver since their move to Los Angeles and now he gets to see campus on the other side of the country while in town to dominate more defensive backs on the circuit. Inniss has a who's who list of offers and has been linked to Ohio State, Alabama and others, while being impressed at Florida State last weekend, but the majority of the recent buzz is already back with Riley and USC ahead of the visit. 

2023 DE Jayden Wayne - Oregon

Alabama leads for the Washington native, who has a big list of suitors still after him. Wayne was at USC last weekend and will get another dose of Pac-12 recruiting with the monster weekend visitor list Oregon has set up. This will be Lanning's best collection of talent, through multiple classes, that he has dealt with on campus as a head coach so it will be interesting to see how the delegation and prioritizing of elite prospects goes with those like Wayne in town. He is one of the top-tier recruits who has contemplated a decision during the year, so each trip he takes ahead of the 2022 season feels relatively critical. 

2023 WR Jaylen Brown - LSU

Before the coaching changes of 2021, which slowed the process for plenty of top prospects, there was real traction to the thought of Notre Dame pulling Brown out of Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep. Since, many other programs have attempted to make moves for one of the fastest and smoothest wide receivers in the country but the combination of track and field (where Brown currently has the No. 2 200-meter dash time) and 7-on-7 will keep his schedule busy. Any visit is not a small one this time of year for a talent like Brown's and the prior history with Brian Kelly and select assistants could make LSU an interesting dark horse. 

2023 LB Troy Bowles - Oklahoma

A Brent Venables and Todd Bates target that had Clemson high on Bowles' list before they each made the move to Oklahoma, this will be the beginning of the program's in-person pitch to pull the upset over Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia and Clemson for the Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit standout. The son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Troy has never been locked in on location in regards to where he may end up at the next level, but the in-state Florida Gators could be a program to watch if Bowles takes the process deep into the recruiting cycle. 

QB Christopher Vizzina - Georgia

While he will also visit Georgia Tech, it's Georgia that has been in the mix for quite some time for the Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian quarterback, who also happens to be fresh off of trips to Ole Miss and Ohio State. Both programs have footing in his recruitment, with the Rebels hosting him for the third time and OSU offering during his first time on campus. Clemson has long been in the mix and UGA was once viewed as the chief competition to Dabo Swinney and company, so any effort to move back into the mix could have plenty to do with Vizzina's time back in Athens. Quarterback dominos are set to begin to fall across college football, so many are positioning themselves for the big, athletic Yellowhammer State native. 

2023 DB Joenel Aguero - LSU

The SEC has long been the favored destination for the former IMG Academy standout, but it was more of a Georgia and/or Florida feel prior to last weekend. Aguero was in Baton Rouge last week and came away impressed, and now he will be back in town thanks to the Battle 7-on-7 tournament in the New Orleans area overlapping with this weekend. If Brian Kelly and company can make up some ground on the other SEC favorites, as well as Ohio State, it can push Aguero's timeline back some more. The elite safety type was considering a late 2021 decision before some of the coaching movement shook up his recruiting process, forcing him to take a step back. LSU has taken advantage of said pause about as well as any program has of late. 

2023 QB Marcus Stokes - Miami

The elite quarterbacks in the 2023 class have taken most headlines because of the strength at the top, but one rising up the boards is Stokes from Nease High School (the same program that produced Tim Tebow). The athletic right-hander has heated up on the trail of late, since an offer from Penn State came through around National Signing Day, and interest has spiked since. Florida has shown interest and now Miami gets him on campus for a Friday spring practice in an effort to keep the state's top quarterback recruit within state lines. That accomplishment hasn't happened since the 2017 class when N'Kosi Perry picked The U. 

Published
John Garcia Jr.
JOHN GARCIA JR.

Home/College