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Last weekend, UC had a MONSTER weekend for official visits. There were 12 official visitors by our count. Three-star Braedyn Moore was the only one who entered the weekend committed to the Bearcats. But at this point, there are now only three visitors uncommitted: Four-star CB Jermaine Mathews, three-star safety Kahlil Ali and three-star defensive back Ben Minich. I posted INsiders on Ali and Mathews yesterday, to keep you updated on where they stand.
Aside from Moore, UC had eight players who officially visited last weekend who committed to the Bearcats in the past week: Manny Covey, Jonas Duclona, Kamari Burns, Nick Oliveira, Josh Gregory, Luke Evans, James Jenkins and Ayden Greene. That doesn't include Ty Perkins, who committed after going to UC's camp with a group of his teammates last Friday and four-star cornerback Daeh McCullough, who has yet to announce when he'll officially visit.
This weekend doesn't quite have the numbers of last week, but instead has some big names. Here's a rundown of the group this weekend:
*The white whale in town is four-star cornerback Amare Snowden. I'd argue he is THE top target for the Bearcats in the class and has been for a while. They really see him in the same mold as Sauce Gardner and have been selling him as such. It was unknown whether or not Snowden would be able to visit because of his baseball season. If you've missed it, he's an unreal baseball player. Had 12 MLB scouts recently on hand to watch Snowden pitch a 13-strikeout no-hitter. In the same game at the plate, he hot a single, double and home run. But his season ended last week with a loss to Grosse Point North in the district title game. That loss paved the way for him to visit this weekend at UC. I just confirmed from sources within the Bearcats staff that Snowden made it to town not long ago. Penn State is the one UC is battling with most here and where he'll likely officially visit next. Iowa and Wisconsin are also mentioned here, but I think this is a two-horse race between UC and Penn State. I can't understate how big it is for the Bearcats to get Snowden this weekend. This could be the visit that pushes UC over the top, at least that's the hope from within the program.
**There's a pair of official visitors from Cass Tech (Mich.) who are also big-time athletes in the 2023 class. One of them, four-star tight end Khamari Anderson, has been committed for four months. He's visiting with his teammate, four-star DE Jalen Thompson. It's not always that significant when a player already committed visits that school. But in this case, it's huge, as Anderson has been working Thompson and Snowden and told me last week that's who he wants most to join him at UC. Anderson will have all weekend to work on both. Thompson already visited Pittsburgh officially last weekend and I'm told that went well. But the school that's been the one to watch most along with the Bearcats is Michigan State. Thompson is officially visiting there in two weeks. I know Ohio State is trying to gain traction here, as it offered when he made an unofficial visit there last Thursday. But the Buckeyes slow-played him and I think that's a huge turn-off. Thompson's former coach, Thomas Wilcher, is on the Spartans' staff, which has long been the main reason they're in the mix. He genuinely likes Pitt, but I think the way he keeps coming back to UC, the relationship he has with Walter Stewart and with Anderson, who will also be in his ear this weekend, I like the Bearcats' chances here.
***The other big-timer on campus this weekend is four-star receiver Anthony Brown. A former Minnesota commit, UC has been pushing since before he decommitted from the Gophers in early February. He did go to their spring game in April, so there's still some interest, even if it's just out of respect. This seems to be a two-horse race between the Bearcats and Kentucky. Brown will officially visit the Wildcats next weekend. UC has been trying to sell him on staying in-state and also pointing out the great chance he has to see the field early. He's visiting, which is a huge plus. But of the big-timers visiting, I think Brown has the smallest odds of committing to the Bearcats. I just get the feel that the SEC pull might be too much. He could commit after next weekend and though UC has a legit chance, I do think he's a UK lean.
****The other big-timer who was originally slotted for an official visit has now changed. Chicago four-star receiver Malik Elzy was supposed to officially visit UC this weekend, but he's competing instead in a seven-on-seven tournament. He's now rescheduled for next weekend for an official visit with the Bearcats. Elzy officially visited Illinois last weekend. That's a really good sign, that Elzy immediately rescheduled with UC. We saw Jordan Mayer, for example, did not. So that's something. But I do think the pull for the Illini is a very strong one. And unless he's blown away next weekend in Clifton (which could easily happen), I think he's a heavy lean to Illinois. Still, he could be the only official visitor next weekend, so he'll have the Bearcats' full attention.
*****He's not as highly ranked, but UC has a really impressive local product on an official visit in Cameron Calhoun from nearby Winton Woods. Calhoun has been on the cusp of getting a Bearcats offer for a while now. He camped at Ohio State last week, where the UC staff got word of how impressive he was, one of the top prospects there and promptly offered him last Thursday. On Monday, he decommitted from West Virginia, where he pledged in March and where he officially visited last weekend. I've already put my FutureCast in for the Bearcats. I don't think the timing was a coincidence. I think he still wanted to take the visit to WVU out of respect for the Mountaineers coaches, but went into the weekend with the intent of decommitting. Of all the players visiting UC this weekend, he could have the highest odds of committing. So certainly keep an eye on all the visitors, but especially Calhoun, which would be another local win.
******Finally, there's a few other visitors, all commits to UC. Three-stars Evan Tengesdahl, Rohan Davy and Trevor Carter will all be officially visiting, in addition to Anderson. Expect all three to help in recruiting the guys mentioned above. It's a shame Elzy couldn't visit this weekend, to have these three and especially Anderson working on him. But still plenty to keep an eye on as the weekend progresses.
Full coverage this weekend of any other updates from Clifton.
Last weekend, UC had a MONSTER weekend for official visits. There were 12 official visitors by our count. Three-star Braedyn Moore was the only one who entered the weekend committed to the Bearcats. But at this point, there are now only three visitors uncommitted: Four-star CB Jermaine Mathews, three-star safety Kahlil Ali and three-star defensive back Ben Minich. I posted INsiders on Ali and Mathews yesterday, to keep you updated on where they stand.
Aside from Moore, UC had eight players who officially visited last weekend who committed to the Bearcats in the past week: Manny Covey, Jonas Duclona, Kamari Burns, Nick Oliveira, Josh Gregory, Luke Evans, James Jenkins and Ayden Greene. That doesn't include Ty Perkins, who committed after going to UC's camp with a group of his teammates last Friday and four-star cornerback Daeh McCullough, who has yet to announce when he'll officially visit.
This weekend doesn't quite have the numbers of last week, but instead has some big names. Here's a rundown of the group this weekend:
*The white whale in town is four-star cornerback Amare Snowden. I'd argue he is THE top target for the Bearcats in the class and has been for a while. They really see him in the same mold as Sauce Gardner and have been selling him as such. It was unknown whether or not Snowden would be able to visit because of his baseball season. If you've missed it, he's an unreal baseball player. Had 12 MLB scouts recently on hand to watch Snowden pitch a 13-strikeout no-hitter. In the same game at the plate, he hot a single, double and home run. But his season ended last week with a loss to Grosse Point North in the district title game. That loss paved the way for him to visit this weekend at UC. I just confirmed from sources within the Bearcats staff that Snowden made it to town not long ago. Penn State is the one UC is battling with most here and where he'll likely officially visit next. Iowa and Wisconsin are also mentioned here, but I think this is a two-horse race between UC and Penn State. I can't understate how big it is for the Bearcats to get Snowden this weekend. This could be the visit that pushes UC over the top, at least that's the hope from within the program.
**There's a pair of official visitors from Cass Tech (Mich.) who are also big-time athletes in the 2023 class. One of them, four-star tight end Khamari Anderson, has been committed for four months. He's visiting with his teammate, four-star DE Jalen Thompson. It's not always that significant when a player already committed visits that school. But in this case, it's huge, as Anderson has been working Thompson and Snowden and told me last week that's who he wants most to join him at UC. Anderson will have all weekend to work on both. Thompson already visited Pittsburgh officially last weekend and I'm told that went well. But the school that's been the one to watch most along with the Bearcats is Michigan State. Thompson is officially visiting there in two weeks. I know Ohio State is trying to gain traction here, as it offered when he made an unofficial visit there last Thursday. But the Buckeyes slow-played him and I think that's a huge turn-off. Thompson's former coach, Thomas Wilcher, is on the Spartans' staff, which has long been the main reason they're in the mix. He genuinely likes Pitt, but I think the way he keeps coming back to UC, the relationship he has with Walter Stewart and with Anderson, who will also be in his ear this weekend, I like the Bearcats' chances here.
***The other big-timer on campus this weekend is four-star receiver Anthony Brown. A former Minnesota commit, UC has been pushing since before he decommitted from the Gophers in early February. He did go to their spring game in April, so there's still some interest, even if it's just out of respect. This seems to be a two-horse race between the Bearcats and Kentucky. Brown will officially visit the Wildcats next weekend. UC has been trying to sell him on staying in-state and also pointing out the great chance he has to see the field early. He's visiting, which is a huge plus. But of the big-timers visiting, I think Brown has the smallest odds of committing to the Bearcats. I just get the feel that the SEC pull might be too much. He could commit after next weekend and though UC has a legit chance, I do think he's a UK lean.
****The other big-timer who was originally slotted for an official visit has now changed. Chicago four-star receiver Malik Elzy was supposed to officially visit UC this weekend, but he's competing instead in a seven-on-seven tournament. He's now rescheduled for next weekend for an official visit with the Bearcats. Elzy officially visited Illinois last weekend. That's a really good sign, that Elzy immediately rescheduled with UC. We saw Jordan Mayer, for example, did not. So that's something. But I do think the pull for the Illini is a very strong one. And unless he's blown away next weekend in Clifton (which could easily happen), I think he's a heavy lean to Illinois. Still, he could be the only official visitor next weekend, so he'll have the Bearcats' full attention.
*****He's not as highly ranked, but UC has a really impressive local product on an official visit in Cameron Calhoun from nearby Winton Woods. Calhoun has been on the cusp of getting a Bearcats offer for a while now. He camped at Ohio State last week, where the UC staff got word of how impressive he was, one of the top prospects there and promptly offered him last Thursday. On Monday, he decommitted from West Virginia, where he pledged in March and where he officially visited last weekend. I've already put my FutureCast in for the Bearcats. I don't think the timing was a coincidence. I think he still wanted to take the visit to WVU out of respect for the Mountaineers coaches, but went into the weekend with the intent of decommitting. Of all the players visiting UC this weekend, he could have the highest odds of committing. So certainly keep an eye on all the visitors, but especially Calhoun, which would be another local win.
******Finally, there's a few other visitors, all commits to UC. Three-stars Evan Tengesdahl, Rohan Davy and Trevor Carter will all be officially visiting, in addition to Anderson. Expect all three to help in recruiting the guys mentioned above. It's a shame Elzy couldn't visit this weekend, to have these three and especially Anderson working on him. But still plenty to keep an eye on as the weekend progresses.
Full coverage this weekend of any other updates from Clifton.
