College football recruiting intel: Latest buzz, QB visits

Editor's note: This story has been updated following Julian Lewis' decommitment from USC.

Eighteen days from the start of the early signing period, a handful of the top prospects into the Class of 2025 will descend onto campuses across the country Saturday.

Among the list of high-profile prospects set for visits in Week 12 are at least six of the top 25 prospects in the ESPN 300, headlined by five-star USC quarterback pledge Julian Lewis ahead of his unofficial visit to Georgia. Elsewhere, Florida, USC, Colorado and North Carolina are expected to host key visitors Saturday, while top flip targets still mulling their decisions and questions continue to linger over Florida State's 2025 class.

With three Saturdays left before the three-day early signing period begins on Dec. 4, the stage is set for a dramatic finish to the 2025 cycle. Here's what to expect on the recruiting trail Saturday:

Another weekend of quarterback drama

Five-star LSU quarterback pledge Bryce Underwood stoked the flames around his recruitment when he shared a graphic headlined "No. 1 QB likely to decline Michigan's $10.5 million NIL offer," on his Instagram story Thursday night.

Underwood later deleted the post, but the move could be the latest indication that ESPN's No. 1 overall prospect intends to stick with the Tigers despite Michigan's late flip efforts, which ESPN sources have confirmed includes a competitive name, image and likeness offer. Underwood made his latest visit to Baton Rouge last weekend, and sources around the LSU program remain confident he'll sign with the Tigers on Dec. 4.

Underwood's social media activity was only the start of what promises to be another intriguing weekend atop the 2025 quarterback class.

Five-star QB Julian Lewis, a former USC commit who decommitted on Sunday, is took an unofficial visit to Georgia for the Bulldogs' Week 12 meeting with Tennessee. Committed to USC since August 2023, Lewis had flirted with flipping from the Trojans since the summer when he took official visits to Indiana, Colorado and Auburn.

Lewis visited Colorado again on Oct. 26 and the Buffaloes will be a strong contender for ESPN's No. 2 overall recruit. But Georgia has reentered the picture for Lewis in recent weeks as the coveted quarterback prospect from Carrollton, Georgia, returns to a campus he has visited frequently throughout his recruitment. The door is open for the Bulldogs to make their final pitch.

Georgia also hosted four-star quarterback pledge Ryan Montgomery on Saturday. With Lewis and Montgomery on campus in Week 12, Cal quarterback pledge Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has pushed his Georgia visit to next weekend, and the Bulldogs could host four-star quarterback KaMario Taylor in the coming weeks after offering the Mississippi State commit on Nov. 10.

Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. was the longest-tenured member of Florida State's 2025 class before decommitting from the Seminoles on Thursday. With his recruitment reopened, ESPN's No. 9 dual-threat passer visited Florida on Saturday when the Gators beat LSU, and there's confidence within the program that Jones will ultimately land in Billy Napier's 2025 class on Dec. 4.

Finally, four-star quarterback Carter Smith took an official visit to Wisconsin on Saturday in his first recruiting trip since ESPN's No. 155 prospect pulled his pledge from Michigan last month.

Smith has maintained a frequent dialogue with Florida State since reopening his recruitment and he's set for an official visit with the Seminoles on Nov. 30. But ESPN's No. 3 dual-threat passer entered the weekend high on Wisconsin.

"They are very similar to the culture, blue-collar, hard-nosed program that Michigan is," Smith's father said of Wisconsin. "I think Luke Fickell is going to be up front. The main thing is getting a fair shake. The culture. The staff. The people in the buildings. That was why we chose Michigan initially."

Biggest visits this weekend

Five-star DE Jahkeem Stewart (No. 11 in the ESPN 300): ESPN's second-ranked uncommitted prospect, Stewart's official visit to USC on Saturday marks the second in a string of four visits he'll take this month before announcing his commitment when the early signing period opens on Dec. 4.

Stewart was ESPN's No. 1 prospect in the 2026 cycle before he reclassified into the 2025 class on Oct. 5. Since then, Stewart has taken trips to Oregon (Oct. 12), Ohio State (Oct. 26) and LSU (Nov. 9) over the past month. The Trojans and defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn will get their chance to impress Stewart this weekend before he returns to Oregon (Nov. 23) and Ohio State (Nov. 30) in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Five-star CB Na'eem Offord (No. 4 in the ESPN 300): Committed to Ohio State since February, Offord has visited Auburn multiple times this fall, but he'll spend this Saturday on another SEC campus.

Offord will be at Florida on Saturday as the Gators host him along with a collection of top 2025 targets. ESPN's No. 1 cornerback prospect has built a strong relationship with Florida secondary coach Will Harris, and the Gators believe they're in the mix for Offord in the final weeks of the cycle. But Offord's father told ESPN that his son remains "locked in" with the Buckeyes and expects to return to Ohio State on Nov. 30.

Four-star DE Isaiah Campbell (No. 38 in the ESPN 300): ESPN's No. 3 defensive end prospect has narrowed his choices to Tennessee and North Carolina. The Vols wowed Campbell when he visited Knoxville during the program's Oct. 19 win over Alabama. On Saturday, the Tar Heels will get their shot with the former Clemson pledge as ESPN's fourth-ranked uncommitted prospect nears a decision this month.

Tennessee and North Carolina were the two official visits Campbell set up after pulling his pledge from Clemson on Sept. 21. The Tar Heels will have Campbell on campus when they host Wake Forest Saturday night, and the program's proximity for the 6-foot-4 edge from Durham, North Carolina, is an advantage, but the standard in Campbell's recruitment has been set since he visited Tennessee last month.

"I love the coaching staff. I love the players. I love the locker rooms," Campbell said of the Vols. "I love the demeanor and the way the program is run by Coach [Josh] Heupel. I love the environment -- not just the football environment, but the place."

Four-star OG Michael Carroll (No. 74 in the ESPN 300): Deion Sanders and Colorado have built a pipeline from Florida's IMG Academy to Boulder, and one of his latest IMG recruits will be on campus Saturday when Carroll visits for the Buffaloes' Week 12 game against Utah.

Carroll has been committed to Alabama since June 10 but has received a wave of interest this fall with the likes of Georgia, Penn State, USC and Miami entering the picture. Carroll remains firm in his pledge to the Crimson Tide, but Colorado has pitched the 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive guard on a similar path to first-year playing time as fellow IMG Academy product Jordan Seaton, and Carroll remains a priority for the Buffaloes in the final weeks of the cycle.

Recruiting fallout of November coaching decisions

Gators hosting big recruiting weekend: Florida's decision to stick with coach Billy Napier delivered jolt to the Gators' late-cycle recruiting efforts. Nine days after athletic director Scott Stricklin backed Napier, the Gators are set to host an impressive list of prospects during Saturday's visit from LSU.

"The announcement was a breath of fresh air," four-star Florida wide receiver commit Vernell Brown III said.

Besides Offord (Ohio State pledge), Florida will host five-star Solomon Thomas (Florida State) as well as top-50 recruits Jaime Ffrench (Texas) and Dallas Wilson (Oregon). Auburn offensive tackle commit Tavaris Dice, Texas-pledged defenders Myron Charles and Zelus Hicks and uncommitted defensive tackle Joseph Mbatchou should also be in Gainesville.

Sources confirmed to ESPN Saturday morning that five-star LSU athlete pledge D.J. Pickett will not visit Florida on Saturday. Previously scheduled to travel to the Gators for their Week 12 visit from LSU, Pickett will instead be at Georgia Saturday night when the Bulldogs host Tennessee.

But the Gators expect to land Jones and believe they're in play for flips with Thomas, Ffrench, Wilson, Dice and Charles, among others, as Florida seeks to significantly bolster a class that currently is 39th in ESPN's team rankings for the cycle.

Questions linger after staff changes at Florida State: Mike Norvell parted ways with three assistants last Sunday, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins, and more upheaval could be coming for the Seminoles' 2025 class.

"It sucks because I had a great relationship with all those coaches," three-star safety commit Gregory Thomas told ESPN. "But it was clear something had to change."