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In the final weeks of February, in perhaps the only quiet month on the college football calendar, the 2027 high school recruiting cycle is gaining steam.
With the 2026 class and transfer portal window closed, programs across the country are now casting their attention firmly on the Class of 2027 this spring as elite prospects lock in visits, cut down lists of finalists and settle on commitment dates. As of Wednesday’s update of the 2027 ESPN Junior 300, only 72 of the nation’s top 300 prospects hold verbal pledges, setting the stage for plenty of action ahead.
How are top programs preparing to spend on the recruiting trail after a pricey 2026 cycle? How are first-year coaches faring with their new schools? What’s next for Alabama, Michigan and Notre Dame as dominos begin to fall in a slow-moving quarterback class? And which premium offensive and defensive line talents are Florida, Miami, Ohio State and Texas A&M circling in the 2027 class?
Here’s what we’re hearing as the just in recruiting cycle gets set to begin in earnest:
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Money matters | New coaches | QB market | Chasing linemen
Fueled by early payments, revenue sharing deals and front-loaded contracts ahead of the House settlement last summer, money flooded into the 2026 recruiting cycle a year ago. Top prospects, such as offensive linemen Jackson Cantwell (Miami) and Felix Ojo (Texas Tech), secured multiyear deals worth north of $5 million in total compensation. At USC, the Trojans’ spent into the eight-figure range to sign the program’s first No. 1 recruiting class since 2007.
With help from a set of distinctive factors, the 2026 cycle presented a ripe moment for college football’s top programs to spend bigger than ever on high school talent. A year later, coaches, general managers and agents forecast a much different financial landscape for the 2027 class.
“High school spending is going to get a lot lower,” a Big Ten general manager told ESPN.
Broadly speaking, college football programs are expected to spend more on their rosters over the next year. The initial revenue sharing cap of $20.5 million, set for Year 1 of the House settlement, will increase July 1. Meanwhile, industry sources say they believe above-cap roster spending among the sport’s top programs will soon clear $40 million — if it hasn’t already — with multiple Power 4 general managers projecting that schools could be committing upward of $55 million to their rosters in the not-so-distant future. As figures rise, elite high school recruits certainly won’t be left out.
Offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell had one of the higher-priced deals in the 2026 class. Under Armour”High-end five-star prospects and guys at big-time premium positions are still going to get paid,” an SEC personnel director mentioned. “But across the board, programs are going to be more selective with their money in recruiting this year.”Why? For starters, front-loading, at least in the same way it was used a year ago, is off the table. Last spring, a number of major programs and prospects agreed to hefty revenue sharing contracts outside of the revenue sharing cap before the House settlement went into effect on July 1. In 2027, that straightforward opportunity to work outside of oversight is no longer available.Front office figures across the country are keeping a close eye on the College Sports Commission’s NIL Go clearinghouse this spring, focused heavily on a pair of significant questions: 1) How will the CSC handle the sport’s next wave of high-dollar, third-party NIL agreements? 2) Does the commission have the power to enforce any of its rules/rulings?”What the CSC does over the next few months will really determine how comfortable programs are spending,” a Big 12 general manager mentioned. “Even the teams that front-loaded last year, they would’ve spent most of that now on this year’s roster and they’ll have less to give the 2027 class.”Editor’s Picks
Another factor potentially curbing spending in the 2027 class: the value of experience. Eighteen of the 22 starters on Indiana’s national title team this past season were upperclassmen. With programs working to maximize roster budgets and increasingly leaning into transfer portal talent, front office staffs are wrestling with how to assign value to high school recruits.
“It’s a hard question,” one ACC GM mentioned. “Are you really going to give a few hundred grand to a kid who’s not going to play next year when you could just use that money in the portal?”
As the 2027 cycle picks up steam, many decision-makers across the sport suggest they’re prepared to rein in their spending on high school recruiting. Others, perhaps aware of the general trends of fiscal responsibility within the sport’s history, have their doubts.
“There’s a lot of talk now,” an SEC personnel staffer mentioned. “But we all know programs are going to spend.”
First-year coaches across the country formally closed out their debut recruiting classes on national singing day early this month and are now turning their attention to the 2027 class.
ESPN polled front figures, recruits and agents on how some of the cycles biggest hires are faring on the recruiting trail in their new jobs:
LSU: Lane Kiffin spent his first week with the Tigers in early December simply trying to keep LSU’s 2026 class intact. He ultimately retained the bulk of the program’s top commits, added a few from intriguing newcomers from elsewhere and closed out the nation’s 12th-ranked class, headlined by No. 1 overall prospect Lamar Brown and an elite group of defensive signees.
Since then, Kiffin has assembled an impressive front office staff, blending a group of ex-Ole Miss personnel figures, including general manager Billy Glasscock, with a handful of holdovers from the Tigers’ previous staff. Industry sources also view Kiffin’s retention of defensive coordinator Blake Baker and secondary coaching Corey Raymond as key moves for recruiting.
At LSU, Kiffin now resides within one of the most fertile high school recruiting grounds in the country. The question, levied by multiple SEC personnel figures familiar with Kiffin’s portal-heavy approach at Ole Miss, is whether the Tigers’ new coach has the appetite to compete at the very highest levels on the high school recruiting trail.
“We all saw what they did in the portal this year,” an SEC general manager mentioned. “I’m not sure how hard he wants to go on the high school front.”
Kentucky: The Wildcats made the ambitious move to replace longtime coach Mark Stoops with former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein late last fall. In the span of a few months, Stein has landed several ESPN 300 commits, signed ESPN’s No. 8 transfer portal class and put together a staff of assistants with SEC experience, led by coordinators Joe Sloan and Jay Bateman.
Will Stein’s move from Oregon to Kentucky has sparked recruiting interest from quarterbacks in the Wildcats. Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire”You have guys who have done it competing at the highest level of recruiting,” a rival SEC scouting director mentioned. “And then you have a new, young head coach who obviously has a reputation of his own. It’s exciting.”Between Stein — viewed as one of the sport’s rising offensive minds while at Oregon — and Sloan, who developed a track record of productive passing attacks in four seasons at LSU, Kentucky has imported a new identity and an intriguing offensive scheme. That the Wildcats have emerged as surprise contenders in the 2027 quarterback market with a foothold in the recruitment of No. 1 quarterback Elijah Haven (No. 6 overall) and several other top-300 passers is early evidence of the newfound shine Kentucky’s new staff has delivered in the span of a few months.
Florida: Like Kiffin, new Gators coach Jon Sumrall managed to hold onto the foundation of the 2026 recruiting class he inherited late last year. In the two-plus months since, Sumrall and the new coaching staff at Florida have taken swings at some of the nation’s top prospects — including Haven and five-star in-state offensive tackle Mark Matthews — and begun to establish the program’s new approach on the recruiting trail.
“It’s a really good, really serious staff,” a rival SEC GM mentioned. “It feels like what Florida is supposed to be.”
Sumrall’s decision to hire offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who previously oversaw the offensive line at Penn State, has drawn particular praise across the SEC and among high-level prospects. On the power of Trautwein’s previous relationships, the Gators will hit the spring in legitimate contention for Matthews (No. 10 overall), fellow five-star Maxwell Hiller (No. 7) and several other top offensive line targets.
Virginia Tech: James Franklin got right to work when he arrived in Blacksburg in November, pulling together a group of 11 ex-Penn State pledges and several other late 2026 additions to form the nation’s 21st-ranked recruiting class. Across the ACC, there’s a sense that Franklin’s early recruiting success could be the harbinger of a rapid rebuild with the Hokies.
“He was winning 9-10 games a year in State College, in a tough league,” an ACC scouting director mentioned. “Now he comes to the ACC and he’s basically recruiting the exact same footprint? It’s a perfect spot for him.”
Franklin flexed impressive recruiting pull in a tight window to close the 2026 class. But it will be in the 2027 cycle, without the benefit of a previously recruited class from Penn State, that Franklin’s ability to recruit to Virginia Tech will be tested. How the Hokies fare against the likes of Penn State, Georgia, North Carolina and Washington in the pursuit of recent Michigan quarterback decommit Peter Bourque (No. 123 overall) could provide an instructive early window.
Each of the past three recruiting cycles have been defined, in part, by late movement atop the quarterback class: Dylan Raiola in the 2024 class; Bryce Underwood a year later; Jared Curtis last fall.
It’s one of the reasons, multiple Power 4 general managers told ESPN, that some programs have taken a slower approach to the quarterback market in the 2027 cycle. After Peter Bourque’s decommitment from Michigan on Tuesday, 14 of the 24 passers inside the ESPN Junior 300 remain uncommitted, and top programs are preparing to make moves at the position this spring.
Here’s what we’re hearing on what might come next in the 2027 quarterback class:
Alabama continues to lead the race for No. 1 quarterback Elijah Haven (No. 6 overall). The Crimson Tide surged in Haven’s recruitment across multiple visits last fall, and the 6-foot-5, 220-pound passer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was back on campus for another unofficial trip last month. Relationships with Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, along with the duo’s track record of quarterback development, are two of the driving factors for Haven, he told ESPN earlier this month.
Auburn, Florida and Kentucky are still involved in Haven’s recruitment, and he’s expected to visit all three programs this spring with a commitment expected in the coming months, if not sooner.
Michigan lost its top-ranked 2027 commit when Bourque (No. 123) pulled his pledge Tuesday night. Little more than an hour later, the Wolverines formalized their pursuit of Illinois commit Kamden Lopati, joining Notre Dame, Michigan State, Duke and Tennessee among the just in programs to offer ESPN’s No. 1 pocket passer.
Lopati, a big-armed yet mobile quarterback from Salt Lake City, is a logical choice for new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck. The pair recruited Lopati heavily at Utah before he committed to the Illini last summer. Whittingham and Beck returned to the state to visit Lopati in January, and Michigan’s pursuit of the 6-foot-3, 225-pound recruit will be one to watch moving forward.
Quarterback Peter Borque, the No. 123 overall recruit in the ESPN 300, recently decommitted from Michigan. UC ReportAccording to ESPN sources, Penn State and Virginia Tech are viewed as the early leaders for Bourque. Heavily recruited by the Nittany Lions before his Michigan pledge last summer, both Penn State and the the Franklin-led Hokies have registered renewed interest in Bourque since he wrapped a highly productive junior season at Massachusetts’ Tabor Academy.Washington also recently entered the mix for Bourque in January, and ESPN sources also expect Florida, Georgia and North Carolina to remain involved as Bourque lines up a slate of spring visits.Notre Dame stands among the top contenders for Wonderful Monds IV, a highly regarded passer from Port St. Lucie, Florida, who reclassified from the 2028 cycle late last year. The Irish will get Monds on campus in April with ESPN’s No. 93 overall prospect also set to visit Florida, Florida State, Miami and Ohio State this spring.
Notre Dame, which signed two quarterbacks in the 2026 cycle, has also offered Lopati and has joined the line of program to enter the chase for fast-rising pocket passer Davin Davidson, who entered the rankings at No. 175 earlier this week.
LSU and Kiffin are set to hang onto coveted in-state passer and top-100 quarterback pledge Peyton Houston, per ESPN sources.
Houston initially committed to the program under coach Brian Kelly last September. LSU’s decision to add USC transfer Husan Longstreet, a four-star prospect in the 2025 cycle, prompted multiple programs to renew their efforts with Houston in January, sources told ESPN. But following meetings with Kiffin and the Tigers’ staff, the nation’s No. 2 pocket passer and No. 84 overall prospect is expected to stay put.
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Led by Stein and Sloan, Kentucky suddenly has a promising aerial attack to offer this cycle and the Wildcats are in play for multiple ESPN 300 passers in the 2027 class.
Kentucky remains a dark horse contender for Haven, anchored by a longstanding connection with Sloan, and will get ESPN’s No. 1 quarterback on campus this spring. Sloan’s past relationships have Kentucky in the mix for another top quarterback in four-star passer Colton Nussmeier (No. 108), the brother of ex-LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. The Wildcats will host four-star prospect Israel Abrams (No. 116) twice this spring, including an official visit in June, while sources told ESPN that four-star Ole Miss commit Keegan Croucher remains a potential flip target for Stein & Co.
Burned late in the 2026 class by Jared Curtis’ flip to Vanderbilt, Georgia got a late start in the 2027 quarterback market. According to ESPN sources, the Bulldogs intend to make a significant push for in-state passer and Clemson commit Kharim Hughley (No. 121) this spring. Georgia is also set to be involved in the recruitment of Bourque.
Oregon is casting a wide net in the 2027 quarterback class. Sources told ESPN that the Ducks remain in close contact with Alabama pledge Trent Seaborn (No. 131). Oregon is also expected to host multiple quarterback prospects this spring including Andre Adams (No. 137), Blake Roskopf (No. 203), Will Mencl (No. 237) and Sione Kaho (No. 289).
Programs across the sports might ultimately devote fewer dollars to high school recruiting in the 2027 cycle. But one place industry sources remain certain that schools will continue to invest at a high level is the line of scrimmage.
“The positions that are different are your offensive and defensive linemen,” a Big 12 scouting director told ESPN. “People are going to keep paying for those guys, even if they’re not ready to play Year 1.”
LSU, Maryland, Miami and Texas Tech, among many others, all committed significant resources in the 2026 class.
Here’s what we’re hearing on the cycle’s five-star offensive and defensive line prospects:
Texas Tech defensive line pledge Jalen Brewster rose to No. 1 in the just in update to ESPN’s 2027 prospect rankings. There was some uncertainty over his Red Raiders commitment earlier — some of it even fueled by Brewster himself — following defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch’s departure from the program. But, according to multiple ESPN sources, Brewster remains locked in with Texas Tech amid interest from Miami and other schools. “He’s not going anywhere,” a source close to his recruitment told ESPN.
Jalen Brewster, defensive line pledge for Texas Tech, is the top-ranked player in the 2027 class. UC ReportPrograms flooded to Kingwood, Texas, to see top-ranked offensive tackle Kennedy Brown (No. 2 overall) in January. Per ESPN sources, Oregon and Texas A&M are leaders for the 6-foot-4, 285-pound lineman. Florida remains another prominent player in Brown’s recruitment with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who initially recruited Brown at Penn State, leading the Gators’ efforts.
Georgia, Miami and Texas are among the programs working to flip Ohio State defensive end commit D.J. Jacobs, per ESPN sources, a move that multiple sources cautioned would be “expensive.” All three programs were finalists when Jacobs, the nation’s top defensive end, committed to the Buckeyes in December.
Five-star offensive tackle Maxwell Hiller (No. 7) declared a top four of Alabama, Florida, Ohio State and Tennessee earlier this month. He intends to visit all four schools over the next two months before returning for official visits later this spring. Per ESPN sources, Oregon continues to linger as a potential destination for Hiller, who is expected to announce his decision in the summer.
Miami hits late February among the leaders for in-state offensive tackle Mark Matthews, sources told ESPN. Georgia and Texas A&M are another pair of programs setting the pace for the 6-foot-5, 300-pound lineman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with both expected to land official visits from Matthews in the spring. LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon and Tennessee lead a list of other contenders working to get Matthews on campus.
After announcing his top 10 schools last week, five-star defensive tackle Marcus Fakatou told ESPN that Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State have separated themselves from the pack in his recruitment. The 6-foot-7, 275-pound defender from Orange, California, is preparing for a busy slate of spring visits with planned stops at Georgia, Michigan, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and Texas with eyes on a summer commitment date. ESPN sources also expect USC, which hosted Fakatou last month, to make a significant push to keep ESPN’s No. 21 overall prospect in the state.
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