With how insane this year has been in college football, it can be easy to forget there’s an entirely separate season unfolding off the field.
If you’re a college football sicko, you know exactly what I’m referring to: recruiting.
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Talent acquisition is a 24/7/365 business, and this latest recruiting cycle is reaching its climactic end, with early signing day a little less than a month from today.
With that in mind, many of the nation’s top prospects are already committed to their future schools, but that hasn’t stopped some fireworks from occurring on the recruiting front these past few months.
Everyone thought the Florida Gators had pulled off the shocker of the season when they flipped five-star Texas commit and Louisiana native Easton Royal while also keeping him away from Lane Kiffin and the in-state LSU Tigers.
Lane Kiffin, head coach of the LSU Tigers, stands on the field during the first half of a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 7, 2026. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Georgia saw their rivals pull off a recruiting coup and said, “Hold my sweet tea,” as they snatched another five-star recruit committed to a different school from the Lone Star State.
Here’s the craziest part: they did it under cover of darkness while keeping him out of the clutches of a surging school right down the road.
Meet Mark Matthews, a five-star offensive tackle from South Florida powerhouse high school St. Thomas Aquinas.
If his name sounds familiar, it’s because I wrote about him back in May when he originally committed to the Texas A&M Aggies and did so in relatively cringeworthy fashion, but that’s beside the point.
As the losses continued to pile up this season for TAMU, so too did the decommitments, and their latest loss was the cornerstone to their offensive line haul in the 2027 class.
Mike Elko of the Texas A&M Aggies prepare to lead his team onto the field before an SEC football game between the Texas A&M Aggies and Missouri Tigers on Oct 10, 2026 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
With his proximity to Miami-Dade County coupled with the fact that Mario Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirobal have pretty much gotten whoever they’ve wanted in the trenches out of high school, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Matthews would end up flipping to the Hurricanes.
SOMEHOW, THE MIAMI HURRICANES HAVE DONE IT AGAIN WITH YET ANOTHER HEISMAN-LEVEL QUARTERBACK
So much so, that recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong logged a prediction for Matthews to end up in orange and green come signing day.
Guys like Wiltfong rarely get these types of things wrong, as all signs pointed to the Canes adding another five-star to their already historic recruiting class.
Then came the shocker.
How does Kirby Smart do it?
This felt like the most obvious Miami flip in recent recruiting history, yet Kirby was somehow able to waltz into Cristobal’s backyard and take a five-star prospect at a position that the Canes head coach specializes in developing.
As far as recruiting coups go, this one was a shocker.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart yells to his players during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Experts are still trying to figure out how the Dawgs were able to pull this one off, but this should be a lesson to never count Kirby out of any recruiting race.
He’s as relentless as anyone on the trail, dating back to his time as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator and right-hand man at Alabama.
Just like a tiger stalking his prey, even if you can’t see him, it doesn’t mean he isn’t there lurking.
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Go against Kirby on the recruiting trail at your own risk; you’ve been warned.
