Here are some of the latest college football commitments across major Power Five programs.
With summer in full swing, it should come as no surprise to see top-flight college football recruits commit to places where they want to grow and play at the next level.
Yes, you can win a lot of games with great coaching and hitting the transfer portal so hard, but any program's championship viability stems almost exclusively from its recruitment. Unless you have a Cam Newton or a Deshaun Watson as your starting quarterback, your favorite college team is not winning a national championship if the program cannot recruit anywhere close to a top-five level.
Here are some of the most interesting commitments that happened over the weekend at major Power Five programs like Georgia, Michigan and Texas you might have missed.
College football recruiting news: Texas lands 4-star IOL Nate Kibble
Four-star interior offensive lineman Nate Kibble committed to Texas on Sunday night. He picked the Longhorns over the likes of the Houston Cougars, the LSU Tigers, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Oregon Ducks and most notably, the Texas A&M Aggies. Kibble had 11 offers, but decided to Hook 'Em with Steve Sarkisian, as opposed to playing slightly closer to home for Jimbo Fisher.
Kibble is the No. 26 interior offensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting class. While 247Sports has him listed as a three-star, their composite index has him as a four-star. Thus, the No. 73 player from Texas has decided to stay in-state to play for the Longhorns. He may not have had the most amount of offers, but having several Power Five programs in the region wanting him is a big deal.
This is all about getting a player who can learn and grow from a savvy offensive mind like Sarkisian in the lead-up to the Longhorns joining the SEC. With offensive line coach Kyle Flood serving as his primary recruiter, it gave the Humble, Texas native all the confidence he needed to pick the Longhorns over the Aggies. Hopefully, Kibble made the right decision for himself in this SEC rivalry.
Look for recruiting in The Lone Star State to be even more important with Texas joining the SEC.
College football recruiting news: Georgia lands 3-star DL Nnamdi Ogboko
Georgia certainly turned some heads when the Dawgs landed three-star defensive lineman Nnamdi Ogboko out of Garner, North Carolina over the weekend. The two-time defending College Football Playoff National Champions are usually able to get whoever they want in recruitment, but clearly, they saw something in the three-star from just outside of Raleigh: The next Jordan Davis?
Ogboko is barely a top-1000 prospect in the 247 Sports Composite. He is the No. 32 player from North Carolina and the No. 94 defensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting cycle. While he did have 18 offers, none were as big as Georgia. He did pick the Dawgs over the three other schools he visited this summer in Florida, Rutgers and South Carolina. Michigan and Michigan State also offered him.
Overall, Georgia typically recruits North Carolina very well, as many of the Dawgs' best players over the years call that state home. From Davis to Todd Gurley, maybe the North Carolinian pipeline to Athens will continue to produce for Georgia? Ultimately, any time Georgia offers and is able to land a three-star prospect, it should have everyone's collective attention with recruitment.
Once again, Tray Scott continues to be one of the best defensive line coaches in the entire country.
College football recruiting news: Michigan lands 4-star EDGE Dominic Nichols
Michigan continues to build an impressive recruiting class after back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances. On Sunday afternoon, the Wolverines landed four star edge rusher Dominic Nichols out of Ijamsville, Maryland. He picked Michigan over the likes of the Clemson Tigers, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Kentucky Wildcats to help the Wolverines win a national championship.
A big reason for the Wolverines' success of late has been a newfound sense of team identity. They will be ultra-aggressive running the football down the opposition's throat, in addition to getting after the passer. Nichols is the No. 12 player from Maryland and the No. 28 overall edge rusher in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but if he picked Michigan over Georgia and Kentucky, that really matters.
Wisconsin was also in the mix for him, as the Badgers and the Wildcats were the only two other teams to get official visits with Nichols this late in the process. Given how well Jim Harbaugh's staff does of developing players, we may see great things out of Nichols in the years to come. As long as Harbaugh remains engaged on building a winner at Michigan, to the victors go the spoils.
The more blue-chip talent Michigan lands in each cycle, the more likely it is to sustain its success.
