The Hotline is delighted to provide college football fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on April 10 …

Gearing up for spring evals

It seems like every recruiting cycle brings a new era. Though name, image and likeness (NIL) has now been in existence for four years, it has never made a greater impact on recruiting than in the current cycle, with prospects who are juniors in high school.

With revenue sharing becoming a major factor in which schools land which players, those without massive dollars to spend may find themselves targeting a lower tier of recruits. For that reason, NIL has also impacted the way schools evaluate players, the timing of the process, the caliber of players and the likelihood of landing them.

The spring evaluation period is set to begin April 15 and runs through May 24, the Saturday before Memorial Day.

That gives football staff members the chance to hit the road and cover the country to find their targets.

With schools increasingly sending their full-time recruiters on the road, not assistant coaches, the longtime X-and-O experts have a chance to stay on campus and marinate over spring football.

It also gives those that are largely a part of the recruiting process a chance to cite their work.

Given that the recruiting calendar continues to speed up, this spring will be heavy on evaluations of class-of-2026 players, but even heavier on 2027 and 2028 prospects.

January was the last time coaches were allowed on the road, and most were seeing their 2026 targets.

But now, even those 2.5 months have seen a surge in recruiting and decisions from the ’26 prospects, so the underclassmen will take on a much larger role over the next six weeks.

Trojans stay hot

Speaking of a surge in decisions, no school has been hotter than USC, which owns the top class in the country thus far.

The Trojans have 22 commitments from members of the 2026 class, eight more than their closest pursuers (Kansas and Syracuse). Five of those pledges have come in April, including three in the last week.

The most notable commitment in that span was Deshonne Redeaux, the No. 1 running back in California and a top-five back nationally. Redeaux comes from Oaks Christian High School in nearby Westlake Village.

They also landed a commitment from offensive lineman Vlad Dyakonov, out of Folsom (Calif.) High School, the second year in a row — and third time in four years — the Trojans have gone to the Sacramento area powerhouse for a recruit.

What makes Dyakonov so crucial? At Folsom, he protects the blind side of the No. 1 player in California: quarterback Ryder Lyons, the five-star passer who USC covets. (He’s also the younger brother of Trojans tight end Walker Lyons.)

Sandwiched between the two California commits was Texas defensive lineman Jake Johnson.

Sunny in Tempe

On the subject of heat, the temperature is beginning to rise in Tempe, and not just outside. Inside the Arizona State recruiting office, the Sun Devils have been on a bit of a heater themselves.

The defending Big 12 champions reeled in four commitments in the past week: one from California, two from Texas and one from Georgia.

And while their dream season came to a crushing end in overtime against Texas (in the Peach Bowl), their presence against the Longhorns in Atlanta certainly helped with recruiting.

Georgia cornerback Jalen Williams trekked to Arizona State a few weeks after the College Football Playoff game for an unofficial visit, then committed on Saturday.

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On Monday, Marques Uini, a massive offensive lineman from Texas, pledged to the Sun Devils after his official visit. Then offensive lineman Niniva Nicholson from Southern California joined the mix following his own visit.

It was a big week, indeed, for offensive line coach Saga Tuitele.

The roll continued for the Sun Devils on Thursday with Kenny Dillingham and his staff going back into Texas to pluck three-star edge rusher Julian Hugo, the highest rated defensive commitment for the Sun Devils in the 2026 class.

The Devils have seen the 2024 success translate into a recruiting bump. Currently, they sit at No. 14 nationally in the 247Sports rankings.

BYU’s big move

While Arizona State won the Big 12 in its inaugural season in the conference, BYU’s second year saw the Cougars stay in the race until their loss to ASU in November.

But an 11-win season has been good to their recruiting efforts, as well.

While the Cougars remain heavily involved for five-star passer Ryder Lyons, a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, they landed their highest-rated commitment ever under coach Kalani Sitake when in-state tight end Brock Harris announced his pledge on 247Sports.

Harris played in both the 2025 Under Armour All-America Game and the 2025 Polynesian Bowl and is an elite prospect in one of the best tight end classes in recent memory.

He’s the No. 2 recruit in Utah, the No. 5 tight end in the country and the No. 67 recruit nationally in 2026.

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