Recruiting Rumor Mill: Northeast prospects take Week One visits, plan more
Prospects from across the country took visits during Week One of the 2024 college football season, while others have upcoming trips planned.
Here’s the latest intel from several notable recruits in the Northeast region, including what is next on their visit schedules.
Adams did not make a Week One trip, but he plans to travel to South Bend this coming Saturday to watch Notre Dame take on Northern Illinois. Of course, the Fighting Irish are coming off of a big win over Texas A&M.
Notre Dame offered the high-three-star defensive back during his previous visit in June, and certainly could be a team to watch in Adams’ recruitment.
Collier was unable to take a visit during Week One since Neumann-Goretti High School played its game on Saturday, but the rising three-star Philadelphia defensive end received an offer from the hometown Temple Owls over the weekend.
He now has hit double-digits in his offer count, including Power Four offers from Boston College, Duke, Miami (FL.), Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Collier is targeting a trip to Piscataway to check out the Scarlet Knights on Sept. 27 for Rutgers’ “Blackout” game versus Washington. He is also looking for a date to visit Penn State this season as well.
Giddens is a rising prospect to watch in the 2026 class. He visited Appalachian State this past weekend and received a scholarship offer. He also received his first Ivy League offer over the weekend, which came from Dartmouth. Giddens is pushing toward double-digit offers, and already has one from a Power Four school in West Virginia.
He also recently visited Virginia and will return to Charlottesville for a game-day visit on Oct. 5. He has additional upcoming trips planned to Liberty (Sept. 21), Maryland (Oct. 11) and Rutgers (Oct. 12).
Gildea spent the weekend in the Great Lakes State, taking a game-day visit to Michigan State on Friday night to see the Spartans defeat Florida Atlantic and then heading to Ann Arbor on Saturday night to watch Michigan take down Fresno State.
The 2026 Hun School offensive tackle was drawn to the atmosphere in Spartan Stadium and got a chance to connect with Michigan State’s coaches. He hopes to return to MSU in the future. He also “really enjoyed” the visit to Michigan.
Gildea does not yet have an offer from the Spartans or Wolverines, but it would not be surprising to see those schools get more involved in the future as he is squarely on the radar for both programs. Rutgers has offered and has made its presence felt early, but Gildea’s recruitment is “100 percent” open right now.
Gray, out of St. Christopher’s School, stayed in his home state for Week One and watched Virginia beat Richmond by a final score of 34-13.
He had a “great” visit and was able to meet with Virginia’s coaches and get a better feel of their goals and vision for the future.
Gray is planning a trip to South Carolina when the Gamecocks take on LSU on Sept. 14, and a trip to Ohio State in the Buckeyes’ season finale against rival Michigan on Nov. 30. He is looking to add a few more visits in between as well.
The Rivals Camp Series Indianapolis running back MVP was at West Virginia this past weekend. His cousin, former Mountaineer Charles Fisher, showed him around and introduced him to a lot of WVU alumni, including guys Henry grew up watching.
Henry was at Oklahoma in late July, and he is planning to take other visits this fall, but still working out dates and locations. It’s very early in the process for the 2027 running back and he will continue to keep options open, but he already has has close to 15 scholarship offers and could end up being one of the more sought-after tailbacks in his class.
Kinsler made the trip to East-Central Texas to watch Texas A&M face off against Notre Dame on Saturday night. Although the Aggies came up short, he had a “great” visit and admired the atmosphere. Kinsler had the opportunity to speak with head coach Mike Elko and likes the way the Texas A&M program develops defensive linemen.
On the night before, Kinsler flew into Dallas and took in the Friday Night Lights of Texas High School football by watching his friend, four-star running back Javian Osborne, play for Forney High School. They then drove the roughly three hours to College Station on Saturday. Kinsler and Osborne are both represented by Lifestyle Sports Agency.
Next, Kinsler will be at Michigan for the Wolverines’ Week Two showdown with Texas. Given that Bergen Catholic plays the majority of its games on Saturdays, making college visits during the fall is difficult for Kinsler, but he does plan to add other trips when possible. Several other schools remain in the mix for the four-star defensive end and he isn’t in a hurry to make a decision.
Salmin had an “awesome” visit to Texas A&M and enjoyed the game-day environment in College Station despite the Aggies’ loss to Notre Dame.
Interestingly, though, the Fighting Irish are another team to watch in Salmin’s recruitment. He will return to South Bend for a visit on Nov. 9 when Notre Dame hosts Florida State.
The four-star wide receiver will be busy this fall. He is also planning trips to Clemson on Sept. 27 (versus North Carolina State), Georgia on Oct. 12 (versus Mississippi State), Virginia Tech on Oct. 26 (versus Georgia Tech), Penn State on Nov. 2 (versus Ohio State), and Ohio State on Nov. 30 (versus Michigan). It is possible he adds more visits to the docket as well.
Sieg was at West Virginia this past weekend. While the Mountaineers were defeated by Penn State, he enjoyed the atmosphere in Morgantown and had a great time on the visit.
Interestingly, West Virginia is the only school heavily recruiting Sieg on the offensive side of the ball as a slot wide receiver. The majority of schools like Sieg as a defensive back, so that could be something to watch moving forward, if Sieg has a preference on either side of the ball.
He will see the Nittany Lions again in Week Two, as he visits Happy Valley for Penn State’s tussle with Bowling Green. In Week Three, Sieg plans to visit Pittsburgh, as the Panthers take on West Virginia.
Thomas made the trek from New Jersey down to the Lone Star State to watch Texas A&M take on Notre Dame. While the Aggies fell to the Fighting Irish, the experience was “amazing.”
The electric crowd and “12th man” tradition at Texas A&M really stood out to the four-star defensive back. In fact, it was so loud at Kyle Field on third downs, Thomas could barely hear the person next to him. He also connected well with the coaching staff.
This coming weekend, Thomas will head to Ann Arbor to watch Michigan face off against Texas. However, as of right now, Thomas is in no rush to make any decisions regarding his recruitment.
The athlete is primarily being recruited as a left tackle and is a name to watch in the 2027 class, as von Brandt already has reached double figures in scholarship offers, including from Georgia, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia, Boston College, Indiana and others.
He plans to be at Rutgers on Oct. 12 for the Scarlet Knights’ contest versus Washington during the “Scarlet Out” game. He is also planning to be in Happy Valley for Penn State’s “White Out” game against the Huskies on Nov. 9.
He might look to add other visits as well, but right now, von Brandt’s focus is on his sophomore season at Appoquinimink High School (Middletown, Delaware).
