5-star S Caleb Downs headlines recruits set to commit in final week of July
With the final week of July under way, the 2022-23 high school year is getting closer to commencement (and, in some school districts, has already begun). More and more football players are getting their commitments locked in ahead of the upcoming school year.
Eighteen players in the class of 2023 ranked three-star rank or better on 247Sports are set to commit between July 25 and 31, according to the recruitment outlet. This group is headlined by five-star safety Caleb Downs, who will announce his decision on Tuesday.
Here is a quick look at the players who are scheduled to announce their commitments in the coming week. The dates are according to 247Sports.
Four-star CB Jasiah Wagoner
July 25
Listed on the 247Sports Composite as the No. 24 cornerback in the nation and No. 2 overall player in the state of Washington, Jasiah Wagoner has 16 offers, according to 247Sports. In late June, the 5-foot-11 cornerback announced that his top four schools are Cal, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.
Three-star offensive lineman Micah Banuelos
July 25
Micah Banuelos is the latest Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Wash.) product who is set to commit to a university. The 247Sports Composite has him as the 59th-best IOL in the country, but 247Sports as an outlet ranks him even higher, as the 13th-best IOL.
He is choosing between Oregon, USC and Texas A&M.
Three-star tight end Ka'Morreun Pimpton
July 26
Ka’Morreun Pimpton, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound tight end (who may be a little bigger now, according to Texas Football), is set to commit between Vanderbilt, Colorado State and Rice. According to MaxPreps, Pimpton had 277 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns for Brewer (Fort Worth, Texas) last season.
Five-star safety Caleb Downs
July 27
One of the top recruits in the nation, Caleb Downs will announce his future school on Tuesday. Widely regarded as the best safety in the class of 2023, Downs will be choosing between the 34 schools that offered him, a group that has been publicly narrowed down to under 10. 247Sports reports that he is warm on Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Clemson and North Carolina, while Downs tweeted hashtags for these schools and Florida State, Florida and Oklahoma.
Commitment 7.27.22. @PlayersTribune @dj_BluMajik @I_Am_OD3 @ChadSimmons_ @ErikRichardsUSA #gdtbath #GONOLES #GoBucks #RollTide #GoDawgs #GoIrish #GoTigers #GoGators #BOOMERSOONERl #AllGasNoBrakes pic.twitter.com/oiwF0v0uNP
— Caleb Downs (@caleb_downs2) July 21, 2022
Downs is listed as the No. 12 player on the 247Sports Composite.
Three-star IOL Tommy Kinsler
July 28
Tommy Kinsler has both has committed and decommitted this summer. He is now ready to commit more firmly as July wraps up.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound offensive lineman committed to Florida on June 19 before decommitting about two weeks later. He told the Ocala Star-Banner that he felt like he “rushed the process” in announcing, but that the Gators remain under consideration.
Kinsley is almost certainly staying in-state, with Florida, Florida State and Miami making up his top-three, according to AllGators. For what it’s worth, 247Sports is predicting that he will attend Miami.
Three-star linebacker Kylan Salter
July 28
Three-star linebacker Kylan Salter, who has at least a dozen offers, told Buff Stampede that Colorado and TCU are the two schools he is considering. Salter said that coming off an ACL tear, those schools “are not giving up” on him.
Listed as 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, Salter is ranked the No. 52 linebacker in the class and the 112th-best 2023 player in Texas.
Four-star defensive lineman John Walker
July 28
John Walker’s announcement, along with of his two high school teammates, is coming sooner than anticipated. The three are ready to commit this month instead of the original October plan. With that, Walker will choose between his top schools of Florida, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and UCF.
Walker is a top-100 player in the class ranked as the No. 12 DL on the 247Sports Composite. Will the Osceola (Kissimmee, Fla.) product stay in-state, or head to the midwest?
Four-star defensive lineman Derrick LeBlanc
July 28
Derrick LeBlanc lines up alongside John Walker at Osceola (Kissimmee, Fla.). The two have a lot of similarities: both four-star DLs, LeBlanc is rated No. 98 in the nation and Walker No. 99, both were highly sought-after recruits with well over 30 offers.
But will they stick together? LeBlanc’s top-three consists of Florida, Oklahoma and Penn State. He could absolutely elect a different option.
Four-star cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson
July 28
Like his two aforementioned Osceola teammates, Ja’Keem Jackson has Florida in his top-six. He also has Tennessee, Penn State, Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky in consideration.
Jackson is ranked the No. 22 cornerback in the class. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, he had more than 30 offers in total.
Four-star wide receiver Aidan Mizell
July 29
Another top-100 player, Aidan Mizell plans to announce his commitment Friday afternoon. At 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Mizell is ranked as the 14th-best receiver in the class and a top-20 player in Florida. His top three schools are Alabama, Florida and Tennessee.
Mizell, who runs on the Boone (Orlando, Fla.) track team, recorded 47 receptions for 1,003 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns last season.
Four-star safety Jordan Castell
July 30
With 34 offers, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound safety that is Jordan Castell more or less has his pick of the lot. His top three, he announced in June, are Alabama, Florida and Tennessee.
Last season, according to the Gainesville Sun, Castell recorded 36 tackles and two interceptions for West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.). He is ranked as the No. 16 safety in the class and No. 45 player in Florida.
Four-star cornerback Braeden Marshall
July 30
Less than a week before his commitment, Braeden Marshall announced on Sunday that his top three schools are Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nebraska. Marshall is listed at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds and is considered by the 247Sports Composite to be the 40th-best cornerback in the class.
Last season, he recorded 28 tackles, 12 pass breakups and four interceptions, according to Badgers Wire.
Four-star defensive lineman Terrance Green
July 30
At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, Terrance Green has size that has helped him turn into a four-star prospect. His original 29 offers has been whittled down to a top-five of Texas, Florida, Oregon, Michigan State and Miami, according to Longhorns Wire. Per 247Sports, he is particularly warm on Michigan State, Oregon and USC, the last of which had not been on the list he announced in early July.
Last season, Green had 40 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries for Cy Woods (Cypress, Texas), according to Longhorns Wire.
Three-star offensive lineman Naquil Betrand
July 30
Naquil Betrand, the 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive lineman who is set to play his senior season at St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), announced in early July that his top six schools are Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Penn State, Syracuse and Texas A&M.
He has 23 offers, according to 247Sports. Betrand had previously committed to Colorado in March, but as his recruiting stock rose in the following months, he decommitted in early July.
Three-star defensive lineman Samu Taumanupepe
July 31
The commitment of 6-foot-3, 380-pound Samu Taumanupepe will come at the end of the month. While there hasn’t been a lot of firm news about his top interests, Taumanupepe told Rivals in early June that schools including Texas, Oregon, Texas Tech and Baylor have stood out. 247Sports considers Oregon and Texas the favorites.
Three-star defensive lineman CJ Fite
July 31
CJ Fite, listed at 6-foot-1, 280 pounds, has announced a top three of Arizona State, Oregon State and UTSA, according to 247Sports. As a junior at Tatum (Texas), Fite recorded 53 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss and three sacks, per MaxPreps.
Four-star offensive lineman Oluwatosin Babalade
July 31
Oluwatosin Babalade, a 6-foot-5 offensive tackle listed at 296 pounds on 247Sports and 315 pounds in his Twitter bio, announced in June that his top seven schools are Maryland, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Rutgers and South Carolina. He’ll be narrowing that down in advance of his selection on the final day of July.
Babalade is ranked as the No. 279 player in the class and No. 26 offensive tackle on the composite.
Top 7!! @ChadSimmons_ @RivalsFriedman @SWiltfong247 pic.twitter.com/oWZnsLMvrC
— Oluwatosin Babalade (@_Bigtree23) June 1, 2022
Four-star wide receiver Carmelo Taylor
July 31
Carmelo Taylor is a four-star wide receiver in part because of his speed, evident on the track — he was the 100-meter and 200-meter VHSL 5A State Champion last year.
On the gridiron, he’s ranked as the No. 354 player in the class, 46th-best receiver and sixth-best player in Virginia. Taylor announced in July that his top schools are Maryland, Penn State, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
