As is our tradition, our recruiting analysts discuss weekend visits and high-risk programs with potential candidates on Saturday mornings in the fall.

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1. What’s the biggest recruiting visit this weekend?

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John Garcia Jr.: Four-star DL Floyd Boucard at USC. The former Oklahoma defensive lineman fell in love with USC during his official visit over the summer months, and the program has been gaining more and more attention since his departure from the OU last week. Colorado, Florida and several others are trying to gain stature and momentum with Boucard, but the fact that he’s making his first trip to Los Angeles says a lot about where the Trojans may end up in this race. Combine this with the final decision timeline, which will actually be accelerated over the next month or so, and the Trojans could potentially gain an advantage in getting the services of a big in-house talent while others campaign to get his visit. Given the solid trajectory of USC’s defense and the expected big moves in the current defensive front – especially redshirt freshman Bear Alexander – it would almost amount to an upset if the Trojans don’t become a major player for his services by the end of the weekend.

Adam Gorney: This is an important weekend across the country as Alabama and Auburn in particular will host elite players from around the world, but for me the biggest visit is Javion Hilson’s visit to UCF. The five-star defenseman lives less than an hour away in Cocoa, Florida. His teammate, Jayvan Boggs, is already committed to the Knights, and after previous commitments to Alabama and Florida State, Hilson is back on the market. If he chose UCF, it would give the hometown school an immediate player with the impact that Texas and many other players are pursuing Hilson, and a commitment to the Knights would show they can compete for some of the best players in Florida.

Marshall Levenson: I’m going with Deuce Knight, who’s going back to Auburn. This may be an odd choice as Knight has already played for Auburn four times this season and there have been no significant changes to his team yet. But the longtime commitment to Notre Dame has to end the song and dance at some point, with his ongoing flirtation and move to the Tigers. However, this visit is more important than previous ones because, after all, it is an official visit that often leads to longer, more in-depth discussions and experiences during your stay on campus. So he’s expected to be an Auburn Tiger at some point, and he seems as good as any this weekend to make a move, which will allow Notre Dame and the other universities in limbo to make the appropriate moves to help finish the class.

Greg Smith: Two Knight. At this point, it’s very easy to forget that Knight is still committed to Notre Dame. He played for Auburn four times this season and everything indicates that he will join the Tigers’ class. However, the Tigers have a habit of losing when he’s in town. Auburn is a double-digit underdog to Oklahoma, so it will be very difficult to win. Can the Tigers complete the deal this weekend?

Sam Spiegelman: Deuce Knight to Auburn. We’ve seen this before, right? Knight is about to head to the Plains for the fifth straight year, this time for an official visit after a series of trips starting with Big Cat weekend and the next few days of games at Auburn. Hugh Freeze The Tigers want to add a point guard to their top five and return Knight in mid-summer. Knight, who committed to Notre Dame this time last year, hasn’t returned to South Bend since June. There’s a feeling that Knight will most likely be playing his football closer to home in Mississippi, so we circled Auburn as the team to break through on this weekend’s official visit.

2. Which program can do the most to help its recruits and get a big win this weekend?

John Garcia Jr.: With a new Big 12 foe and a polarizing Colorado program coming to town and Friday’s game in Miami, the state’s top recruits head to town to see Gus Malzahnprogram. From five-star players like pass rusher Javion Hilson to elite recruits committed elsewhere like wide receiver Dallas Wilson and offensive lineman Max Buchanan, the amount of talent heading to Orlando across the board is astonishing. The Knights are 3-0 and are double-digit favorites against Coach Main and company, who have already started attacking UCF, claiming that the Buffs are the reason the roster is so strong. If the program expanded to Colorado and approached Bounce House, it would potentially place the school among the top 25 schools with an undefeated overall and conference mark. It’s a near-perfect position for UCF since it has moved up into the Power Four rankings and ranks as arguably the second-best team in the state behind Miami when Florida and Florida State face off on Saturday. It’s no surprise that the program has a top 20 class, while easily finding the best class UCF has fielded in the Rivals era.

Adam Gorney: Auburn is 2-2 and has a serious quarterback problem. Coach Hugh Freeze He got hot this week after losing to Arkansas by 10 points, saying that if both teams played nine additional teams, the Tigers would win all nine. After all the early-season excitement, Notre Dame QB Deuce Knight returns for his fourth visit, and five-star Ohio State CB Na’eem Offord is also expected to return. Oklahoma has a lot of issues on offense, with the Sooners struggling to figure out their QB situation and all of their receivers injured, so a big win this weekend could reignite the interest of many Southeastern stars.

Marshall Levenson: It would be easy to say Alabama given the monster guest list it will have against Georgia, but it’s Bama and they’ll be fine regardless of the outcome. However, UCF has plenty to gain from a big win on Saturday as the host team Deion Sanders and Colorado. It’s a weekend that, if everything goes UCF’s way, could be considered a defining moment in the program’s history. These are obviously a lot of questions or predictions, but there are some big names that could move the program forward if they join the Knights. Five-star guard Javion Hilson tops the list alongside key names like Landon Duckworth, Lamar Brown, as well as Oregon’s flipping targets in Dallas Wilson and Miami in Max Buchanan. A big weekend with an exciting victory would greatly improve not only their chances of competing for a Big 12 title, but also expand their recruiting efforts, which also currently rank near the top of the conference.

Greg Smith: Purdu. The Boilermakers host a huge recruiting weekend with over 80 guests coming to town for the game against Nebraska. Coach Ryan Walters he hopes to create dissatisfaction with the Huskers. Such an action would cause a shock to the program, especially since victories will be hard to come by this season. 2026 Ohio State safety Kaden Gebhardt and 2026 running back Kory Amachree are among the headliners in this big game.

Sam Spiegelman: UCF has gained quite a bit of notoriety over the years, and even more since it became a Big Four program and has been making noise in Big 12 country over the last few weeks. This week, the Knights will host a huge group of visitors in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes and are pursuing several priority targets in the Southeast. UCF welcomes back top target QB Landon Duckworth, who has been leaning in that direction since recruiting reopened in the summer, as well as Miami OL Max Buchanon and Florida DB Demetres Samuel Jr. and top targets like OL Lamar Brown, four-star WR Nalin Scott, four-star CB Jalen Williams and four-star RB Ezavier Crowell. UCF brings you to Colorado City for a huge national spotlight game with a large number of top recruits taking part in the Bounce House. UCF will have a chance to make some noise this weekend.