USA TODAY high school sportsFriday Night Notes is a weekly roundup of high school recruiting that looks at the latest news from around the country – from the class of 2024 to ’25 and beyond.
We’re kicking off this week with the latest high school football recruiting news hot off the press.
This morning Andalusia (Alabama) four-star running back J’Marion “Phat” Burnette announced his commitment to chestnut.
WAR DAMN EAGLE🦅… pic.twitter.com/JMig2Q3dXJ
— J’Marion ”Phat” Burnette (@JMarionBurnette) March 24, 2023
According to On 3Burnett had offers from 27 different programs. Alabamastate of florida, Georgia, Tennessee were also among its finalists.
As his nickname suggests, Burnett comes with great size at his position, checking in at 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds. He put that massive frame to work, posting 3,724 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns on 513 attempts (7.3 yards per carry) over the past two seasons.
ESPN currently ranks him No. 8 among running backs, while On3 ranks him No. 28. Taking the composite rankings into account, he’s the No. 10 position in his class and No. 8 overall in the state of Alabama.
Burnett joins an already loaded RB room at Auburn. He makes four tough commitments for their 2024 recruiting class. They also have two four-star cornerbacks as well as four-star Arkansas quarterback Walker White. The group is in 18th place in the country.
Andrew Ivins, 247 Sports
This weekend, the top recruit in the class of 2024 — Chandler (Ariz.) quarterback Dylan Raiola — will return to Nebraska for another visit. Raiola’s recruitment has been described as “wide open” by his fatherwith several elite programs vying for his commitment, including Nebraska, USC, Oregon and Georgia.
Speaking of the big spending bulldogs, they’ve also had their eye on another No. 1 ranked recruit. This weekend Providence Day (NC) offensive David Sanders will visit Athens for an official recruiting visit. Sanders (6-foot-6, 255 pounds) is the top-ranked player and No. 1 prospect in the class of 2025. This isn’t Sanders’ first visit to Georgia’s campus, and he’s coming off his last says he “can’t wait” to return.
According to 247Sports, Sanders has offers from a total of 30 schools, including other top contenders Alabama, Ohio State and South Carolina.
Brian Peroni, 247 Sports
Michigan and Virginia Tech were the two busiest programs in the recruiting game this week. While the Wolverines added three perspectives to their 2024 class, the Hokies finally landed their first two commits of ’24 at Florida four-star quarterback Davey Belfort and North Carolina Edge Derrick Dendy. Several other Power 5 schools also recruited notable recruits.