Oregon has surged to the front in the race for one of the most sought-after receivers in the 2027 class, and the buzz around Xavier Sabb keeps getting louder.
The five-star athlete from Glassboro, N.J., has a long list of heavy hitters in pursuit - Tennessee, LSU, Alabama and Georgia among them - but the Ducks have clearly created separation after a run of strong visits this offseason. That momentum was reflected in the blunt assessment from On3 insider Steve Wiltfong on a recent episode of the Wiltfong Whip Around.
Host Josh Newberg pressed Wiltfong for a confidence level on Oregon’s chances with the wideout, and Wiltfong’s answer made the current shape of the recruitment pretty clear.
A big part of Oregon’s position comes from how early this relationship started. The Ducks and head coach Dan Lanning offered Sabb back when he was still in eighth grade, and that early move has helped Oregon stay firmly in the picture as his recruitment has moved into his junior year.
Sabb has been in Eugene several times since spring, and Oregon has kept him near the top of its receiver board even while pursuing other targets at the position. That steady attention has mattered for a prospect with major options all over the country.
The other contenders are still very much involved, though each is selling a different angle. Tennessee has the geographic edge in this group and also already has ESPN’s No. 8 national wideout Kesean Bowman in its receiver room. LSU got Sabb on campus for a major recruiting weekend that also featured five-star wideout and Texas commit Easton Royal, along with five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster, who is committed to Texas Tech.
Alabama’s pitch carries a built-in family connection that no one else can match. Sabb’s older brothers, defensive back Keon Sabb and wide receiver Amari Sabb, both play for the Crimson Tide, which keeps Tuscaloosa firmly in the mix even as Oregon appears to have the strongest grip on the race.
Georgia remains involved as well, but so far it has not emerged as the leader at any point in the cycle.
In Other News...
One Alabama Defender Just Crashed The SEC Ratings Debate
EA Sports has rolled out the official player ratings for College Football 27, and the early SEC buzz is already building around a handful of elite names clustered near the top of the board. The game arrives worldwide on July 9, with early access opening July 2 and July 6 for select members, giving fans plenty of time to argue over where the conferences best talent landed and whether the numbers match what they saw on Saturdays last fall.
For Alabama, the most interesting wrinkle is the presence of Jermod McCoy Hubbard, who is back in Tuscaloosa and now headlining the secondary. That matters because these ratings are more than just a video-game curiosity for Tide fans - they are a snapshot of how one of the leagues most scrutinized defenses is being viewed heading into a new season, and a reminder that the debate over who sits atop the SEC still has room to get louder. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russell Hype Just Put Alabama's Quarterback Debate On Edge
Keelon Russell has made enough of a spring impression to pull more eyes onto Alabamas quarterback room, and that alone has turned a standard competition into one of the more watched storylines around the program. With Austin Mack also in the mix, the Crimson Tide are still sorting out which direction to go, and the conversation has widened beyond who takes the first snap to what kind of ceiling the position could have once the dust settles.
The buzz has grown loud enough that analysts are already floating Russell as a potential Heisman Trophy dark horse for 2026, even if that kind of talk comes with a pretty obvious asterisk attached. For Alabama, the bigger question is still whether Russell can actually separate himself in the battle and then deliver in a way that fits everything else the Tide need to contend for at the top of the SEC. [Read more 🡒]