Recruiting across Southwest Florida and the Tampa Bay area is already moving fast, and the first month of the 2026 high school football season has given college staffs plenty to track.
A handful of prospects have seen their stock rise on Friday nights while the offers keep coming in. Hardee edge rusher James Cherry, Cardinal Mooney cornerback Amarian McRae and Bayshore lineman Braylon Smith all picked up new interest from major programs. Sarasota receiver Evan Larrick and Armwood running back Rondai Dile have also continued building out their offer lists.
Cherry’s stretch has been especially busy. The Hardee sophomore landed offers from Kentucky and Missouri on Aug. 31, then added Ole Miss on Sept.
2, Syracuse on Sept. 3 and Alabama on Sept. 7.
The recruiting surge has matched his production: through three games, he has 22 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and six sacks. He had four tackles for loss against Fort Meade and matched that total against LaBelle.
What makes Cherry’s rise stand out is where it’s happening. Hardee does not usually get the same recruiting spotlight as some of the bigger programs around Florida, but Cherry is forcing schools to notice.
Sarasota’s Evan Larrick has been doing the same thing with his hands and his numbers. Ole Miss offered him on Aug. 31, and he had already picked up a game-day invitation to USF’s season opener against FIU.
The junior has 15 catches for 279 yards and three touchdowns through three games, good for an 18.6-yard average per reception. He opened with six receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown against Bayshore, followed that with seven catches for 128 yards and another score against Palm Beach Lakes, then added his third touchdown against Hudson.
Larrick now holds 10 offers, including Arizona, Ole Miss, Cal and Tulane. His early-season output is also giving schools more varsity film to study as the recruitment keeps growing.
McRae added another heavyweight to his list on Sept. 7 when Florida State offered. The Cardinal Mooney sophomore is already rated a four-star prospect by Rivals and has offers from Miami, Notre Dame, Auburn, Nebraska, UCLA, Stanford, Georgia Tech and Boston College. According to 247Sports, he has also taken an unofficial visit to Florida State.
He has already built a strong varsity résumé for a player in the 2029 class. This season, McRae has 16 tackles, seven pass breakups and one tackle for loss in three games. As a freshman, he played in 13 games and finished with 35 tackles, two interceptions and 19 pass breakups.
Bayshore’s Braylon Smith keeps adding to a long list of options, too. Mississippi State and West Virginia both offered on Sept. 1, bringing his total to 17 after USF jumped in on Aug.
- At 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, Smith has become one of the more heavily recruited linemen in Manatee County, with Miami, USC and Notre Dame also on the list.
He plays on both sides of the ball for Bayshore, giving the Bruins size along the offensive and defensive lines.
Dile joined the group with a new offer from Duke on Sept. 8.
The Armwood junior is now up to eight offers, with Minnesota, Appalachian State and Florida Atlantic among the schools involved. Through three games, he has rushed for 297 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries, averaging 6.5 yards per attempt.
He started with 126 yards on 20 carries in a 17-7 win over Lennard, then ran for 73 yards and a score against Don Bosco Prep before posting 98 yards and another touchdown in Armwood’s 35-0 win over Plant City.
Armwood is 2-1, with its lone loss coming on the road against Don Bosco Prep.
Not every recruit in the area is already in the middle of a major varsity role. Riverview tight end Wyatt Eagans picked up an offer from Daytona Beach Christian University on Aug. 31 while working through a crowded tight end room.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound prospect is currently behind senior Miles Prezkwas, a Navy commit, which has limited his chances. Even so, his development continues behind an experienced starter.
With the season still early, the region’s recruiting picture figures to keep changing. Some players, like Cherry and McRae, are drawing major attention fast.
Others, like Larrick, Smith and Dile, are backing up their growing reputations with production. And for Eagans, the path is slower, but still moving.
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