Braylon Clark’s recruitment is already looking like a heavyweight fight.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound wide receiver from Charlotte, North Carolina, and the No. 6 player in the 2028 Rivals300, has narrowed his list to 12 schools, he told Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett. The group is loaded with national brands, and it gives a clear picture of just how wide open this race still is.
Ohio State appears to be the team setting the pace. Clark has the Buckeyes among his top schools, and more than 86% of Rivals’ insider predictions currently point him toward Columbus.
That would make for a fascinating fit, especially since Ohio State already has a 2028 commitment from Jett Harrison, the son of former NFL star Marvin Harrison and Rivals’ top-ranked player in the class. Add Clark to the mix and the Buckeyes would have two of the top three receivers in the 2028 national class, along with 2027 five-star Jamier Brown already committed.
The rest of Clark’s final group is packed with SEC and national contenders. LSU, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, and South Carolina all made the cut from the SEC side, while Miami and Clemson represent the ACC. Indiana, Oregon, and Southern California are the Big Ten programs still in the hunt.
South Carolina may have an uphill climb compared with some of the others, but it has plenty of exposure in Clark’s process. Rivals lists eight unofficial visits to the Gamecocks going back to 2023, and the program is less than 100 miles from Charlotte. Even so, Clark’s list leaves out the in-state schools he has visited - North Carolina State, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, and Appalachian State - which makes the final dozen stand out even more.
Rivals says Clark has visited at least 15 schools, and only one of those trips, to Oregon, came outside the Eastern half of the United States. That kind of travel tells you how broad the pursuit has been, and how many schools believe they still have a real shot.
On the field, Clark has given every reason for the attention. As a sophomore in 2025, he hauled in 65 catches for 1,093 yards and 12 touchdowns. With size, speed, and athleticism all working in his favor, he’s the kind of receiver every major program wants in the building.
And with the 2026 season now getting rolling, the next phase of his recruitment is officially underway.
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What lingers for Jackson-Davis now is less about leaving early than about one skill he never fully unlocked. He said he wishes he had developed his three-point shot more in college, a notable regret considering how little he used it across his Indiana career. It is the kind of hindsight that comes with time, especially for a player who did so much right for the Hoosiers, but it also leaves open the question of how much more versatile his game might have looked if he had stayed just a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
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Indiana is trying to set up an official visit for Clark as it looks to turn that early interest into something more concrete. The Hoosiers currently have one commitment in the 2028 class, so landing a player of Clarks caliber would be another major statement after the programs strong 2027 recruiting push and a reminder that Cignetti is not slowing down on the trail. [Read more 🡒]
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The defense has its own concerns heading into Howard, especially with injuries affecting the secondary and a dual-threat quarterback in JaShawn Scroggins waiting on the other side. Cignettis challenge now is less about correcting a victory than making sure it does not hide something bigger, because early-season mistakes have a way of becoming real problems once the schedule gets tougher. Indiana looked the part in the opener, but the next step is showing it can clean up the pieces that did not quite fit. [Read more 🡒]