Saturday, July 04, 2026

Fireworks on the trail: Texas and Oregon land five-stars on the Fourth

Recruiting didn't take the holiday off. While the rest of the country grilled, five-star offensive lineman Ismael Camara told Texas yes, and the 2027 class race just got louder.

The lede

Camara, a Gilmer, Texas product rated the No. 29 overall prospect in the 2027 cycle, committed to the Longhorns over a finalist list that included SMU, Oregon, Texas A&M, and LSU. The wild part: he's a native of France with exactly one season of varsity football on his resume. Huge frame, huge upside, tiny tape.

Oregon fans didn't leave the weekend empty-handed. Five-star wide receiver Xavier Sabb, ranked No. 20 in the SC Next 300, committed to the Ducks on Friday — Dan Lanning's second five-star pledge of the week, per ESPN.

Quick hits

• The Harrison pipeline continues. Five-star 2028 receiver Jett Harrison, younger brother of former Ohio State All-American Marvin Harrison Jr., committed to the Buckeyes on Wednesday.
• South Carolina is on a heater. The Gamecocks added a four-star pass rusher out of North Carolina, an elite in-state offensive tackle, and beat SEC and Big Ten programs for a four-star DB, all inside a week.
• Who's No. 1 in 2027? CBS Sports has Texas A&M and Notre Dame vying for the top class after a frantic June.
• Arch watch. CBS argues Arch Manning was crowned too early, and that this year's Texas roster finally justifies the hype.
• Bold call in the SEC. A CBS analyst predicts Georgia starts 10-0, then gets dethroned by South Carolina in the conference title game.

The carousel

Wisconsin hired Shawn Eichorst as athletic director, bringing him back to the Big Ten nearly a decade after Nebraska fired him from the same job. At Air Force, Nathan Pine is out as AD after seven years, with ESPN reporting he was pushed out.

And a moment for Jim Walden, the former Washington State coach who led Wazzu to a bowl and spent nine seasons at Iowa State. He died Thursday at 88. His former players' tributes are worth your time: "He made me a better man."

Fan pulse

• r/CFB did the math for the holiday: it has been 1,000 days since Oklahoma scored a touchdown against Texas. Happy Fourth, Sooners fans.
• The annual preseason countdown says 57 days to kickoff. Oklahoma State checks in at No. 57.
• A good argument-starter making the rounds: which teams make college football better when they're good?

The Observer's Call

Florida's Jon Sumrall wants a shorter season and a tighter calendar. Here's the thing: the season isn't the problem. Five-star linemen are committing on the Fourth of July. The portal ate June. "Offseason" is now a word like "amateurism" — we keep saying it, but nobody's seen one in years. Shorten the calendar? Fine. Start with the eleven months that aren't football. Disagree? Reply and tell me why.

Kickoff is 57 days out. We'll be counting every one of them.