The Hotline is delighted to provide college football fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Jan. 24 …

Rise of the Hornets

It’s early, but when looking at the 247Sports recruiting rankings for the 2025-26 cycle, you see familiar faces: Oregon is No. 1, followed by Texas A&M and USC.

Sacramento State at No. 37.

Sacramento State? Yep, the Hornets, a Big Sky program with Pac-12 aspirations, are ranked in the top 40 under new head coach Brennan Marion.

This week, Sacramento State landed a commitment from its highest-rated prospect ever: Kamarie Smith, a three-star receiver from Long Beach Poly, picked the Hornets over Big Ten schools like Nebraska, Oregon and Washington.

That follows a commitment in the 2025 class from Dreyden Garner, a three-star athlete from San Diego, who had been Sacramento State’s top-rated recruit. He had offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma State and Mississippi, among others.

It’s all part of Marion’s plan.

With their eyes set on jumping into the Football Bowl Subdivision — the Pac-12 is the dream destination, although the Mountain West isn’t out of the question — the Hornets are recruiting like a team already in the FBS with Marion in charge. (He was hired last month after several stellar seasons calling plays for UNLV.)

They have one of the most extensive support staffs in the country — it’s easily the most extensive at the FCS level — featuring a general manager, assistant general manager, director of player personnel, director of scouting and director of recruiting/special projects. There are several assistant coaches with strong recruiting ties, either regionally or from their times as high school coaches or trainers.

The results are speaking for themselves: Sacramento State is even offering scholarships to five-star players, unironically, trying to make their pitch to land players from across the country and convince them to come to the California capitol.

Will the Hornets remain in the top 40?

Unlikely. They are currently ahead of Texas and Michigan, which will start their heavy lifting for 2026.

But for now the, ahem, buzz, is that Sacramento State figures to be a presence on the recruiting trail as the Hornets aim for their goal of playing in the FBS.

Putting the capper on 2025

While the majority of the top recruits in 2025 have already signed, Washington State continues to finalize its class under new head coach Jimmy Rogers.

This week alone, the Cougars landed seven commitments for their 2025 class.

Four were pledges to Rogers when he was at South Dakota State, and one was a New Mexico signee released from his binding commitment when coach Bronco Mendenhall left for Utah State.

And the Cougars might not be done; several of the signees under former coach Jake Dickert got out of their own letters-of-intent to follow Dickert to Wake Forest. Others opened up their recruitment and are considering other schools.

That combination opened spots and created needs for Rogers to fill. He appears to be doing just that.

Looking ahead to 2026

The last two weeks, after the dead period, have seen a sight we’re not used to: in-home visits in January with underclassmen.

Sure, in-home visits at this time of year have been a recruiting staple, especially when National Signing Day was in its traditional spot on the first Wednesday of February.

But with the ever-changing recruiting calendar, in-home visits with juniors have been permitted this month for the first time ever.

Said one Power Four position coach who did an in-home visit this week:

“The in-home visits have always been relatively awkward, but you’ve built the relationship over time, and for the past few years at least, they’ve usually been with a player committed to you, who you’re just finalizing before he signed in December.

“Now you’re doing them in January, when players haven’t even narrowed their lists, the relationship isn’t as established, and you’re pitching and recruiting more than anything. But I guess this is where we’re at.”

The contact period, during which coaches can make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations,  continues until Feb. 1.

The quiet period is set for the next day, meaning only visits on the member institution’s campus are permitted. On Feb. 3, a month-long dead period begins.

So colleges are racking up the frequent flier miles and hotel nights while trying to host their own underclass recruits on the weekends, before the dead period returns.

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