After making Upper Marlboro (Md.) St. Frances Academy five-star safety Jireh Edwards' summer visit schedule, the Florida Gators now know when the No. 2 safety prospect in the class of 2026 will announce his decision.
Edwards (6-1.5, 205 pounds) will choose between Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Oregon and Texas A&M with plans to announce his decision on July 5. He is rated as the No. 21 overall player in the class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
BREAKING: Five-Star Safety Jireh Edwards is down to Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Auburn, Florida, and Texas A&M, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 28, 2025
The No. 2 Safety in the ‘26 Class will announce his Commitment on July 5th
Where Should He Go? https://t.co/ESr4XwxInV pic.twitter.com/xO7G3MGe8b
As it stands, the Tigers seemingly lead for Edwards' services, according to On3, after a strong visit in April. Auburn was in his original top-five list before he released his amended finalists on Wednesday.
"[The Tigers are] at the top of my list, right there with Texas A&M, Oregon and Georgia," Edwards said. "They do a really hard job. I can never sit over a school because the next day, Auburn will come text me and tell me some good stuff. Auburn will always have that love for me."
While they are on his visit schedule, the Gators are limited with Edwards' planned trip only being an unofficial visit on June 3. All of his other finalists have either received or will receive an official visit this summer.
He will take an official visit with Auburn beginning on Friday, with other planned official visits to Alabama on June 6, Texas A&M on June 13 and Oregon on June 20 on the schedule. He previously took an official visit to Georgia on April 12, according to On3.
Should he choose Florida, Edwards would become the only current defensive back in the Gators' 2026 recruiting class, which is limited to just two pledges at the moment in four-star quarterback Will Griffin and three-star defensive lineman Jamir Perez.
The Gators previously held commitments from defensive backs Jaelen Waters and Devin Jackson before the pair decommitted, but Florida has made some progress in its attempts to replace them after being projected to land four-star CJ Hester of Cocoa (Fla.).
Florida Gators on SI is tracking all of the Gators' major recruiting news, from current commits to prospects to make note of to the official visit schedule, on our 2026 Recruiting Tracker.
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At one point, it felt like a matter of time until Notre Dame landed a commitment from 2026 tight end Evan Jacobson. The Irish had already gotten a commitment from project tight end Preston Fryzel, and it seemed like their chances of landing elite target Ian Premer were small. Then Premer shocked much of the college football world by announcing his commitment to Notre Dame and plans for all suddenly changed. On Friday, Jacobson, a four-star tight end and the nation's ninth-overall according to Rivals, announced his commitment to Texas A M. He ultimately chose the Aggies over Iowa State, Notre Dame, and Stanford. Jacobson clearly has a high upside and could go on to be dangerous with Texas A M, but in the numbers game it simply didn't work out with Notre Dame. Notre Dame's 2026 Recruiting Class Tight Ends As nice as it would be to have three tight ends in the class, Notre Dame's chances of landing Jacobson left the building when Premer gave his surprise commitment earlier this summer. Ian Premer checks in at 6-5, 225 pounds from Great Bend, Kansas, and chose Notre Dame over in-state Kansas State. He ranks as the nation's fourth tight end in the 2026 class according to Rivals. Preston Fryzel is a bit more of a project out of Toledo (Central Catholic), Ohio. He checks in at 6-4, 215 pounds, and is more of the receiving threat as a tight end than one that will be asked to do much blocking.
With the trade for Ryan McMahon now complete, it would seem New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman has fulfilled one of his three priorities. He can now cross third base off the list, which leaves the rotation and bullpen as his remaining priorities. However, according to one Yankees writer, Cashman might not be done with the infield. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported this after the McMahon trade: “The Yankees may not be done adding to their infield. A team source said the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed hitter who could play the infield.” Kirschner adds that the Yankees have had interest in Willi Castro and Amed Rosario. But the question now is, how would another player fit in the Yankees’ infield? Needless to say, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. aren’t going anywhere, and McMahon is just getting there. That leaves the low-hanging fruit. Anthony Volpe has been at the center of controversy all this season. His 13 errors, many of which had come at make-or-break moments, amount to the second-highest total in the game. In addition, his bat has not been able to compensate, hitting .214/.286/.407 with 14 home runs. There was always a lot to like about Volpe. He won a Gold Glove in his rookie year, his power has always been promising and his speed is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, his glove has become a liability and his speed has also produced very few results. Volpe has swiped just 10 bags in 17 attempts. His power is the one thing that still has some upside, but it hasn’t been enough to justify a spot in the lineup. Both Castro and Rosario have been far more productive at the plate this season than Volpe. Kirschner doesn’t clarify how serious the Yankees are in their pursuit of another infielder, but that most likely isn’t available information. Having just turned 24, Volpe could still become the type of player that was expected from him as a top prospect. However, his recent performance has weighed heavily on his team’s efforts and it may be buying him a ticket out of the Bronx — or at least a spot on the bench.
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
The Green Bay Packers offense was dealt a bit of a blow early in training camp. Friday, third-round rookie wide receiver Savion Williams was a spectator for practice after suffering a concussion. Williams, chosen by the Packers with the No. 87 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, is aiming to climb the depth chart at a crowded wide receiver position this summer. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Williams ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.48 seconds during the NFL Combine and has the profile of potentially becoming a reliable possession receiver and after-the-catch weapon for quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense. Reaching those benchmarks and climbing the depth chart will have to wait, though, as Williams works his way through the concussion protocol and back onto the field for practices during training camp and the preseason this summer.
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