West intel: The latest visit plans from several elite prospects from the region

West intel

With the spring evaluation period underway and official visits having started, the next 2.5 months should be a busy time for the class of 2027.

Official visits could start taking place the first weekend of April, and while several prospects have made decisions already, others are using those visits through mid-June as the barometer in their decision.

Here is a look at some of the key recruits to track

More quarterback dominoes set to fall?

Now that Will Mencl is off the board, the five-star quarterback from Chandler (Ariz.) committing to Oregon on Wednesday, that eliminates one more school for Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln quarterback Sione Kaho to consider.

Kaho, a Rivals300 prospect, had the Ducks and homestate Washington in his final four, but the Huskies got a commitment from Blake Roskopf from Goodyear (Ariz.) Desert Edge.

But even before both of those commits, Stanford was making a big push for Kaho – Cardinal head coach Tavita Pritchard is from Tacoma, where he once played quarterback himself.

The Cardinal will have Kaho on campus this weekend for an unofficial visit and they are surging with Kaho.

Kaho also has Cal on his final four, and he has a relationship with head coach Tosh Lupoi that goes back to when Lupoi recruited his older brother, Ale Kaho, to Alabama.

But the Bears are also doing really well with Folsom (Calif.) quarterback Brody Rudnicki, who is set to take his official to Berkeley on June 12.

Rudnicki, the QB MVP at Sunday’s Rivals Camp in San Francisco, is planning to serve a one-year LDS mission, like the quarterback he’s replacing with the Bulldogs, Ryder Lyons, is currently doing.

BYU is also heavily in play for Rudnicki – they will host him the weekend after, but if Kaho ends up at Stanford, we wouldn’t be shocked to see the Bears ramp things up even more with Rudnicki.

Offensive linemen movement on the visit side of things

Chandler (Ariz.) Basha tackle Jake Hildebrand has a final four of Arizona State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Utah.

But this may be closer to being a three-team race, with the hometown Sun Devils continuing to prioritize Hildebrand.

Texas A&M, though, has been pushing for Hildebrand as well, and he finally set up his official visit to College Station on June 5, the weekend before he visits Arizona State on June 12.

Utah is set to host Hildebrand last, on June 19, and it doesn’t look like Hildebrand plans to set that visit to Oregon.

Fellow in-state lineman Tye Kennedy out of Mesa (Ariz.) Mountain View, has also jostled his own official visit schedule, cancelling a previously scheduled visit for Stanford.

He set up a visit to Michigan, and already had a visit scheduled with Utah and to Washington, where his father Lincoln Kennedy, starred.

But he’s also hoping to schedule at least one more official visit, with Arizona State, Cal, Minnesota and NC State all under consideration for that visit.

Meanwhile Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton tackle Richie Dexter has three visits of his own set, with Oklahoma State the highlight visit, but he will visit Arizona this weekend for an unofficial and will likely hammer down his official visit with the Wildcats.

Arizona has tried hard to make a push at Hamilton, in particular with their vaunted 2028 class, but Dexter is a key target for Arizona in the 2027 class and this weekend’s visit could go a long way in determining where they stand.

And one of the more thorough and deliberate recruits through the process is Englewood (Colo.) Cherry Creek four-star tackle Jackson Roper.

Few recruits across the country have visited as many schools as Roper has over the last year, and he is one of the sharpest, most detail-oriented recruits we’ve come across in this class.

Roper has five official visits set – to Colorado, USC, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Oregon.

He’s also weighing official visits to Michigan and Texas Tech.

But a new school has emerged for Roper – UCLA, where his teammate at Cherry Creek, Gatorade State Player of the Year Jayden Fox, signed.

Roper visited Westwood last weekend and raved about the trip and now the Bruins might be the recipient of an official visit from him this spring.

And plenty of action on the defensive line

Much of the intrigue going on right now is along the defensive line – with several interior defensive linemen trimming their lists, lining up their officials, or in the case of one Power 4 commit, weighing new candidates.

Sacramento (Calif.) Grant defensive lineman Giovanni Hodge committed to Cal back in January.

His coach at Grant, Syd’Quan Thompson, played for the Bears when Tosh Lupoi was there.

But Stanford and UCLA have both offered since that commitment and Hodge told us at the Rivals Camp in San Francisco, he is definitely taking an official visit to Westwood to see UCLA.

Hodge has that visit lined up with the Bruins set for June 5-7.

But don’t sleep on Stanford – the Cardinal are getting Hodge to campus this weekend for an unofficial visit and they’re pushing to get Hodge to come back for an official visit, and he’s seriously considering it.

Chandler (Ariz.) Basha defensive lineman Anitoni Tahi has his official visit slate set, with Arizona State, Minnesota, Kansas State, Wisconsin and Penn State all lined up for a visit.

But we know that the Sun Devils, Gophers and Wildcats have all emerged as the most serious contenders for him, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Tahi trims that visit list, and even commits, well before then.

Fellow Arizonan, Goodyear (Ariz.) Desert Edge defensive lineman Yahzeen Zion, has just one visit set, for Mississippi State on June 19, but Oklahoma is also working to set up a visit with Zion and the Sooners have emerged as a very serious contender for him.

It doesn’t hurt Oklahoma that Zion’s teammate, Mikyal Davis, is already committed to them, the cornerback giving them a verbal last fall, and Zion visited Norman with Davis last month.

The West’s top uncommitted running back still open

Chandler (Ariz.) Basha running back Noah Roberts was back in Texas last weekend, after having visited the Horns earlier this month.

Roberts has also been to Michigan twice this spring.

And Oregon has continued to be a factor for him, as well as hometown Arizona State.

But this one could be battle between the Wolverines and the Longhorns, and the most recent visit to Austin has pushed the Horns even further up his list.

Roberts is still aiming to take four official visits to those four schools, but this could just be a two-horse race with Texas and Michigan.