The safety position is often chock-full of talent and that\u2019s no different in the 2026 cycle.<\/p>\n
Of the top 100 prospects in the nation \u2014 according to the\u00a0Rivals Industry Ranking<\/a><\/strong>, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies \u2014 there\u2019s a whopping 11 safeties. That includes a trio of five-stars.<\/p>\n Drama was rather minimal in a majority of the top safeties\u2019 recruitments, but there were some flips. Bralan Womack<\/a><\/strong> flipped to Mississippi State from Auburn just ahead of National Signing Day earlier this month. Oregon snatched up Devin Jackson<\/a><\/strong>, who chose Florida the first time around.<\/p>\n Below is a look at the top safety prospects in the 2026 cycle and where they\u2019re headed to play their college football next season:<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> St. Frances Academy<\/a><\/strong> (Md.) Scout\u2019s Take:<\/strong> Scout\u2019s Take<\/strong>: \u201cWe feel like Jireh Edwards is really one of the more\u00a0high-floor, ready-made prospects at safety in this cycle. He is hyper-physical, and really showed out\u00a0against top competition playing one of the toughest schedules in the country at St. Frances. And\u00a0he\u2019s just kind of a grown man. He\u2019s older for the cycle and is already pretty physically mature.\u00a0So there are questions as to the ultimate long-term upside.\u00a0But in terms of a safety who could come in and earn significant snaps\u00a0as a freshman, he\u2019s one of the guys in this cycle who could do that.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> Bishop Gorman<\/a><\/strong> (Nev.) About<\/strong>: The nephew of the late great\u00a0Kobe Bryant<\/strong>, Washington was trending toward Oregon for some time before he came off the board on June 19. The likes of Alabama and USC were also heavily in the mix for the 6-foot-4.5, 200-pounder, but no program pushed for the five-star quite like Dan Lanning and the Ducks. He\u2019s one of five five-stars signed with the Big Ten program to date.<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> La Salle College<\/a><\/strong> (Pa.) Scouting Summary:<\/strong> \u201cTall safety with elite instincts and ball skills. Measured at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds with 32.5-inch arms and 9.75-inch hands at Rivals Five-Star before his senior season. A two-way star at the high school level, showing his playmaking ability as a safety and wide receiver. One of the more dominant players we\u2019ve seen on the 7-on-7 circuit over the years. Has elite coverage instincts. Seems to see routes before they develop. Jumps passes and comes down with remarkable interceptions. An absolute menace when defending intermediate routes over the middle of the field. Has sticky hands, making him a walking turnover. Smart player who understands how defenses work. Showing encouraging physicality as a senior. Doubles as a good high school basketball player. Lacks recent verified speed, but showed good play speed in man coverage against top wide receivers on the camp circuit. Will benefit from time in a college strength program, as he will need to add mass and strength. Playmaking ability and instincts make him one of the top safeties in a deep cycle at the position.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> Hartfield Academy<\/a><\/strong> (Miss.) Scouting Summary:<\/strong> \u201cThree-dimensional safety prospect that excels in run support, man coverage and zone coverage that possesses quality movement skills and physicality. Verified 6-foot, 190 pounds with average length. Strong testing in the spring camp setting, especially in the explosive in fluidity metrics. Has personal bests in the 100m at 11.03 and the 200m at 22.78. Instinctive playmaker that triggers so well to the football, appears to be one step ahead of every player on the field. Rangy defender that covers every balde of grass from sideline to sideline. Physical and willing tackler around the line of scrimmage. One of the most productive defensive backs in the country as a junior intercepting eight passes on defense and securing 54 catches for over 1,000 yards as a receiver on the offensive side of the ball. Versatility makes his defined role at the next level a potential question mark. Fits a lot of different positions at the next level but believe his best fit is as a nickel or strong safety due to his fluidity and physicality.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> The First Academy<\/a><\/strong> (Fla.) Scout\u2019s Take:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cDevin Jackson is carrying over his dominant offseason into his senior season. He has been a playmaker early on in his final high school campaign. He\u2019s already collected two interceptions in four games and continues to prove his impressive tackling ability around the line of scrimmage. Whether it\u2019s man or zone coverage, he is able to make plays on the football and turn completions into pass breakups. Jackson has the size, speed and cover skills to be a true three-dimensional safety prospect at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> Oakland<\/a><\/strong> (Tenn.) Wyatt on UT:<\/strong> \u201cTennessee made me feel like a top guy from the beginning,\u201d he told Rivals\u2019 Chad Simmons<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cCoach Heupel, Coach Chop (Levorn Harbin<\/a><\/strong>) and a lot of the coaches recruited me hard and showed me I was a top guy for them. That always meant a lot to me. They made me feel wanted and that never changed.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> Baton Rouge Catholic<\/a><\/strong> (La.) Bradford on OSU:<\/strong> \u201cI just felt it,\u201d\u00a0Bradford told Rivals\u2019 Steve Wiltfong<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cYou get that gut feeling. I prayed about it. It\u2019s something you never felt before. When you get that feeling you got to take it \u2026 I think I\u2019m shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> Winter Park<\/a><\/strong> (Fla.) About:<\/strong> Notre Dame<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0picked up a commitment from Pouncey in April as the Sunshine State recruit chose the Irish over Michigan, LSU, Miami and Florida. He visited South Bend ahead of making his decision and recently returned to campus this fall. Pouncey, O\u2019Brien, cornerback Khary Adams and CB Chaston Smith create one of the top DB hauls in the 2026 cycle.<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> South Pointe<\/a><\/strong> (S.C.) Currence on SC:<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re super close to competing for championships,\u201d Currence said. \u201cWe\u2019re a few big plays away. We just need to close out more games and we\u2019ll be where we need to be. Coach Beamer\u2019s confidence hasn\u2019t wavered, even though the season didn\u2019t go how we wanted. I\u2019m excited for this class. We\u2019re ready to work and do whatever it takes to make South Carolina a top team in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n School:<\/strong> Houston County<\/a><\/strong> (Ga.) About: <\/strong>Smith checks in as one of the country\u2019s best safety prospects. As a junior, he totaled 85 total tackles, three TFLs, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He garnered more than two dozens offers, but ultimately chose to stay home and play for the home state\u00a0Georgia Bulldogs<\/a>\u00a0in May. He then put together another impressive season as a senior this fall.<\/p>\n Other top signed safeties in the 2026 class<\/p>\n 11. Kentavion Anderson<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Clemson 16. Simeon Caldwell<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Ohio State 21. Aiden Hall<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 LSU
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 21 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 22 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 31 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 35 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 68 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 73 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 75 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 76 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 88 NATL.<\/p>\n
Rivals Industry Ranking:<\/strong> No. 89 NATL.<\/p>\n
12. Jakob Weatherspoon<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 North Carolina
13. James Dunnigan Jr<\/a><\/strong>. \u2014 Miami
14. Gavin Day<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Washington
15. Dylan Purter<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Florida<\/p>\n
17. Matt Sieg<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 West Virginia
18. Zech Fort<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Georgia
19. Tylan Wilson<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Texas A&M
20. Tyriq Green<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Georgia<\/p>\n
22. Craig Tutt<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Ole Miss
23. Andre Clarke<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Michigan
24. Chance Collins<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Texas A&M
25. Kaiden Hall<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 Florida<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The safety position is often chock-full of talent and that\u2019s no different in the 2026 cycle. Of the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":446941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[205648,1318,205649,205650,2922,205651,30298,1317,1315,1316,16635,1448,62,202851,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-446940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-bishop-gorman-gaels-las-vegas","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jett-washington-26-bishop-gorman","11":"tag-jireh-edwards-26-st-frances-academy","12":"tag-joey-obrien-26-la-salle-college","13":"tag-la-salle-college-explorers-wyndmoor","14":"tag-md","15":"tag-ncaa","16":"tag-ncaa-football","17":"tag-ncaafootball","18":"tag-nv","19":"tag-pa","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-st-frances-academy-panthers-baltimore","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115719230177061265","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}