Arguably the top junior football recruit in the country will instead enroll in college this summer
J.T. Daniels, Quinn Ewers and now Lebbeus Overton.
The Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton defensive end, who has already played four years of varsity football, will reclassify from the 2023 recruiting class to that of 2022. Milton, who announced the move on CBS Sports HQ, jumps from being a junior to a senior with plans to enroll at his college of choice this year.
"I would like to announce that I will forgo my senior year," Overton said. "I'll be graduating in May.
I started to play high school in eighth grade and I already have the high school experience."
Through the last few years some of the top juniors in high school football have found ways to accelerate the back-end of the prep process in order to get to college football that much sooner. The two quarterbacks had very different experiences after skipping their senior seasons, with Daniels starting as a true freshman at USC while Ewers hit the transfer portal in 2021 before a move back home to play for Texas.
Overton, whose father Milton is currently serving as the athletic director at Kennesaw State, has long held academics in high order. It was recently revealed to his camp, per sources, that the possibility of skipping the majority of the senior calendar. He becomes the second coveted defender to reclassify in the cycle, following Sonny Styles, who signed with Ohio State in December.
Being arguably the top 2023 recruit prior to this week, Overton has his fair share of scholarship offers on the table and he has evaluated select programs with recent unofficial visits as well. More than two dozen programs have seen enough from the 6'5", 260-pound prospect to extend an offer his way. In addition to the reclassification, Overton announced a top five of Georgia, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Oregon,
Texas A&M has been seen as a surging program in his recruitment for some time and it was his last visit before the current NCAA dead period kicked in. There, he got one-on-one time with Jimbo Fisher as a priority recruit, even ahead of National Signing Day for the 2022 class set for Wednesday. The in-state Georgia Bulldogs should of course be considered a contender here, along with Oklahoma given the family ties to Norman.
In addition to where he may end up, the buzz around when Overton could make a decision will of course make an impact on the destination. The NCAA allows for spring official visits to FBS programs following the dead period that spans the entire month of February. Overton could theoretically take all five allotted official visits from college's spring practice window to the open period through the month of June.
Ohio State's J.T. Tuimoloau did similar last year after electing not to sign during the December or February window. Like the Washington native, Overton has enough offers and enough priority through various coaching staffs to take his time with the end of the process. Expect the battle to be hotly contested between the likes of the SEC, Oklahoma and potentially JSU, among others.
On the field, Overton is coveted because of his athleticism, premium position standing as an edge rusher along with his acumen, not to mention the production. Beginning with a run on varsity as an eighth grader in 2018, the new senior registered more than 100 tackles for loss and 50 sacks while pursuing top skill position prospects in the greater Atlanta area.