Five-star OT Immanuel Iheanacho getting ready for more visits
Five-star Immanuel Iheanacho, the No. 2 offensive tackle in the 2026 class, details the latest developments with his recruitment.
ORLANDO, Fla. — There are visits that five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho wants to make this month and then in the early spring, but getting the dates and locales figured out is a work in progress. The 2026 standout from Bethesda (Md.) Georgetown Prep will be at Texas A&M Saturday, and he wants to visit Oklahoma.
Florida and Miami are also pushing for visits and while Oregon, Georgia, Penn State and Maryland entrenched themselves as long-term options for Iheanacho.
"I visited nine schools in my top 16," the 6-foot-6 1/2, 345-pound Iheanacho said. "I want to get to more of them before I trim my list."
Iheanacho has Oregon as his top school followed by Georgia, but he said his recruitment was in its early stages and there was plenty of times for shifts in his order.
The Aggies get a shot this weekend.
"I've been wanting to go to Texas A&M," he said. "It's always been a matter of time with school. This is right after break, so I don't have too much schoolwork to catch up on. I'll be able to get out to a lot of schools I haven't been there."
Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh's ability to develop has Iheanacho's attention.
"It's piqued my interest," said Iheanacho, who is the No. 2 offensive tackle and No. 5 player in the class. "Coach Bedenbaugh is a great guy. I want to get out there first and see how I really feel about them."
Maryland is making a move with Iheanacho, who said the commitment of classmate and fellow local five-star Zion Elee caught his attention.
Elee committed to the Terps Dec. 7, and Iheanacho visited campus again shortly after that.
"For me, after Zion committed, being 100% honest, I always had my top schools and Maryland was there," he said. "I could never take away the home feeling. The ability to bring a championship home has always been on my mind. Maryland has always been in my heart.
"They've always been a big consideration, and I feel like if we were able to keep the big pieces home, everyone wants to go to Penn State and all these other schools, and that's their right, but being able to keep guys home, it would be crazy.
"They got (quarterback) Malik Washington and had a good '25 class. One of the better classes in recent years."
Iheanacho held Penn State in high regard for a while. His relationship with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein and the development of offensive linemen are the main reasons for it.
"Coach Trautwein is great," Iheanacho said. "I like going there. I like how they are not too flashy. I like how at Oregon they have the gear, but I like how at Penn State they have the basic blues and all that good stuff. I really enjoy their playing style, and how they have the wider splits on certain plays. It's the smaller things at Penn State.
"It's in the middle of virtually nowhere, so there are not too many things to throw me off track or for me to get distracted. I appreciate that. Everything in that area is Penn State. All the fans love it."
Oregon is a strong contender for Iheanacho as well.
"I love talking to coach (Dan) Lanning," he said. "I love talking to (offensive line) coach (A'lique) Terry. Just being able to send him certain things, like my film from practice, and he is able to critique it. There was one play I had during a scrimmage, and it was called a holding and I didn't think it was a holding, so I sent it to him. I didn't see how it could be a holding. Then he told me it was a holding, but he told me how I could do better.
"I torqued a guy — every coach tells you to torque him — and if the player is going the other way, they are going to call a hold. I learned and my technique has gotten better through that."
Georgia is making a big push for him.
"I talk to coach (Kirby) Smart, (offensive line) coach (Stacy) Searles. He produces NFL guys and Georgia just won the SEC championship. They play an old-fashioned way. They are physical. I visited there and I liked the campus."
Meanwhile, the way the Gators finished the season and how it finished with the 10-rated class in the nation has Iheanacho looking at them.
"They started winning bigger games and they're always just right there about to win games. Like Georgia, if (quarterback DJ Lagway was healthy it's probably different, to be honest. They started to win games and then they started flipping guys, and now their '25 and '26 team looks nice. Their '25 class is great. The O-line play has been pretty good."
