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The race to land the top prospects in the 2027 recruiting cycle has intensified in April of the 2026 college football offseason.
Many key prospects in the cycle announced their college commitments prior to scheduling visits for the summer. Others are still narrowing down their lists of schools to choose from and specifically visiting the remaining schools on their lists.
Among the top uncommitted prospects is four-star offensive tackle Elijah Hutcheson. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound prospect from Roanoke, Virginia, ranks as the No. 6 offensive tackle in the class, per Rivals300.
Rivals also ranks Hutcheson as the No. 2 player in Virginia and No. 91 overall prospect in the 2027 cycle.
Hutcheson has played at three different schools in his high school football career. He played for William Fleming High School in 2023, transferred to Rabun-Nacoochee School in Rabun Gap, Georgia, for the 2025 season and then transferred to North Cross School for the 2026 season. He also reclassified from the class of 2026 to the class of 2027 in 2024.
While he still has not made an official college decision, Hutcheson made an important step toward it on Tuesday. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that Hutcheson officially winnowed his list to four schools.
NEWS: Four-Star OT Elijah Hutcheson is down to 4 Schools, he tells me for @Rivals⁰⁰The 6’5 260 OT from Roanoke, VA is ranked as the No. 6 OT in the 2027 Rivals300
Where Should He Go?⁰⁰https://t.co/RMWOaftggb pic.twitter.com/yBzuWmpu38
The Tigers did not extend their offer to Hutcheson until early January, but they have been persistent in his recruitment over the last few months. Hutcheson visited Clemson for the "Elite '27 retreat" in early March.
One of the pictures Hutcheson posted is with Tigers' offensive line coach Matt Luke, who was the architect behind College Football Playoff offensive lines at both Clemson and Georgia following his stint as head coach at Ole Miss.
Clemson signed a handful of four-star offensive linemen in the 2026 cycle, but they will all play in the interior. Three-stars Braden Wilmes and Adam Guthrie were the Tigers' two 2026 offensive tackle signees in the last cycle.
The Gators offered their scholarship to Hutcheson in March of 2025, a time in which they were still coached by Billy Napier. Hutcheson unofficially visited Florida during a spring practice at the beginning of April.
Florida reeled in a trio of three-star offensive tackles in the 2026 recruiting cycle and brought in Penn State transfer Eagan Boyer in January. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein has already helped Florida make a big splash on the recruiting trail with the commitment of five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller.
Of Hutcheson's four finalists, Virginia Tech is closest to his hometown of Roanoke, Virginia. The Hokies are making a concerted effort to become more attractive to in-state prospects, part of which involved a $20 million anonymous gift to their NIL fund in the weeks after James Franklin's hiring.
Virginia Tech signed multiple offensive tackles via the transfer portal and the 2026 recruiting cycle in their roster overhaul at the end of the 2025 season. Hutcheson is expressing interest in the Hokies, visiting for a spring practice on March 5.
The Commodores are the other SEC program Hutcheson listed among his four finalists. Vanderbilt extended its offer to Hutcheson in late September of 2025, and he visited the Commodores four months later.
Vanderbilt is trying its hardest to make the good times last after Diego Pavia's departure; it made history by signing five-star quarterback Jared Curtis in the 2026 cycle. The Commodores landed a tight end who can follow Eli Stowers' footsteps in Grant Haviland as a part of the 2027 cycle.
Vanderbilt has not signed a four-star freshman offensive lineman of any kind since Sean Auwae in 2016.
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Tucker Harlin is a passionate sports fan and journalist covering college sports. His work can be found on Vols Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and The Voice of College Football Network. He graduated from the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Tennessee in 2024 and is based in Nashville.
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