What’s buzzing on the recruiting trail? The high school recruits now have no time to catch their breath. They are now too busy hopping from one college to another, striking off the names from their official visit list. At the moment, the college football fans are eager to know about the next stop of the 4-star EDGE, Zavion Griffin-Haynes. But why? Well, Griffin-Haynes was already program-bound. However, he had hit the U-turn by not parking his car there back in December. The wait is till July, and now FSU and Clemson dive into the race to become his next stop.

The 6-6, 220 lb star plays for Rolesville High School in Rolesville, North Carolina. He carries with him that 4-star oomph, having recorded 37 total tackles and nine tackles for loss while playing in his junior season. Griffin-Haynes’ ranking at Rolesville High School further adds to his craze as he holds the 15th rank as a rusher in the country and 10th in North Carolina.

To know about Griffin-Haynes’ next stop, four dates are important right now. No wonder, all of them are on his official visit. Clemson Tigers on May 30, Michigan Wolverines on June 6, Nebraska on June 13, and Florida State on June 20. But towards whom are things leaning at the moment? According to On3’s Chad Simmons, Mike Norvell is going to get lucky with the grand hunt.

On May 23, he tweeted his views. His analysis was based on Griffin-Haynes’ previous moves. As we all must be aware, the young chap had given his words to the North Carolina Tar Heels. But walked back on the commitment. Simmons wrote, “Zavion Griffin-Haynes was at one time committed to North Carolina, an in-state school that plays in the ACC. There is chance he stays in that conference for another program. Florida State will get the final official visit on June 20 before he commits on July 1.” At the moment, Norvell’s program holds nine verbal commitments in their 2026 class, which ranks No. 23 in the country according to 247Sports. As they are yet to add a pledge along the defensive front, the Seminoles will get the opportunity to make the last impression on Griffin-Haynes. Will the chase be an easy one?

Norvell is likely to have a close call with Dabo Swinney. That’s because the Clemson head coach is going to give his blood, sweat, and tears to the Griffin-Haynes fight. We have seen this trend with Swinney, where he is more desperate on the recruiting trail than in the transfer portal. He is more interested in fresh talent to build his roster. Surprisingly, this strategy served Swinney well over the years. Since 2008, when he took over as head coach, the Tigers have had 13 10-win seasons. Now imagine this, if Griffin-Haynes gives his words to any of the two programs, does it mean he is all locked in? His past suggests otherwise.

Zavion Griffin-Haynes calls off Bill Belichick’s pitch

Griffin-Haynes had previously committed to North Carolina. But that’s when the Tar Heels made a major decision to swap their head coaches. They fired Mack Brown. Being a native of North Carolina, Bill Belichick’s squad might provide him with the lucrative offer to stay close to his home and family. In March, Griffin-Haynes started to show momentary interest in the Tar Heels squad. He took to X, posting a picture with Belichick. Well, he played it safe without going for any caption. 

Later on, in an interview with Steve Wiltfong, he poured his heart out. “Just the change of the program. How the NFL caliber comes apart (of it) and how the program (will) grow into a championship program.” Carrying a long NFL experience, Belichick knows how to stir the pot. A little hype goes a long way. As Griifin-Haynes shared, “He told me I’m an NFL player, I gotta do what it takes to get there and coming to UNC he will make sure I’m in the right position too.”

But at the moment, there is no scope for Bill Belichick to hunt this big fish. Zavion Griffin-Haynes has struck off the Tar Heels’ name from his final four official visits list. Right now, some of the Florida State fans might be questioning the coaching staff about why they are not pursuing someone like Cam Brooks as hard, even though he’s ranked higher than Griffin-Hayes. While Clemson came knocking later, FSU’s early offer might be what tips the scale in their favor.