It’s been a hectic few months for Eric McFarland III.
A phenom in the class of 2028 that took 29 catches for 595 yards and 11 scores as a sophomore, the IMG Academy star reclassified to the class of 2027 and is feeling the pressure from almost every blue blood college football program imaginable.
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Reclassifying comes with a whole host of hurdles for student-athletes, and McFarland III says he’s taking nine classes right now to be able to both make up the credits from his skipped junior year and be able to graduate early (as most recruits of his caliber are expected to do). All while remaining a standout track athlete for the Ascenders as well.
“I’m just trying to be the best version of me going into college,” he said.
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IMG running back Eric McFarland III (#3) follows his blocker tight end Judah Lancaster (#10) on his way to the end zone. The Venice Indians hosted the IMG Academy Ascenders National team Friday evening Sept. 3, 2025.
McFarland III is ranked as a 4-star prospect and the No. 6 receiver in the nation, according to 247Sports Composite ranking. He confirmed upcoming official visits to Texas A&M, USC, Georgia and Ohio State.
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“It’s a good relationship I’ve got with them,” he said of the Aggies. “Especially my relationship with (head coach) Elko and (offensive coordinator Holmon) Wiggins, it’s very strong. They’re being 100 percent transparent with me, keeping it real and just telling me about the plan that they have for me at A&M.”
Ohio State’s reputation as a wide receivers factory helped land an official visit with McFarland III, despite the main architect of the Buckeye passing attack (Brian Hartline) leaving for USF’s head coaching vacancy.
“It’s Receiver U,” he said. “Ohio State is going to be Ohio State. They’ve got (head coach Ryan) Day there, and Coach Day has been my guy even when Coach (Brian) Hartline was there. And now (wide receivers coach Cortex) Hankton, he was recruiting me a little bit at LSU and he’s been on me hard since he got to Ohio State. And the new OC, I’ve heard he’s good. It’s a lot good things you always hear about Ohio State, you never hear about a bad gimmick.”
McFarland III is originally from Las Vegas, and the West Coast connection with USC helped lock in an official visit.
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“I might live in Florida, but I’m from the West Coast,” he said. “So there’s that right there. But that’s been going good especially since they got (inside receivers coach Chad) Savage up there now, and he’s from Nevada. I’d say the relationship is good, especially just because they just had Makai Lemon win the Biletnikoff there, so it shows that they can do with a small-sized receiver and how powerful their offense can be.”
McFarland III also confirmed with USA TODAY that he locked in an official visit with Georgia shortly before coming out for IMG’s Pro Day.
“They just had Zech Branch, and they look at me exactly the same as Zech Branch,” he said. “So if they give him the ball so much they envision the same exact thing for me.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Eric McFarland III recruiting: IMG Academy WR reclassifies. Now what?
