VALDIN SONE, TOP247 DL
Rank: No. 45 overall, No. 4 defensive lineman
Valdin Sone recruitment has been different, sometimes quiet and at other times secretive. The Dyke (Va.) Blue Ridge prospect had official visits set to
Florida (June 13-15) and
Oklahoma (June 20-22), and Blue Ridge coach
Clint Alexander told 247Sports last week that Florida, Oklahoma and
Nebraska were recruiting the Swedish import defensive lineman with the most intensity throughout the spring.
Texas is also involved and could get an official visit.
Then he showed up at
Auburn for
an official visit during the weekend, then found his way to
Georgia for an unofficial visit and a camp, which
led to an official visit begin scheduled. Georgia has been recruiting Sone as well and could make a big move with the official visit.
Entering last week,
it was Florida, a school that Sone visited often, looking like the front-runner. But the visits to Auburn and Georgia certainly add plenty of intrigue to a recruitment that looked like it had a clear direction.
— Brian Dohn
Top-50 prospect
Valdin Sone tells Dawgs247 he's on his way to Georgia for an official visit starting Sunday. That trip is expected to run through June 3, a midweek official visit to Georgia. Sone will also participate in Georgia's elite camp that takes places on Sunday and Monday. Sone is heading to Georgia directly after his official visit to Auburn.
Georgia's adding its name into an official visit slate that already includes Auburn (May 30), Florida (June 13), and Oklahoma (June 20).
Correction on this:
He came for camp today and will be in town overnight. The official visit will be in a few weeks, I’m told.
Is he going to move his Oklahoma or Florida OV or come to Uga on a midweek?
Still TBD
Sone is one of the highest-ranked defensive line prospects in the 2026 class. The 6-foot-3, 316-pound defensive lineman slots in as the No. 4 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 45 overall prospect.
"I'm a versatile d-tackle. I can be a 3-tech, nose, 4i," Sone told 247Sports earlier Sunday. "My ultimate goal is to make it to the NFL, so having that film on me playing different positions makes me more valuable. Having that film and having that record playing multiple positions on the defensive lineman."
Sone originates from Sweden, where he grew up and began his football career. The interior defensive lineman moved to the United States to attend boarding school at Blue Ridge School (Va.). He's part of the same placement program PPIRecruits that has helped many international prospects find him in American college football. That includes Class of 2024 signee on the defensive line JJ Hanne who just completed his first spring in Athens.
Sone has early-career objectives he'd like to see.
"I've gotta see the field. I wanna be a guy that come in and play and dominate. Whichever school sees that for me," he said.
Sone said he plans to make a college decision in early July. Texas and Nebraska are the two other programs — in addition to Auburn, Florida and Oklahoma — that he could take official visits to, but those haven't been planned yet.