Academics will be the biggest factor in Marvin Nguetsop’s college decision.
That was the headline takeaway from a recent conversation the top-rated defensive lineman had with 247Sports’ Brian Dohn, and it is shaping everything about how he approaches the next few months.
Nguetsop has already sorted through a busy spring of visits and trimmed his list to a group of five. He has official visits set for Tennessee, Michigan State, Michigan, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
Had a good visit at ole miss can’t wait to be back!!! pic.twitter.com/FhJYsvxY8s
— Marvin Nguetsop 4⭐️ (@Marvin_Nguetsop) March 20, 2026
But before he makes any final call, he wants his family to see everything for themselves. They will join him on each of those officials, and their priorities are clear.
“Academics, for sure, will be big,” Nguetsop told Dohn. “They want to make sure I am majoring in something important and not (garbage) and I am going to graduate. I am thinking about international business but I am not sure yet.”
That focus is why having his parents on campus matters so much to him. They have heard about college football, NIL and the size of the sport in the United States, but they have never experienced it. The official visits will be their introduction.
“My family is definitely going to come over,” he said. “It’s definitely really important for me because I want to show them how college football is in the states here. They never saw it. They know all the things and you can make money nowadays and that it is big but they don’t really know how it is over here. It’s going to be great to just show them where I am going to be living and what I am doing, and how big college football is in the States.”
Nguetsop has his schedule set. Tennessee will host him May 22-24, followed by Michigan State on May 29-31, Michigan on June 5-7, Kentucky on June 12-14 and Ole Miss on June 19-21. He also visited Rutgers on Friday and said he is considering a return trip.
As for why these five made the cut, Nguetsop pointed to relationships and development. Ole Miss was the first program to recruit him after he arrived in the United States, and that early investment stuck with him.
6’7 275lb Edge @Marvin_Nguetsop he has 1st round upside! @PPIRecruits pic.twitter.com/tsQ0E7Bhsz
— Brandon Collier (@BCollierPPI) March 26, 2026
“Ole Miss was the first school to recruit me when I came over,” he said. “It’s a great powerhouse, SEC school. I really like how they try to develop their d-lineman. I just think it could be a really good school for me.”
The SEC and Big Ten make up his entire top group, and he said that is intentional.
“All of those schools have a very high interest in me,” he said. “It’s going to be between the SEC and the Big Ten. I want to play in one of those.”
Nguetsop plans to announce his decision around the Fourth of July. Between now and then, academics will lead the way, and his family’s impressions on those official visits may end up being the final piece that decides where he plays his college football.
