The college football recruiting of top prospect Harvey running back Shahn Alston has been whittled to a list of finalists — USC, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, Florida, Auburn, Nebraska and Missouri. Alston, a 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior, announced his list of finalists on X (formerly Twitter) on Nov. 22, posting “Truly Blessed To Be In This Position! Top 8.” “Playing college football is something I’ve always dreamed of,” said the son of Rahshahn and Erin Alston. “Now I get a chance and opportunity to let this news out and continue to build a relationship with those schools. It’s really exciting.” Alston’s list of finalists comes from a group of 25 college football offers that he has received over the past months. He said he plans to commit this coming spring, prior to his senior season, but added, “I’m not in a rush. When I feel ready, I’ll commit.” Harvey’s Shahn Alston (Chris Lillstrung — The News-Herald) Wherever he commits, he plans to major in project management. “I haven’t visited Florida or Auburn yet, but I have a really good relationship with them and I will see them in January,” he said of upcoming visits on his docket. “Relationships and development — a program’s plan for me — is important to me. That’s see what sets the schools (i.e. his finalists) apart.” Alston is rated as a four-star (out of five) recruit by 247Sports as the seventh-ranked running back in the nation for the Class of 2026. He is rated four stars by ESPN.com, four stars by on3.com and three stars by rivals.com. Alston finished his junior year carrying 131 times for 1,104 yards (8.4-yard average) and 16 touchdowns, while also catching 14 passes for 184 yards in only eight games. He missed the first two games of the season recovering from offseason knee surgery. “I’m looking forward to getting in a full offseason of work, really,” Alston said. “I had zero offseason last year. I came off my injury and went right into playing. I want to be the best player I can be my senior year. We are a junior-heavy team, so we’re going to have a lot of seniors next year. This is a group that can get a lot of things done.”