Rivals national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman is joined by InsideNDSports.com‘s Eric Hansen, national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. and national rankings director Adam Friedman to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Notre Dame is the favorite to land top-100 WR Derek Meadows on Saturday.
Hansen: FICTION. That doesn’t mean Notre Dame won’t be able to prevail in the end, but the Irish have been playing catch-up in the latter stages of this recruitment to former Irish coach Brian Kelly and LSU.
The Notre Dame coaches were expected to get a chance to make their final pitch to Derek Meadows and his family in a Tuesday night phone call. The fact that he deferred his announcement a week, from last Saturday’s original commitment date, opened the door for Notre Dame to close strong.
Meadows might not even know himself where he’ll land until later in the week, when the family shuts down communication with his finalists.
Spiegelman: FACT. If not the favorite, Notre Dame is in the top tier of programs in position to land a commitment from the top-100 receiver. Meadows is set to choose from Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Alabama and Michigan, and ultimately, there’s an expectation that it will come down to LSU, Notre Dame and Michigan.
LSU is making a strong run late in this recruitment after getting Meadows on campus for a June 18 official visit. Michigan has maintained a steady presence at or near the top with Meadows, and no team has been recruiting the 6-foot-5, 200-pounder as long as the Irish.
Ultimately, I expect this one comes down to the Tigers or the Irish this weekend.
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2. Vernell Brown III will commit to an in-state program on Sunday.
Garcia: FACT. While Ohio State has made a strong run at Vernell Brown and obviously holds an unmatched line of production at the wide receiver position, Brown has long been a bit more focused on the programs closer to home.
The closest, Florida, has considerable familiarity and family ties behind it, and the buzz toward the Gators potentially landing his pledge on Sunday has not slowed down since he took the return official visit to campus in June. Prior to that point, Florida State may have held the most traction with Brown, affording a chance to reunite with his club 7-on-7 quarterback Tramell Jones at a more stable program.
A Buckeye — or Miami Hurricane — selection coming this weekend would present as a strong surprise for one of the top recruits in America.
Spiegelman: FACT. By numbers alone, of course the odds favor one of the in-state big three landing one of the country’s most electrifying wide receivers set to come off the board this weekend.
Ohio State certainly put its best foot forward with Brown. As did Florida State, Miami and Florida, where his father played. Brown was a priority for the staffs in Tallahassee and Coral Gables, and certainly was at the top of the pecking order for Billy Napier with the legacy recruit.
I think he’ll play somewhere in the state of Florida, with the Gators trending at the right time.
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3. Clemson is the program to beat for top-100 DE Bryce Davis entering Saturday’s decision.
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Friedman: FACT. This race has gone back and forth over the last few months but there is growing confidence that Clemson will land Bryce Davis‘ commitment. Georgia and Clemson were the early favorites for Davis and Duke got into the mix as well. The Dawgs and Tigers have really strong connections to Davis and his high school but it seems like the relationships Davis has with the Clemson coaches, current players, and their 2025 recruiting class will be enough to get his commitment.
Spiegelman: FACT. It has been an important summer of visits for four-star defensive end Bryce Davis as he navigated through four official visits — beginning with Clemson — and also made stops at Duke, North Carolina and Georgia. The Clemson visit set the bar for the top-100 defensive end and the trip back to Athens also gave Davis and his family plenty to consider.
I think this is going to come down to Clemson and Georgia in the end, and the Tigers have been trending up since the early part of the summer.
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