Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is joined by Ryan Young of TrojanSports.com, Tyler James of InsideNDSports.com and Jeremy Birmingham of DottingTheEyes.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. USC should move away from recruiting the Southeast after numerous decommitments from the region.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Every program that has won a national championship over the last decade with the exception of Michigan last season has had a preponderance of players from the Southeast on the roster. USC has had some major heartbreak over the last few weeks with some elite players backing off their pledges but that should not dissuade coach Lincoln Riley and his staff from recruiting the region hard and not backing down. Five-star QB Julian Lewis is from Georgia and keeping him is crucial.
I do agree that working for these super early commitments – especially prior to these kids taking other visits through June – don’t seem to be helping. Maybe trying to convince them to see every place and then make a decision would work out better.
Young’s take: FICTION. What the Trojans may well want to do is stop pushing for early commitments from highly-rated Southeast prospects months before they’re going to take official visits to other programs. Those are the ones that seem to inevitably fall through (see: Justus Terry, Isaiah Gibson, Hylton Stubbs, Dominick Kelly all in the last month and a half).
But then they hit on guys like four-star defensive end Kameryn Fountain, four-star tight end Walter Matthews and three-star defensive end Lorenzo Cowan out of Georgia and four-star safety Jarvis Boatwright out of Florida last class, who committed after their visits and followed through on those pledges. Fountain in particular now looks like he’s going to make a real impact early in his career. USC needs more Kameryn Fountain’s, not less.
New defensive line coach Eric Henderson, who was responsible for those early commitments this year (that didn’t pan out), has a presence in the Southeast and is still settling in as a college coach/recruiter. He and USC will continue to recruit that region hard. The Trojans could stand to do better on the local recruiting front than they have been the last couple classes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t take their shots in the Southeast.
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2. Notre Dame is going to have to sweat out the recruitment of Deuce Knight until the end.
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Gorney’s take: FACT. Deuce Knight is still saying all the right things about Notre Dame and still is locked in a commitment to the Irish but Auburn and Ole Miss continue to be the biggest threats and there’s now some chatter that the Tigers could actually be the team to watch most. If five-star Julian Lewis sticks with USC or flips somewhere else than Auburn, watch the Tigers make an even more concerted effort to keep the Lucedale (Miss.) George County closer to home.
James’ take: FACT. Even though Knight has been an active recruiter for the Irish and a frequent visitor at Notre Dame, he still ended July with visits to Auburn and Ole Miss.
While Knight could decide to stick with his Notre Dame commitment and shut things down, there’s little evidence that other schools in the South are going to stop recruiting him. And Knight has been pretty transparent that he’s keeping lines of communication open with those schools. At this point, Notre Dame’s fighting to make sure the end of Knight’s Irish recruitment isn’t a flip somewhere else.
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3. Despite many SEC overtures, Ohio State should feel good about keeping five-star CB Na’eem Offord.
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Gorney’s take: FICTION. Ohio State could certainly keep Na’eem Offord. The Buckeyes have done a phenomenal job first landing his commitment and then keeping the five-star locked in but the Birmingham (Ala.) Parker standout walks to the beat of his own drum a little bit in recruiting and it wouldn’t shock me to see him stay closer to home. Auburn and Alabama have been the biggest threats for months and continue to be.
Ohio State could definitely keep him but I wouldn’t be shocked if Offord ended up somewhere else especially if the Crimson Tide or the Tigers get off to a great start.
Birmingham’s take: FACT. Yes it’s a challenge to recruit in SEC country — especially with a five-star prospect like Na’eem Offord — but the relationship between Ohio State and Offord is very strong and has continued to improve even as the uber-talented cornerback has maintained a somewhat open mind about his recruitment. The Buckeyes are balancing the efforts of Ryan Day, Tim Walton and the rest of the coaching staff with very solid peer-to-peer connection between Offord and fellow five-star commitment Devin Sanchez and that duo is eager to line up together in Columbus.
There’s nothing promised in college football but the Buckeyes aren’t expanding their target list at cornerback and if they had any real concern about Offord’s decision that would be a telltale sign.
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