Rivals National Recruitment Director Adam Gorney ranks the 10 biggest recent promises and another busy time in the recruiting world.
RUMOR MACHINE: Lots of buzz over the holiday weekend
TARVOS ALFORD AT OHIO STATE
Miami, Tennessee, State of Florida And UCF were also somewhat involved in Alford’s recruitment, but state of ohio has long been considered the favorite and he finally chose the Buckeyes in recent days.
This defensive class for Ohio State, especially in the secondary, is off the charts, then adding Alford and the three-star linebacker. Elie Lee It’s a good start with the Buckeyes leading the other elite linebackers in the class.
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TORY BLAYLOCK IN OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma takes a big dose of speed with the commitment of Blaylock, who had Texas A&M, Oregon, Texas and many others involved in his recruitment. His father, Derrick, played in the NFL and the four-star versatile back from Humble (Texas) Atascocita has the ability to run between the tackles, but he’s best when he gets to the outside in space and makes miss people.
Blaylock shares Atascocita’s backfield, but he’s a highly skilled player with an excellent pedigree, so Oklahoma adding more speed is music to the Sooners’ ears.
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AKYLIN DEAR TO OLE MISS
The speedy and elusive four-star running back from Quitman, Miss., has been all over the Southeast in recent months, but decided to stay home and commit to Ole Mademoiselle during the weekend. Cher should be a perfect candidate for coach Lane Kiffin‘s offense has relied heavily on the running game in recent years, which benefits both teams. Dear should take the ball to make things happen and Kiffin has another massive weapon to keep things going smoothly.
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ANDRE FULLER JR. TO GEORGIA TECHNOLOGY
Georgia Tech not going to beat Georgia or other SEC powers coming to Atlanta for some top prospects, so the Yellow Jackets need to be smart, target some under-recruited prospects, and then deliver on their commitments.
That’s exactly what happened with Loganville (Ga.) four-star defensive end Grayson as Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt were both of Fuller’s favorites, but many SEC programs will regret their decision not to offer because Fuller is truly talented and productive.
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DE’ZIE JONES IN OHIO STATE
It was an incredibly busy weekend for Ohio State, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and landing Jones was a big boost for the receiving corps — as if the Buckeyes needed any more help at this position.
Ohio State has all kinds of receivers and playmakers all over the field, as Jones should be used in the slot after averaging over 16 yards per catch. Jones is the first wide receiver in Ohio State’s class, but he certainly won’t be the last.
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JACKSON KOLLOCK IN MINNESOTA
An early commitment to Washington Didn’t work once the old coaching staff left for Alabama and Kollock didn’t feel his skills worked with the staff coming from Arizona he therefore reopened his recruitment in mid-January. Since that time, Oregon State, Minnesota, Colorado, State of Colorado and others got involved and it’s surprising that even bigger programs weren’t involved because the four-star quarterback from Laguna Beach, Calif. can play.
That’s why it was so important for Kollock to pick the Golden Gophers in recent days, as he could provide a big spark to Minnesota’s offense.
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LONDON MERRITT AT OHIO STATE
Once Merritt was able to spend an extended period of time with the position coach Larry Johnson when he visited Ohio State, the Buckeyes were going to be nearly impossible to beat in his recruitment.
That came to fruition late last week when the four-star defensive end from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., who can use his power on the edge but can also play in space, chose Ohio State rather than Alabama, U.S.C. and others.
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ANTHONY SACCA AT NOTRE DAME
THE Penn State Legacy did not have the Nittany Lions on its top roster before its decision as Alabama, Ohio State, Duke, Wisconsin And our Lady were the first. In a twist of fate, it was his father, Tony, who had a relationship with the Irish defensive coordinator. Al Golden back to Penn State who helped Sacca choose Notre Dame.
His relationship with the entire staff, the linebacker tradition in South Bend and the academics were all important to the Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s team.
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ETHAN UTLEY IN TENNESSEE
Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan And Syracuse were the top five favorites for four-star Nashville (Tenn.) defensive end Ensworth, but the Vols were always going to be tough to beat. The coaching team led by the coach Josh Heupel and coaching position Rodney Garner did a great job recruiting Utley, locked up his mom, then Utley picked the Volunteers in late March.
The four-star definitely has power and he mixes that with explosive speed to become problematic for offensive linemen.
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RILEY WORMLEY AT USC
Only a few weeks ago, Oklahoma StateOklahoma and TCU were the three programs expected to receive official visits, then Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas were three others to watch. USC wasn’t mentioned much in Wormley’s recruitment, but after the TCU coaching job Anthony Jones Jr. recently came to the Trojans,
USC started to become a major player. The three-star signed at the end of the month but the teams in his region are not shying away from Southlake (Texas) recruit Carroll.
