Rivals Roundtable: Looking toward 2017 recruiting storylines

Rivals.com analysts look ahead toward the 2017 and 2018 recruiting classes in this week's Rivals Roundtable.

ROB CASSIDY, Southeast recruiting analyst: I think Jim Harbaugh has polarized people so aggressively that all eyes will be on him. Thing is, that's exactly what he wants. He'll have the headlines and the spotlight. What he does with that stuff when the games start will mean everything.

MIKE FARRELL, national recruiting director: I know many will answer Les Miles because he’s probably on the hottest seat around, but I think LSU will still recruit well in-state as it always does. Charlie Strong would be a possible option as well, but his close to 2016 will give him momentum and we won’t know much until the Longhorns play. I’ll say Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss, as the results of the NCAA investigation come out and we see how it affects, if at all, the Rebels' ability to recruit with the big dogs in the top 10.

ADAM FRIEDMAN, Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst: It’s always important for a first-year head coach to get off to a good start on the recruiting trail. Kirby Smart will have a lot of eyes on him at Georgia because expectations are so high. Three in-state four-star commits is a very good start but there is a long way to go to fill out this class with playmakers. Regardless of how this class shakes out, Smart’s first recruiting class, and everything he does for that matter, will be compared to Mark Richt.

ADAM GORNEY, national recruiting analyst: I'll go with Jim Harbaugh. The Michigan coach pulled out all the stops from sleepovers to climbing trees to watching Netflix with recruits. Now Harbaugh is attempting to have the first week of Michigan's spring practice at powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Will he continue the headline-grabbing recruiting tactics or will the Wolverines' season be good enough to convince more top recruits to head to Ann Arbor? Either way, it will be interesting to see how Harbaugh handles recruiting over the next year, whether he dials it up further or pulls back a little bit.

JOSH HELMHOLDT, Midwest recruiting analyst: Michigan's Jim Harbaugh commanded the recruiting spotlight throughout the 2016 class, from holding satellite summer football camps to sleeping over at recruits' homes to hosting a National Signing Day gala that featured celebrities from across the entertainment industry. Harbaugh's initiative to explore new territories and methods in recruiting does not appear to be ending any time soon, and the sporting world will certainly be watching and reacting to what he does over the next year.

WOODY WOMMACK, Southeast recruiting analyst: In my region it has to be Georgia coach Kirby Smart. Smart did a nice job of closing on the 2016 class with such a short period of time, but Georgia fans will be expecting an even bigger year in 2017. The state is loaded with talent and many of those players appear to be early leans to the Dawgs. One of the reasons Georgia grew tired of Mark Richt was because of his ability to let top talent slip out of the state and the spotlight will be on Smart to see if he can lock down the borders.

ROB CASSIDY, Southeast recruiting analyst: Stanford Samuels will be fun to watch. He had strong Florida State ties and will likely land at FSU, but Michigan should be a player until the end.

MIKE FARRELL, national recruiting director: While we’ve already had a few de-commitments in 2017, this class seems a bit more stable early on than 2016 did so it’s tough to say. I’ll be keeping an eye on Najee Harris, who is committed to Alabama but many feel he will be tempted to stay in the West. On the one hand, how do you turn down 'Bama, where a feature back either wins the Heisman or ends up drafted highly or sometimes both? But that’s a long way from home and there are some Pac-12 programs that would be a perfect fit for him. Time will tell.

ADAM FRIEDMAN, Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst: The 2017 prospect with the most name recognition already is five-star Dylan Moses. The drama surrounding him has already been pretty potent. An early commitment to LSU followed by a decommitment and now he has transferred to IMG Academy. Moses just released a list of top schools that included Texas, Alabama, Georgia, USC, and UCLA. It seems like there is a lot left to play out here.

ADAM GORNEY, national recruiting analyst: Let's start right at the top with No. 1 overall prospect Marvin Wilson. Alabama, LSU, Michigan and some Pac-12 schools are heavily pursuing the Houston (Texas) Episcopal defensive tackle as are all the in-state schools - and that's where it gets interesting. Texas A&M is going to come after Wilson hard. What if Texas has a surprisingly good season after the Longhorns just finished with the top class in the Big 12? Leaving the state cannot be easy but there can be a lot of drama with the SEC powerhouses coming after Wilson as well.

JOSH HELMHOLDT, Midwest recruiting analyst: Quarterback Tate Martell has set himself apart as being a image-conscious recruit in this 2017 class, with an Instagram account that already has more than 21,000 followers and regularly features images of himself on and off the football field. Martell is also committed to a Texas A&M program that has had significant quarterback turnover in recent months. Whether or not he sticks with the Aggies, Martell will be among the most followed and discussed recruits in this class because of his willingness to put himself out the desire he has shown to be the center of attention.

WOODY WOMMACK, Southeast recruiting analyst: I have a feeling we will be following the Dylan Moses recruitment all the way up until the very end. Moses has already been committed to LSU and re-opened his recruitment, and he recently released a top five that didn't include the Tigers. Because Moses received his first offer as a middle schooler, he's already known to recruiting fans and that will even further the intriuge as the cycle moves along.

ROB CASSIDY, Southeast recruiting analyst: Auburn commit Joey Gatewood has already been talked about and his college-ready build will allow that to continue.

MIKE FARRELL, national recruiting director: Joey Gatewood has been compared at a young age with Cam Newton and his commitment to Auburn will continue to heighten those comparisons. He regressed a little bit as a sophomore but his upside is still off the charts. It will be interesting to see how he does on the 7-on tour as well as at camps.

ADAM FRIEDMAN, Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst: The recruiting process always starts earliest for quarterbacks. Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine Richland signal caller Phil Jurkovec will light it up on the camp circuit this year. He has great size, arm strength, mobility, and his mechanics are sound. In a close second is Old Bridge, N.J. quarterback Artur Sitkowski. He’s another sophomore with good size, a very powerful arm and pretty good accuracy. Keep an eye on these two.

ADAM GORNEY, national recruiting analyst: The 2018 quarterback class in California is shaping up to be something special and maybe the best one early on is Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian's Matt Corral. The early USC pledge threw for 3,283 yards with 36 touchdowns and six interceptions as a sophomore against outstanding competition so that is especially impressive. But Corral has not done a ton of camps and doesn't play a whole lot of 7on7. As Corral gets more exposure on a national level, it could be that he becomes a top 2018 prospect overall.

JOSH HELMHOLDT, Midwest recruiting analyst: While his off-season football appearances may be limited if he plays AAU basketball, Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne athlete L'Christian Smith is likely to generate a lot of buzz even if he only appears at a couple camps this spring and summer. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound prospect is a physical phenom who could play quarterback, wide receiver or even line up on defense in college. His combination of size and athleticism is so rare that he will undoubtedly have observers transfixed at any camp he attends.

WOODY WOMMACK, Southeast recruiting analyst: Class of 2018 quarterback Trevor Lawrence already has some of the top programs in the nation lining up for him and because of his proximity to so many different programs, the battle for his services will be fun to watch. But there's also a strong possibility that Lawrence is the nation's top quarterback in 2018 and he will have several chances to stake his claim on that top spot during the spring's events.