ACC Blitz: Canes closing fast
New Miami coach Al Golden has been working hard and closing fast, securing four big commitments in the last 10 days.
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Check out the breakdown of recruiting in the ACC as National Signing Day nears in a special edition of the ACC Blitz.
href=#gatech>Georgia Tech | Maryland
Clemson still has some huge names on the hook and these next few days will go a long way in determining whether they finish with a top 10 class or fall out of the top 10 and get leapfrogged by teams like Ohio State and others. The Tigers hosted the nation's No. 1 player, Jadeveon Clowney, this weekend but most still feel that he's a longshot for the Tigers. However, Clemson is battling for five-star linebackers Tony Steward (with FSU) and Stephone Anthony (with Virginia Tech), for four-star defensive tackle Phillip Dukes (with South Carolina) and for three-star offensive lineman Spencer Region (with Auburn) and three-star tight end Jerell Adams (with South Carolina). Getting one of the two five-star linebackers and Region would make most fans happy and anything else would be a nice bonus. As of late Sunday night, Clemson had added momentum for Anthony according to sources and were pretty much a lock for Region while the others were still toss ups.
The Blue Devils are still holding out hope that they will be able to land a tight end between now and Signing Day. The two guys still on their radar are Cameron Clear and David Reeves. Clear had a good trip to Alabama recently and the Tide has been pushing hard for him. He likes Alabama's offense and how he would fit in. Clear feels comfortable with the coaches at Tennessee and Duke. The Blue Devils have academics and playing time working in their favor. Reeves still likes Duke and South Florida, but he also appears to be hoping for a late offer from Auburn. The Blue Devils are able to breathe a sigh of relief as well. Word is defensive end Kyler Brown, a current Blue Devil commit, turned down a late offer from North Carolina.
Florida State pulled a bit of a stunner when the coaches turned New Jersey offensive lineman Josue Matias from Rutgers over the weekend. Matias, a four-star offensive tackle, could be a key in pushing the 'Noles towards the No. 1 overall rankings. Confidence is high in Tallahassee regarding Timmy Jernigan as the defensive tackle never mentioned Florida as a finalist and said his decision would come down to FSU, LSU and Tennessee and things seem to be trending well with five-star linebacker Tony Steward as well following an in-home with Jimbo Fisher on Friday. Jermauria Rasco is thought to be leaning towards LSU with FSU running second and everyone still expects Aundrey Walker to end up at Ohio State.
Five-star defensive end Stephon Tuitt has flipped back and forth between Georgia Tech and Notre Dame. The Yellow Jackets would love nothing more than for Tuitt to have one more change of heart and rumors persist that a potential flip could still happen. However, as of right now, Tuitt is headed to Notre Dame but the Irish will be sweating out that letter on Wednesday. Tech lost defensive end Trey Flowers to Arkansas over the weekend and that was another blow, though he wasn't one of the Jackets' top recruits. The top remaining uncommitted prospect on the board for Tech is defensive tackle Darian Cooper. Tech, Iowa and Michigan State have been players here for a while and now Michigan and new head coach Brady Hoke are making a late push. The Jackets like their chances but sources feel that it will come down to Iowa and Michigan State.
There aren't many prospects still on the board for Maryland. Instead, most of the Terps' attention will be dedicated to holding onto Jeremiah Hendy. The three-star athlete visited Virginia recently but there seems to be a consensus emerging that Maryland and Iowa have the upper hand. Hendy's friend, Jordan Lomax, recently parted ways with Virginia, and he could end up at Iowa with another one of Hendy's friends, Nicholas Law. That's what the Hawkeyes have working for them. Maryland is an attractive option because Hendy likes the new coaching staff Randy Edsall is putting together and he wouldn't have to be far from home. Maryland tight end commit Ryan Malleck recently flipped to Virginia Tech and that was a big loss. In turn, Maryland hoped they could flip North Carolina linebacker commit Travis Hughes, but that doesn't appear very likely now. Hughes' brother is a defensive back at Maryland and he had some addition questions regarding UNC's potential sanctions but those were once again answered by the Tar Heels staff.
Al Golden has been working hard and closing fast, securing four big commitments in the last 10 days, the latest coming from defensive end Bryant Dubose who chose the 'Canes over Louisville and others. The most important of the official visitors this past weekend was quarterback Jacoby Brissett who is expected to announce his decision on Monday between Wisconsin and Miami according to most. Brissett took his official on his own this weekend to Miami and the decision is pretty much his. Miami is trying to make up a lot of ground as the Wisconsin football and basketball staff has been recruiting him the longest. Arkansas commitment Chris Barnett, one of the top tight ends in the country, is expected to wait until after Signing Day to decide but Miami is apparently off his list now following his official visit to Michigan this weekend. He is down to the Hawgs and Wolverines.
The Tar Heels lost two recruiting battles to Rutgers last week as Savon Huggins and Max Issaka both chose the Scarlet Knights. North Carolina is now in a bind at defensive end as they have missed on just about all of their targets at the position this year. If the Heels can hold onto Travis Hughes, which appears very likely after Hughes visit this weekend, they will have done pretty well at linebacker, but the coaching staff would love to add Curtis Grant. Sources are saying North Carolina feels better about their chances than many might realize, and they're hoping they can pull a surprise on Wednesday over Ohio State. However, UNC is a confident staff and the Buckeyes have long been the favorite for Grant so time will tell. Keeon Virgile is another option at linebacker. There might be room for cornerback Samuel Smiley, because Tevin Westbrook will probably be out of play if he picks up an offer from Florida. With the Heels missing on Huggins it's not clear they will settle for a running back that was lower on their board. Sources are also saying UNC is on the outside looking in with Stephone Anthony and Phillip Dukes despite visits this weekend.
Georgia defensive tackle Ty McGill visited NC State over the weekend and decided to commit to the Pack. That's especially important because Chris Jones, a defensive tackle committed to NC State, visited Illinois over the weekend. The Wolfpack also hosted defensive back Tyrrell Burriss and linebacker Michael Peek over the weekend. Going into those visits neither had offers from NC State but there could be some movement with both of those recruits now that Signing Day is almost here. Defensive tackle Tre Jackson, recently committed to Georgia Tech, opted to visit Florida State rather than NC State this weekend. Reports are the Seminoles will not have an offer for him, so the Pack could be an attractive choice.
The Cavaliers still have an opportunity to close very strong but it's tough to tell what's going to happen. Rumors are conflicting and seem to change on an almost daily basis. Jeremiah Hendy once seemed to be a UVa lean, though he is a soft Maryland verbal, but now it seems Maryland and Iowa will be tough to beat. Darius Jennings will choose either UVa, Wake Forest or Ohio State. Each of those schools have things working in their favor but many believe the decision will ultimately come down to Virginia and Wake Forest. Before the weekend four-star athlete Dominique Terrell was a solid UVa lean with West Virginia on the outside looking in. He visited Miami over the weekend and reportedly had a great time. Finally, the most important recruit remaining for Virginia is linebacker Curtis Grant, the nation's No. 2 recruit. When push comes to shove the decision could very well come down to Ohio State and Virginia although confidence is high at UNC regarding his recent visit.
The Hokies still have a few prospects left on the board led by five-star linebacker Stephone Anthony who visited North Carolina this past weekend. However, the biggest threat appears to be Clemson and Anthony has been ducking calls so we might not hear anything until Wednesday when he announces. Confidence is high at Tech in regards to wide receiver Robert Lockhart following his official visit this weekend. He is down to the Hokies, Nebraska and Kansas State. Tech is also battling for Florida defensive end Wedley Estime (with Minnesota) and Tennessee tight end Conor McDermott (with UCLA). There is also the possibility of a greyshirt offer going out to someone else as well.
On Sunday, Wake Forest learned that prized quarterback recruit Kevin Sousa will be staying on board. That's huge news because the coaches love his ability. We will also soon learn what three-star athlete Joshua Grady plans on doing. Many believe Vanderbilt is in a good position but Wake Forest is still in a solid spot. Grady visited Vanderbilt over the weekend and is saying the Commodores, in addition to Wake, USF and Iowa State, are in play. Darius Jennings is the most highly touted recruit remaining on Wake Forest's board. No one has a good read on what he's going to do. Wake, Virginia and Ohio State are the three possibilities. Jennings likes all three and both Wake and UVa would love to have him. It's not clear whether the Buckeyes have room. Recent kicker commit Mauro Bondi visited Nebraska over the weekend and flipped to the Cornhuskers.
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