Around the Southeast: New contender for Cowart
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Looking ahead
A sneaky tidbit
came out this week about Byron Cowart, the nation's No. 1 player. After months of talk
about wanting to pair with fellow five-star defensive end Cece Jefferson in college,
Cowart revealed that he will take an official visit to Ole Miss,
following in the footsteps of Jefferson. The latter thoroughly enjoyed his trip
to Oxford and now it looks like Hugh Freeze and company will have a
chance to impress Cowart as well. Ole Miss commits like five-star offensive
lineman Drew Richmond, who is already committed to Ole Miss and knows
both Cowart and Jefferson from offseason events, have turned up the heat as
well, hoping to help the Rebels pull in another historic class.
are the underdog for sure; but the same can be said about several of the
prospects they landed late in 2013. Unlike that year, Ole Miss has success on
the field to sell and Freeze and his staff have shown that they can be difficult
to slow down when momentum is in their corner. -- Wommack
Monday is a big
day in the recruiting world as five-star running back Jacques Patrick
will make his college decision. Patrick has gone rather quiet when it comes to
his decision, electing to focus on his senior season rather than to talk after
his official visits. The safe money is on Florida State when it comes
to a choice, but Patrick has let it be known that he still has a few tricks up
his sleeve, tweeting recently that not even his mother knows where he's headed
just a few days out from his announcement. Patrick has taken official visits to
both Ohio State and Texas A&M and word is privately that he's
still very much considering both programs. We will have to wait to Monday night
to see if he really has a surprise in store for recruiting observers and
Seminoles fans. -- Wommack
It's unclear
why Florida is delaying what would appear to be the inevitable in
firing Will Muschamp. It's hard to believe an unstable coaching
situation would do anything but harm the Gators from a recruiting standpoint.
While it appears some of the Sunshine State's top talent including
in the process possibly all the way up to signing day, the Gators have already
seen in-state prospects spurn them despite it being long assumed they'd commit
to Florida. Ray-Ray McCloud, who committed to Clemson, George Campbell (Florida State) and -- most recently -- Tevon Coney (Notre Dame) are among those who may have chosen Florida.
It will be interesting to see how the Gators respond to an embarrassing home
Bulldogs win convincingly, if Muschamp still holds onto his job. --
Krohn
Top of mind
With the
college football season at the midway point, it's time for recruiting fans to
realize that the fun has just really started. While it seems that players are
committing earlier and earlier, it's also true that they are changing their mind
and flipping schools more frequently as well.
One of the things that usually triggers a ton of movement late in the cycle is
coaching moves. We know that more than likely at least one SEC school will have
an opening, leading to a domino effect through the conference and the region as
a whole. Assistant coaches and their relationships with recruits have become a
school's No. 1 weapon when it comes to landing commits, and when the assistant
leaves we've seen that they can take plenty of players with them.
Recent late runs by schools like Penn State, Kentucky and
Tennessee after coaching changes show just how much can change in a
short period of time. It's time for the annual reminder for fans not to count
their chickens before their hatched - or in this case signed, sealed and
delivered. -- Wommack
Will Jefferson
and Cowart join forces after all? Cowart said during the offseason the two
five-stars were no longer a package deal, but they were in Alabama last weekend
together on an official visit and, in an interview with Rivals.com, Cowart
repeatedly used the word "we" -- referring to he and Jefferson -- when talking
about potential landing spots. Cowart also said he'll visit Ole Miss -- another
school Jefferson has officially visited -- and, of course, both defensive ends
still have strong interest in Florida, despite the coaching situation.
-- Krohn
When
Georgia lost to South Carolina at the beginning of the season
there were those who thought it was the start of a down year in Athens. Then
came the Todd Gurley news and it looked even worse. But don't look now,
the 'Dawgs are not only in the hunt for a birth in the SEC title game, but
perhaps a berth in the college football playoff.
The success on the field comes on the heels of success on the recruiting trail,
which should only help galvanize an already tight group of commitments,
headlined by five-star defensive tackle Trenton Thompson. If Georgia
can land commitments from five-star defensive backs Rashad Roundtree
and Tarvarus McFadden this year's class, already ranked No. 4 in the
Rivals.com team rankings, would get even better.
Despite Georgia's success it's obvious that there's plenty of opportunities for
defensive backs to play early, something that is important to both Roundtree and
McFadden. Both are expected to commit sooner rather than later and if Georgia
keeps winning on and off the field it will be a fall to remember in Athens.
-- Wommack
In case you missed it
Brothers
Josh and Daniel Imatorbhebhe visited
Ohio State last weekend and it appears the Buckeys are well in the mix for both
prospects. Josh is a 2016 wide receiver having a monster year in Georgia, while
Daniel is a 2015 three-star tight end who is also putting up big stats. What was
interesting about the trip is that Daniel actually took an official visit to
Columbus despite having an offer. It's clear that the two want to play together
at the next level, and with Josh becoming a national-level recruit, it may open
more doors for Daniel, who already has a nice offer list of his own. As the fall
moves along the recruitment of Daniel is one to watch, especially if it leads to
Josh joining him in college in 2016. -- Wommack
Four-star
this week on an unofficial visit. The last-minute trip came just days after a
Rivals.com report that the Longhorns had turned him away when he requested to
officially visit on Oct. 4. On that weekend, Burt went to Auburn and
came away seriously considering re-opening his commitment. Burt is the
Longhorns' lone 2015 commit from the Sunshine State and holding on to him is
important if Texas truly wants to make Florida a priority. -- Krohn
Four-star
linebacker Adonis Thomas decommitted from Florida on Thursday, less
than three months after he committed to the Gators. The news comes on the heels
of the decommitment of Midwest prospect Jerome Baker, signaling another
rough week in Gainesville. Thomas has been looking around for weeks now, with
Alabama emerging as the most likely destination. With official visits set to
LSU and Florida in December, expect Thomas to remain on the open market
until the New Year rolls around. Georgia has tried to work its way in the mix
but as things stand now, the Tide are the team to beat for his services, with
LSU lurking and Florida hoping to get back in it. -- Wommack
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