MORE ASK FARRELL: Does Harrison Bailey deserve a fifth star? | Should Gervon Dexter get a fifth star?
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
There have been some crazy recruiting stories over the years. That’s what makes this industry so fun and exciting.
Jimmy Clausen announced his Notre Dame commitment at the College Football Hall of Fame after stepping out of a stretch Hummer.
Matt Elam said he picked Florida after then-coach Urban Meyer told Elam he had a dream about coaching him. Shaq Thompson was supposedly interested in USC but eliminated the Trojans after he said people on social media were skeptical he actually liked the school.
Alex Collins picked Arkansas, but his mother stole the paperwork and left the school with it before coming back and letting him fax it to the Razorbacks. Bryce Brown had an interesting recruitment with some interesting characters along the way.
Landon Collins’ mother was visibly unhappy when he picked LSU over Alabama at the Under Armour Game. According to reports, DeSean Jackson was going to pick USC until he heard a news report that he was going to pick the Trojans and then he opted for Cal.
Maybe the wildest story of all time is Kevin Hart, the kid from Nevada who made up offers from Cal and Oregon and then picked the Golden Bears in what turned out to be a complete sham.
And now we have Zachary Evans, the five-star running back who has had wild changes in his recruitment, numerous rumored commitment dates and now a situation where he signed with Georgia but then asked to be released from the LOI and even did an interview at the Under Armour Game to explain the situation.
The Houston (Texas) North Shore standout is a special player, but he’s also been involved in one of the craziest and zaniest recruitments of all time. Hard to believe, but it even got more strange after he signed with the Bulldogs.
Texas A&M is now rumored to be the front-runner for Evans, but that has been the case before and until he shows up on campus there might be no telling what the five-star running back will do.
FARRELL'S TAKE
RIvals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell has been through all of these. We ask him where Evans ranks in terms of wildest recruitments and after seeing him all week at Under Armour, we ask Farrell if all the effort is even worth it?
“This answer might surprise a lot of people, but I don’t think he’s in the top 10. Signing a letter and asking to be released from it is certainly some drama, but this isn’t a kid who has committed and de-committed over and over again. Yes, he’s scheduled his apparent decision a few times, but many times it has simply leaked to the media and no formal announcement was expected.
"Evans has been linked to many teams, but I’ve seen so much in this industry over the years that I can’t be shocked that much by this one. I think he ends up at Texas A&M in the end, and it will certainly be one of the most intriguing recruitments of the 2020 class, but as far as historical drama it’s not in the top 10.”
