Ask Farrell: Where will final three available 5-stars sign?
The early signing period is when almost all the action happens, but there are still a few five-star prospects who have not finalized their decisions and the next few weeks could be interesting.
Out of 34 five-stars, only three have not signed, but they are some of the most-interesting prospects in this class and their recruitments could go a lot of different ways before the second signing period in early February.
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There is no crazier recruitment in the last few years than that of five-star running back Zachary Evans, who signed with Georgia in the early signing period but then begged to get out of it and the Bulldogs have granted his release. Word is he could still visit Athens before signing day.
It was believed that meant Texas A&M had then emerged as the outright favorite for him, but now there are rumors that the Aggies could be slipping as Tennessee and Ole Miss become players in his recruitment. The destination of Evans is never solidified, but it’s believed he will visit Knoxville this weekend.
Broderick Jones has been committed to Georgia since April 2018, but his recruitment really heated up in recent weeks with Sam Pittman leaving for the Arkansas job. Auburn continues to push for the five-star offensive tackle and new No. 1 at the position and the Tigers remain a serious contender.
There seem to be others now as well. Jones recently visited with the Razorbacks and Pittman was undoubtedly pulling out all the stops to flip the five-star and he has also taken an official visit to Illinois, where he has some close connections on that coaching staff. Georgia remains in a strong position as well because of location, history and Jones has been committed for so long as he develops a new bond with offensive line coach Matt Luke.
The third unsigned prospect might have the least storylines going. Five-star defensive end Jordan Burch, who has dodged the recruiting process throughout this cycle, decided not to sign during the early signing period when he committed to South Carolina over LSU, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and others. He said it was so he could sign with teammates in February. Those powerhouses have not given up but there are no serious indications the Gamecocks won’t land his signature.
FARRELL'S TAKE
With a few five-stars still not wrapped up, we ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell to make predictions on the college choice of these three - if that’s even possible - with just a couple weeks remaining until Evans, Jones and Burch have to finalize their decisions.
“Okay here it goes — Evans will end up at Georgia, Jones will also end up at Georgia and Burch will end up at South Carolina.
"The only one I feel confident about is Burch. Why? Because the other two seem to be downright unpredictable. Evans has been a lean to Georgia, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia again, Texas A&M again and now no one knows. So UGA is just a guess because it’s the perfect way for this wacky recruitment to end right? After the whole LOI incident?
"As for Jones, he’s committed to UGA but didn’t sign and then was a lean to Auburn. Now Arkansas and Illinois are in the mix as well but I’ll go back to his early favorite and pick the Bulldogs here.
"And Burch chose South Carolina and nothing has shown me he has come close to changing his mind. Thank goodness one of them appears to be predictable, right?”