Breaking down Lebbeus Overton's top five
The drama and excitement of Wednesday’s National Signing Day wasn’t limited to the 2022 recruiting class. As the signed national letters of intent came to a crawl late in the day, 2023 five-star defensive end Lebbeus Overton made a shocking announcement that he was reclassifying to the class of 2022.
Following up the news, he announced his top five Thursday morning, which are detailed below.
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MORE NSD: Texas A&M wins 2022 recruiting title | The Gorney Awards | Recruiter of the Year | Winners and losers
ONE-ON-ONE COACH INTERVIEWS: Oklahoma's Brent Venables | Rutgers' Greg Schiano | Clemson's Dabo Swinney | Vanderbilt's Clark Lea | Illinois' Bret Bielema | West Virginia's Neal Brown | Virginia's Tony Elliott | Indiana's Tom Allen | Utah's Kyle Whittingham | South Carolina's Shane Beamer | Arizona's Jedd Fisch | Stanford's David Shaw | Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman | Florida State's Mike Norvell | Michigan State's Mel Tucker | Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz
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Georgia
If the NCAA-allotted 25 scholarship signees were in play, the Bulldogs, like the Aggies, are over the line with 29 in the 2022 recruiting class, but room will be made. Being an in-state prospect, Georgia seems like a strong fit for Overton. The Bulldogs have been recruiting him since fall 2019 when they dropped one of his first offers. Overton knows head coach Kirby Smart and staff well.
If early playing time is a serious consideration, ending up in Athens may not happen. UGA signed three defensive tackles and four defensive ends, two five-stars and a four-star.
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Ohio State
There was a switch at the top of the Buckeyes' defensive staff with coordinator Kerry Coombs leaving for a role on Cincinnati’s staff and the hiring of Oklahoma State DC Jim Knowles to replace him. An important consistency is defensive line coach Larry Johnson remains.
The Buckeyes recruited the end position very well landing four-stars Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry and Omari Arbor. Add a five-star to the mix, and it just got even better.
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Oklahoma
While with Clemson, then defensive coordinator Brent Venables presented Overton an offer in June. Overton experienced a game-day with Clemson in early September and later that month headed to Norman. The familiarity with both Venables and Oklahoma’s campus should make the Sooners a serious contender.
OU had a strong 2022 showing at end with four-star Gracen Halton and three-stars Kevonte Henry and R Mason Thomas.
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Oregon
From the outside, Oregon being in the mix doesn’t make much sense; as the Ducks dropped their offer the day of his announcement. The tie that binds is Dan Lanning. Lanning was the Bulldogs' outside linebackers coach and moved to a co-DC role with Glenn Schumann (2019-21).
Defensive line coach Tony Tuioti and coordinator Tosh Lupoi will have to make quick work with Overton to bridge the relationship gap other coaches in the top five have.
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Texas A&M
Busting at the seams with five five-stars and 20 four-stars in the 2022 recruiting haul, opposing SEC teams may be secretly waving a white flag. The thought of adding another elite prospect to the mix pushing the class to 30 commits seems far-fetched but is highly likely. Overton has made multiple trips to College Station, spending time with coach Jimbo Fisher and Co.
Like other teams, A&M has switched stuff up on the staff, seeing Mike Elko take the head coaching position at Duke welcoming DJ Durkin to the coordinator role, a position held with Ole Miss (2020-21). The sticking point could be beloved defensive line coach Terry Price. Price is a mainstay regardless of the coach, entering his 11th season with A&M.