Domino Effect: What Grant Gunnell's pledge means for others

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

RELATED: Who is the top quarterback in the 2019 class?

Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of physics states that for every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction. And while Newton wasn’t known for his love of football recruiting, his principals can easily be applied to reaction a major commit can have on the recruiting landscape.

Late last week Rivals100 quarterback Grant Gunnell committed to Arizona, reuniting him with head coach Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, the same duo he committed to when they were at Texas A&M. Gunnell’s commitment made headlines in Pac-12 country, but with Gunnell being one of the last highly-ranked quarterbacks to make a commitment, programs across the country could feel the reverberations of his decision in the weeks and months to come. Today we examine the programs that could be impacted by his decision.

The Buckeyes were mentioned with Gunnell quite a bit over the last year and after an April visit to campus, it seemed like Ohio State might be the team to beat. Despite the heavy flirtation between the two sides, Ohio State has continued to examine other options at the position and as it turns out, for good reason. With Gunnell now officially off the market, the Buckeyes might be in full-on poach mode in an effort to steal away a quarterback from a Big Ten rival. The two prospects that have been mentioned most are Wisconsin commit Graham Mertz and Michigan State commit Dwan Mathis. Over the past few months Mathis hasn’t been shy about taking visits, but he also hasn’t given any indication that he’s planning on jumping ship on the in-state Spartans. Mertz has seen his stock rise and is believed to be the Buckeye’s No. 1 target at the position, even if he still committed. Should the Buckeyes strike out on those two options they could extend offers to prospects like Brian Maurer or Connor Bazelak.

The Tigers have been in pursuit of Gunnell for nearly two years and at one point around the beginning of the year, seemed to be in the driver’s seat to eventually land his commitment. But the longer things played out the less likely it was that Gunnell was going to end up in Baton Rouge, with his relationship with Mazzone too much for the Tigers to overcome. After not taking a quarterback in the Class of 2018, LSU no finds itself in the unenviable position of trying to find a quarterback when it’s not exactly a banner year at the position and most of the quality prospects are already committed. The Tigers are in pursuit of uncommitted quarterbacks Michael Johnson, Jr. and David Baldwin and have also shown interest in Louisiana native and current Kansas commit Lance Legendre.

Missing out on Gunnell hurts for the Bears, not only because they had made nice progress with him over the past few months, but now they must face him in their own conference. But the writing was on the wall and the school had already moved onto other targets. Rivals250 prospect Jayden Daniels visited Cal during the spring and still has the Bears in the mix, but it appears as if UCLA is the team to beat. The most realistic target at this time could be three-star Arizona native Spencer Brasch. The 6-foot-4 prospect has had some momentum on the recruiting trail in terms of offers and has forged a fast bond with the Cal coaches.

The Jayhawks have done a nice job recruiting the state of Louisiana in recent years and landing a commitment from Legendre surprised many, especially considering his extensive offer list. But much like last year the school will have to fight to hang on to highly-ranked Louisiana talent and with LSU missing on Gunnell the focus could shift to Legendre. Kansas fans have heard this story before but considering they were able to land a pair of Rivals250 prospects out of The Boot in the class of 2018, they have reason for optimism. The Jayhawks have offered just five prospects in the class and should something happen with Legendre they could move on to uncommitted prospects Chris Herron and TQ Newsome.

Badgers fans are already nervous about the status of Mertz, the longtime commit who is now atop Ohio State’s board at the position. With Gunnell off the market, it’s just another sign that Wisconsin will have to continue fighting several schools to hold onto its prized commit. Because Mertz committed so early in the process (Oct. 2017), it’s worth noting that the Badgers have offered just four quarterbacks in the class, one of which was Gunnell. The two other offerees Paul Tyson (Alabama) and Cade McNamara (Michigan) are also committed.