East Spotlight: Five biggest recruiting surprises so far this fall
This year has seen no shortage of surprises, and those surprises have not subsided with the dawn of the fall season. From surprise commitments to class changes and the impact of COVID-19, recruiting in the East Region has continued to see surprises develop this fall.
*****
MORE RECRUITING SURPRISES: Midwest | Southeast
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
*****
Aaron Armitage picking Stanford over USC
Armitage was all set to go to USC until a day or so before his commitment Tuesday. The Rivals250 defensive lineman out of New Jersey had a top five of USC, Oregon, LSU, Florida and Stanford, but only the Cardinal had been able to get him on campus before the pandemic shut down recruiting visits.
Armitage was set to take a number of visits this spring and summer, but quarantine requirements by his school made it impossible for him to make it out on any trips. This is a blow to USC’s defensive line recruiting efforts and huge for Stanford. Armitage is now the highest-rated player in Stanford’s recruiting class and he should provide a big boost on the field in the next year or two.
*****
Marcus Bradley decommitting from Maryland
Defections from Maryland have happened a fair number of times over the years, but this year it’s a bit surprising. The team is still getting acclimated to the system Mike Locksley and his staff are running, but the Terrapins have really been clicking on the recruiting trail. All but four players in their 19-member 2021 recruiting class are from Maryland, Virginia or Washington D.C., so local recruiting has been going pretty well, which makes Marcus Bradley’s decommitment pretty surprising. Bradley cited the defensive scheme as the main reason for his decommitment, so maybe this isn’t a sign of more decommitments to come, but it is definitely concerning for the Terps.
*****
Elijah Jeudy decommitting from Georgia
Georgia has done a fantastic job recruiting the Philadelphia area over the last couple years, and it has become somewhat of a dream school for some of the top players in the city. That was how it seemed for Elijah Jeudy when the Rivals250 defensive end committed to Georgia earlier this year. The coveted defensive prospect looked forward to following in the footsteps of D’Andre Swift and Mark Webb, both Philadelphia natives.
Jeudy planned on signing with the Bulldogs, but those feelings changed as the months passed and now it looks like Texas A&M will end up signing him. He doesn’t plan on making a final decision until December, but it’s fairly surprising to see Georgia not hold onto a target that seemed so on board early on in the process.
*****
Caleb Williams moves to Oklahoma, becomes Sooners recruiter
There are players that like to say they are working hard to recruit other top prospects to join them in college, but none have been as effective as five-star Oklahoma quarterback commit Caleb Williams. He was a silent commit for the Sooners for months before announcing his commitment on the Fourth of July. Since he silently committed, he has been Oklahoma’s most effective recruiter, helping land commitments from Mario Williams, Latrell McCutchin, Damond Harmon, Kelvin Gilliam, Jalil Farooq and Billy Bowman.
Now Williams is living in Oklahoma as he prepares to begin his college career in January. He is still finishing up his high school graduation requirements for Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga online, but he is going to the games of Oklahoma targets and is contacting plenty of 2021 and 2022 prospects about joining him in Norman.
*****
Tony Grimes already playing at UNC
Five-star cornerback Tony Grimes was excited to play his senior season with his high school teammates and planned on graduating early to join the North Carolina Tar Heels in January. He ended up adjusting his plans when the state of Virginia postponed its high school football season until the spring and now he is already playing for the Tar Heels.
This former 2021 prospect reclassified to the 2020 class and is now playing meaningful snaps in the ACC. There was a reason Grimes was ranked as a five-star, but it is really impressive to see a player this young playing a lot in all six of North Carolina’s games this season.