Fact or Fiction: Auburn has gone cold on recruiting trail
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
*****
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
*****
1. Auburn has gone cold on the recruiting trail.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Things are not going trending well for Auburn. The top player in Alabama, CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry, is leaning towards Alabama it appears and will decide Sunday while four-star Birmingham LB Jeremiah Williams is trending Florida lately.
And now there are rumors that Tuscaloosa DB Kamari Lassiter is leaning towards Georgia over Auburn in what is likely a surprise to many. With Alabama recruiting so well and a lack of success in the state of Georgia in addition to bad play on the field, things are not looking good for War Eagle. Things could change and any one of these players could pick Auburn, but right now the momentum is not flowing on the recruiting side of things.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Auburn could be dealing with a spate of bad news over the coming weeks with McKinstry, Williams and maybe even Lassiter, but the Tigers have done a good job landing elite four-stars in this class like QB Dematrius Davis, DT Lee Hunter and four-star DB Ahmari Harvey out of Tallahassee, Fla. McKinstry is a big miss and Williams would hurt, too, since both were considered Auburn leans at one point.
But Auburn is still ahead of Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss in the SEC rankings and there are a bunch of teams it’s ahead of in the national rankings including Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Stanford and many others. It’s not going incredibly well for Auburn, but it could be worse.
2. Tight end Thomas Fidone is the next surefire five-star.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like Fidone a lot and he’s going to be in the discussion as he’s having a great season, but the lock is OT JC Latham out of IMG Academy. He’s the only player who doesn’t have a fifth star yet who has played like one without a shadow of a doubt. Rankings aren’t for another six weeks or so, but Latham looks as good as anyone in the country.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Fidone should definitely be under consideration but there have not even been a dozen five-star tight ends in the history of Rivals dating back to 2002, so those are not rankings that we have handed out left and right. Still, Fidone is a big, athletic pass-catcher who is best splitting out and then being a mismatch nightmare in the passing game. He’s what top tight ends like George Kittle and others are becoming in the NFL - just massive guys who can create space and be big targets down the field. Latham and Billy Bowman are two others that deserve looks, but Fidone is definitely someone on the watch list as well.
3. UGA should stick with Stetson Bennett at QB.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Stetson Bennett showed his weaknesses in the loss to Alabama and he’s not a starter at the elite Power Five level. Neither is D’Wan Mathis, but it’s time to give JT Daniels a shot even if he’s not 100%. The season is on the line and another loss ends all playoff hopes, so while Kirby Smart is saying Bennett is his guy, it’s time for Daniels to try to lift this offense up.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Smart has never shown a hesitation to switch quarterbacks when he thought that was needed - think Jacob Eason losing the starting job to Jake Fromm - and over this week and leading into the Kentucky game, my guess is we’ll see Daniels slowly get transitioned to the starting job. If he’s healthy, Daniels is just too talented to be on the sidelines.
Bennett is a battler, a guy who you want on your team, but he’s not a quarterback who could lead the Bulldogs to a national championship. Daniels might be. He’s at least Georgia’s best option and he should get his shot, if healthy. Alabama exposes almost everybody, so I’m not so worried about his performance this past weekend. It’s just that Bennett isn’t the best quarterback on the team and Smart needs to put the best players on the field to win.