Fact or Fiction: Brock Vandagriff can win a national title at Georgia
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
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1. Brock Vandagriff can win a national title at Georgia.
Farrell’s take: FACT. The talent surrounding the nation's No. 1 quarterback on offense will be elite as Georgia continues to recruit at the highest level and you know he will have help on defense as well. Yes, there have been some player development issues, especially at the skill positions and some question the offensive coaching, but Brock Vandagriff is an elite talent who will have every chance to win his division and that means he will be playing in SEC title games. That, of course, leads to potential playoff football and anything can happen there. There is no way to think he won't have a good chance.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Georgia did not win a national championship with Jake Fromm and he was an outstanding quarterback, but Vandagriff is even more dynamic and a lot of elite receivers will want to play with him. The Bulldogs have some young, talented receivers and more should be coming in. Once they get older then Georgia will be right back in the national title hunt. The Bulldogs almost won it with Fromm. My bet is they will be right back in the College Football Playoff with Vandagriff as the starter.
2. Ohio State’s addition of Kerry Coombs will push them over the top next season.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like this move a lot as the former defensive backs coach is an elite recruiter and will be a home run as a defensive coordinator. And I was tempted to think this might be the move that pushes Ohio State past Clemson as the favorite next year to win the national title, but let's remember how good a job Jeff Hafley, the new Boston College coach, did for Ohio State and how much talent is also coming back at Clemson. These two teams are clearly head and shoulders above the rest next season, and Coombs is a good addition, but I'm sticking with Clemson as my national title winner.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. The addition of Coombs is huge for Ohio State’s defense and recruiting, but it’s probably equal to the loss of Hafley to Boston College. Getting someone of his caliber and experience is huge, though, and it should not slow down recruiting. I suspect Ohio State will be right back in the playoff hunt next season, the Buckeyes should be one of the best teams in the country, but Clemson is still the team to beat.
3. Alabama, as usual, is hit the hardest by early NFL departures.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. While the Tide lost players like Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy, Jedrick Wills, Xavier McKinney, Terrell Lewis and others, Georgia got hit the hardest. I know the Bulldogs have good depth at running back, but the loss of D'Andre Swift hurts a lot and losing Fromm leaves a huge hole in the depth chart as Wake Forest grad transfer quarterback Jamie Newman is a bit of an unknown at the SEC level. But it's the offensive line losses that worry me the most as the departures of Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson and Solomon Kindley leave some question marks up front.
Gorney’s take: FACT. It could have been worse for Alabama, especially if running back Najee Harris and receiver DeVonta Smith weren’t coming back, but it’s still pretty bad. Losing Tagovailoa, top receivers Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, Wills, Lewis and McKinney really is tough. It’s especially difficult because the Crimson Tide had a disappointing season compared to their standards and getting back to playoff form will have to be done with untested or some unproven players. Most are five-stars or high four-stars, so Alabama should be fine, but it has lost a lot.