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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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
FACT OR FICTION: Penn State is a threat to the Wolverines within the state of Michigan
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1. Transfer Meiko Dotson will make an immediate impact at Florida State.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Dotson was a little regarded two-star JUCO prospect when he signed with FAU and now he’s turned into one of the best ball hawks in college football. And he’s going to hit the ground running at FSU. I’m not saying he’s the next Jalen Ramsey or anything, but the FSU defensive back play could improve and he will have a few key picks this season.
Gorney’s take: FACT. This is a big addition even though the Seminoles’ secondary should be strong with leading tackler Hamsah Nasirildeen returning, Asante Samuel leading the cornerbacks and Jaiden Lars-Woodbey coming back from injury. Dotson has bounced around and Florida State will be his fourth college, but he was tied for the national lead in interceptions last season at FAU. Dotson is transferring to play and has an opportunity to show his ability on the biggest stage. It’s a big deal he’s headed to FSU.
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2. Joe Burrow will be better than the last two No. 1 quarterbacks taken, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. This is a tough one for me because I love what I saw from Joe Burrow last season and he’s going to be a very good quarterback. But what I saw from Kyler Murray really impressed me and he’s the type of mobile quarterback that many defenses fear. Add in weapons such as DeAndre Hopkins and the Arizona Cardinals should be a force in the league sooner than later under Murray.
Gorney’s take: FACT. This is a really tough one because Burrow might be the next superstar quarterback in the NFL who has a really long career and is hugely successful. He’s receiving incredible comparisons and the Cincinnati Bengals supposedly absolutely love him with the No. 1 pick. He had one insane year at LSU where he threw 60 touchdown passes, won the Heisman and the national title. But he also couldn’t win the starting job at Ohio State and so this isn’t a surefire case for him being better than Mayfield or Murray, who had somewhat similar situations in college. It’s tough, but in the long run I’m siding with Burrow here.
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3. Isaiah Simmons is the defensive prospect in the NFL Draft not talked about enough.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Simmons could be the steal of the draft if he somehow slips outside the top 10 but the guy everyone is forgetting is DT Derrick Brown. Look back at Brown’s career at Auburn and there are no flaws, he’s the perfect defensive tackle who can stuff the run, chase the passer and disrupt passing lanes. Whomever picks him will be getting arguably the surest bet in the draft.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. I’m looking for a sleeper here and my pick is Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who is projected to be a fringe second-round pick. That’s way too low. His size at 5-foot-9 and 203 pounds might scare some teams off but Winfield was fantastic this past season with seven interceptions, more than Alabama’s Xavier McKinney had in his entire college career and only one fewer than LSU’s Grant Delpit. If teams don’t get caught up just in measurables and actually look at who’s the most impactful on the field at safety, it’s Winfield. He should easily be an early second-round pick.
