Fact or Fiction: Cade Mays will have more success at Tennessee
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. Cade Mays will have more success at Tennessee.
Farrell’s take: FACT. This is a tough one because Cade Mays had success with Georgia, but we assume the main reason he’s headed to Tennessee is to play with his brother Cooper and playing in his home state for the program he grew up pulling for will bring out the best in him. A happy and talented offensive tackle is better than just a talented one.
Gorney’s take: FACT. My gut feeling is that Mays always wanted to go to Tennessee, he even committed there and mainly backed off that pledge because of the bad 2017 season and it was pretty clear Butch Jones was going to get fired. The former five-star is immensely talented and he can get immediate playing time.
2. Lorenzo Lingard will live up to his potential at Florida.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Lorenzo Lingard is a talented kid, if he wasn’t we wouldn’t have made him a five-star and programs across the country wouldn’t have recruited him. However, Lingard never really came close to making a dent in the depth chart at Miami despite showing a bit of promise as a freshman and you have to wonder why. This isn’t Alabama where everyone has to wait their turn, this was at Miami where he was competing with talented backs but no Heisman candidates. Can we just expect his work ethic and desire and ability to suddenly flourish in Gainesville? I will need more than just faith to believe that.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Who did flourish in that woeful Miami offense? Nobody. And so I’m going to lean here on Florida coach Dan Mullen being wise enough to know how to use Lingdard to maximize his abilities, get him the ball and allow him to be productive. It is a little worrisome that Lingard didn’t get much of a look in Miami’s offense where no one rushed for even 700 yards, but Lingard has a lot of special talent and the Gators will find ways to use him. A lot of transfers thrive at their second home and I’m betting Lingard will be one.
3. Phil Jurkovec will be the solution at Boston College.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. The Eagles' new staff is excited about the transfer from Notre Dame and this is a big kid who showed mobility and leadership in high school. He was highly rated because he had an excellent ceiling. However, the limited times I’ve seen him in college he appears to be ill-prepared for the speed of the game coming at him and I’m not sure that will improve. It could and he might be a perfect fit for Jeff Hafley and company, but I’d need to see a whole new Phil Jurkovec to believe it.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. There are just way too many unknowns to get overly excited about Jurkovec at this point. He’s a huge kid who can move, so those are positives, but will the Eagles’ offense be tailored for a dual-threat quarterback? Can Jurkovec speed up his decision-making to make things happen with an offense that’s not filled with elite playmakers?
He’s had minimal work at Notre Dame and now he’s transferring and might have to sit out again unless he’s granted a waiver. I can see why Boston College is excited about adding Jurkovec and he has a chance to be special, but I’m just not there yet.