Rivals national recruiting analyst Marshall Levenson is joined by national recruiting director Adam Gorney, Jason Suchomel of OrangeBloods.com and Paul Strelow of TigerIllustrated.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Duke will recruit better than ever under Manny Diaz
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1. Texas A&M has the most important visit weekend of Week 1.
Gorney: FICTION. The Texas A&M weekend is huge. No doubt about it. Top prospects are converging on College Station to see what first-year coach Mike Elko is bringing to the Aggies but he's also a new coach playing an opponent without a ton of recruiting crossover and on a weekend like this there are just bigger matchups. My eye points to Gainesville where Florida hosts Miami. The Gators are bringing in commits from across the country including DJ Pickett, Dallas Wilson and others, and so that game seems to be the most important visit weekend.
Levenson: FACT. I am siding with Texas A&M on this one. The significance of this being Mike Elko's first game at the helm of the Aggies is what pushes it over the edge for me. The Aggies will host more than 100 prospects in one of the best atmospheres in college football take on a top-10 nationally relevant program in Notre Dame.
The headliners will consist of 2026 five-star defensive lineman Anthony Jones to go along with top-100 prospects Brandon Arrington, Davian Groce, Bralan Womack, Kaydon Finley, Jabari Mack, Kosi Okpala, and plenty more.
An emotional win for the Aggies could potentially leave more of a mark than any of the other games this weekend.
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2. Clemson fans should be worried about the Tigers' 2025 class being outside of the top-20.
Strelow: FICTION. This one really is a matter of semantics, and thus we take the conservative interpretation in order to avoid the trope alarmist take. Team rankings only mean so much. The formula factors in a measure of quantity, so schools with 3.2 average star ratings ranking above them shouldn't spell cause for actual concern.
While lower-stature programs trumping the big schools for a touted recruit here and there has quickly become commonplace because of the economics, losing four-star end Bryce Davis to Duke hurts mainly because he is the profile of local top-end talent Clemson has made its name with, and his win-over-replacement value is high.
The concern should be that the Tigers came out of the summer with so few recruiting victories relative to target volume, and that's what has contributed to their low commitment total (14). Where they're ranked now is fine if they hit on the ones they got, and 11 of those 14 are rated as four-stars. The trick is making sure they're getting enough good ones year over year, especially when Clemson's strategies haven't lent to the short-term fix of the transfer portal being a potential solution.
Levenson. FACT. I will zig here a bit where Strelow zags and offer a thought of why there could be some concern. For the first time in quite a while, the future of Clemson's program is murky. There is a feeling by many that Clemson should be among the favorite to win the ACC this season, but if they do not, what are fans going to be saying?
If Cade Klubnik has not improved at quarterback, what is the ceiling for this team? We have also seen Dabo Swinney potentially growing tired of some sectors of the fan base, so if there is a non-championship contending season, could more grow disapproving of the two-time national championship winning coach? It is certainly a possibility.
If they have a fantastic year and finish the 2025 class on a high note, I will gladly eat my words, but there is legitimate reason to be weary of the direction of Clemson.
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3. Linebacker is the best position group in Texas' 2025 class.
Suchomel: FACT. But this one comes with one big disclaimer ... it's only true if we're considering Jonah Williams as a true linebacker. Texas is actually recruiting him as more of a defensive athlete and considering safeties coach Blake Gideon led his recruitment, he'll likely start his career in the secondary. But if he grows into a hybrid-linebacker role and we're classifying him in that group, it's probably the strongest position group for Texas right now. Bo Barnes is extremely talented and Jonathan Cunningham is a player the UT staff really likes. You could make a case for wide receiver being the top group with Texas landing Jaime Ffrench, but as things stand right now I'll give the nod to the linebacker group if we're including Jonah Williams in that discussion.
Levenson: FICTION. I'm being a bit ticky tacky on this one, because yes, the linebacker position is a loaded one with Williams atop the position group for the Longhorns. But my personal favorite position group in the Longhorns' class is the defensive line.
The highlights for me are edge rushers Lance Jackson and Smith Orogbo, who will continue to rise the ranks. Jackson is already in the top-100 at No. 57 while Orogbo recently cracked the Rivals250. But I absolutely love what we have seen from the pass rushers in this group and think they can each be early contributors in Austin.
To go along with them is a 6-foot-6, 300-pound defensive tackle in Josiah Sharma, who is ranked at No. 137 overall. This group can wreak havoc.
