Fact or Fiction: Clemson won't end up with No. 1 class
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. Zach Evans will end up at Georgia after all.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Here’s the latest guess on Evans, who is apparently not headed to Texas A&M and is rumored to be deciding between Tennessee, Georgia and Ole Miss. So why pick the Dawgs? Because it seems so ridiculous and unlikely he would end up there after signing his letter and then asking them to release him from it. And with the ridiculous comes the recruitment of Zach Evans.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Can I abstain? Because Evans’ recruitment continues to take more turns for the worse, and it’s almost become an embarrassment about what’s going on at this point. He signed with Georgia and then got released from that within days. It looked like he’d end up at Texas A&M, but now the word is the Aggies have moved on. Now he’s going to visit Tennessee this weekend? But like everything with Evans, that isn’t certain until we actually see him in Knoxville. My real answer is: "I have absolutely no idea and neither does anyone else, including Evans." There’s no master plan here, so I’ll take the field over Georgia.
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2. Clemson will hold on to the recruiting title.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I’ve thought the Tigers would end up being No. 1 for some time now, but Georgia is close and if the Bulldogs end up with Evans and keep Broderick Jones - both very realistic possibilities - and add another name or two they could pull this out. They’ve done it before and they’ve become the new Alabama in recruiting, the team you just don’t bet against.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Clemson has the best top-end talent in the country with Bryan Bresee, D.J. Uiagalelei and Myles Murphy in the top four, but Alabama is pressing, especially with four-star DT McKinnley Jackson as a possible commit and Georgia could close with Evans and some others as well. If I had to guess, both the Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs will pass Clemson, but there could be a legitimate argument that Clemson’s class has the most talent in the country.
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3. Zamir White is the next great back in the SEC.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Georgia has made a case as RBU in recent years and there’s no reason to think Zeus won’t be next. White showed flashes of his five-star ability this past season, and with D’Andre Swift gone he can now step up and be the next great one for the Dawgs. The season is a long way away, but we can still talk about it, right?
Gorney’s take: FACT. I’m going to say "fact" here, but I also think Georgia is going to utilize five-star Kendall Milton next season, so White may not put up the biggest numbers. The Bulldogs split carries this season and it worked for them and that could be the modus operandi moving forward. I also think Alabama’s Trey Sanders and LSU’s John Emery are destined for greatness soon and will be the focal point of their team’s running attacks in the coming seasons.