Fact or Fiction: Mac Jones is better than Tua Tagovailoa
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. Cody Brown will pick Auburn.
Farrell’s take: FACT. The four-star running back who was part of the Tennessee 2021 class and got out of his letter is looking at Miami, UCF and Mizzou as well but Auburn has been the team linked the most here and that’s where I feel he ends up. With National Signing Day over he’s really in no rush to make a decision and could just enroll in June, but the feeling is that it will be over well before that.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Auburn has been doing a great job with transfer portal players or recruits trying to get out of their Tennessee LOI with that coaching change, but I’m not completely sold yet that Brown will head to the Tigers. Miami, UCF, Michigan and Missouri were four other schools Brown told me were involved in his recruitment so I’m not prepared yet to pigeonhole him to just Auburn. I’ll take the field here.
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2. Mac Jones is better than Tua Tagovailoa.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Heisman winner Devonta Smith was recently asked which Alabama quarterback was better and his answer went viral as he picked Jones. But this doesn’t surprise me much as Tagovailoa to me has always been a bit overrated and I’m not a fan of lefty quarterbacks, especially with average arms. Jones has proven this season that he’s an elite quarterback and leader, and he also doesn’t have the durability questions. He could go as high as No. 8 to the Carolina Panthers.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. That might be Smith’s opinion but by almost every measure, Tagovailoa is a better quarterback than Jones. From stats to draft position (since no one projects Jones to be a top-five pick) to athleticism and on it goes, I would take Tagovailoa. Even in Jones’ incredible run this past season, Tagovailoa had better stats in his sophomore year. Smith might feel Jones is better but pretty much nothing bores out that opinion right now. Maybe Jones has a better NFL career than Tagovailoa - and it would probably help Jones to go later in the first round to a better team with better players - but Tua has star potential. If Miami surrounds him with elite receivers, he will be great. I know it’s en vogue to rip Tua and love up Mac, but it’s just not based in fact.
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3. Donovan Edwards will make a bigger immediate impact in the Big Ten than TreVeyon Henderson.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like Donovan Edwards a lot as a fit for the Michigan offense and he’ll see a lot of time early. TreVeyon Henderson is stepping into a great situation at Ohio State where he’s the fastest back on the roster immediately and combined with solid size it should make him a national star right away.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. An argument could be made that Michigan mismanaged the running back position last year and instead of building on Zach Charbonnet’s success in his freshman season, it went nowhere and the Wolverines were worse off because of it. On the flip side, the Buckeyes have been great at running back from J.K. Dobbins to Trey Sermon this past year. I’ll go with Henderson - who is more dynamic and speedy than Edwards, who can hit the homerun but is more of a pounder at the position. Like everyone in Ohio State’s offense, Henderson has a chance to be a superstar. Edwards does as well but it won’t be as easy.
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