Published May 31, 2021
Fact or Fiction: Emory Jones is a Heisman candidate
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Mike Farrell  •  Rivals.com
Rivals National Columnist

In today’s Fact or Fiction, Rivals National Columnist Mike Farrell looks at three big recent topics in college football and decides whether the statements are FACT or FICTION.

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1. Sevyn Banks will be the second-best CB in the 2022 NFL Draft.

FICTION. This is an interesting question for NFL Draft scouts and fans as well as fans of college football. Who is No. 2 behind LSU's Derek Stingley Jr.? You will hear many names like Banks from Ohio State, Andrew Booth from Clemson, Ahmad Gardner from Cincinnati and Josh Jobe from Alabama.

Right now, Florida's Kaair Elam could be No. 2 due to his size and ability to close. He can get beat but his recovery skills are off the charts. There could be as many as five first-round corners in the 2022 NFL Draft and the list will shuffle a lot.

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2. Quinn Ewers is right about why five-stars are leaving the state of Texas.

FACT. Quinn Ewers, the 2022 star quarterback from Texas who flipped from the Longhorns to Ohio State, recently said that elite prospects are leaving the Lone Star State because they want to play at the highest level and compete for a national title. And the data speaks to that with players such as Jaylen Waddle, Jeffrey Okudah, J.K. Dobbins, CeeDee Lamb and others going onto different programs and finding much more success than they would have with the Longhorns.

Maybe if they all stayed it would have changed, right? Who knows? Right now an elite NFL prospect seems more likely to head to Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson or someplace other than Texas.

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3. Emory Jones is a Heisman candidate.

FICTION. Not yet, anyhow. I have seen Emory Jones listed as a potential first-round pick and now I see him being referred to as a Heisman candidate. Jones has a big arm and upside.

But will he have the weapons to put up stats like Kyle Trask did? I don’t think so. Many see him as a Dak Prescott-type under Dan Mullen. While Jones could flourish under Mullen this season, for now he’s far from a Heisman candidate.