Fact or Fiction: Florida had most disappointing finish to NSD
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. Florida had the most disappointing finish to signing day.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. While the Gators did whiff on many prospects, you have to think USC had the worst day. The Trojans didn’t add much to a small and unimpressive class and missed on Justin Flowe. The recruiting at USC is a joke right now.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Florida did struggle and did miss on some key prospects, but I have to agree with Farrell here: USC’s class is ranked last in the Pac-12 and the Trojans have only one four-star commit. They missed on Flowe. They missed on flipping Bryce Young. There is an exodus of elite talent out of Southern California and it’s a major problem.
2. Jordan Burch will end up someplace other than South Carolina.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Even though Burch didn’t sign his letter and isn’t an early enrollee he’s still going to end up with the Gamecocks. It’s too close to home and there are too many connections there for him to think otherwise, although he did leave the door open for Georgia, Clemson, LSU and others.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. It’s a little curious that he didn’t sign on Wednesday, but I actually do buy the argument that he wants to sign with his friends and teammates in February. The problem is that the other elite powers aren’t going to back off and it could be a few busy weeks for him. Still, from now until February not much should change as to why he picked the Gamecocks. So, he sticks.
3. Mike Norvell did the best job of the new coaches.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Sam Pittman did a great job at Arkansas, but Norvell takes the cake, especially landing two quarterbacks, something Willie Taggart didn’t do in two recruiting cycles. Norvell still has to prove he can recruit with the elite, but he’s off to a good start.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. What Norvell did was very impressive, but I’m going with Washington’s Jimmy Lake because he did something even better: He retained the recruiting class with very little, if any, drama and Lake did it with no head coaching experience and little coordinator experience as well. But Lake was the hand-picked successor of Chris Petersen and that went a long way with recruits. Everybody is talking about Oregon’s top class, but Washington is within striking distance of winning the conference in that department, and it’s because Lake has kept the ship sailing smoothly.