In today’s Fact or Fiction national columnist Mike Farrell looks at three big recent topics in college football and decides whether each statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
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FACT OR FICTION: Jaxson Dart will stay in the Pac-12
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info for 2022 series
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1. Frank Ladson will break out at Miami.
FICTION. I liked Frank Ladson a lot as a player coming out of high school and many are hoping he can have an impact like Charleston Rambo did last year from Oklahoma but can the ‘Canes catch lighting in a bottle two years in a row? It’s not likely. Ladson had 31 catches for 428 yards and six touchdowns in his Clemson career but he battled injuries much of last season and when he was healthy he just didn’t separate. He’s had his chances and going back home to Miami is a fresh start but it’s a reach to think he can be that Rivals100 standout we saw out of high school.
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2. Lance Taylor will improve the Louisville offense.
FACT. Lance Taylor may not be a name you know a lot about but this is the guy who helped develop Christian McCaffrey at Stanford and has done a very good job at Notre Dame as the run game coordinator and running backs coach. Scott Satterfield will continue to call the plays for Louisville but with Taylor’s experience coaching running backs and wide receivers he will be huge when it comes to game plans and allowing Satterfield to oversee the entire team a bit better. This is a hire many didn’t notice but it’s a good one.
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3. Kayvon Thibodeaux missed the mark when comparing Oregon and Alabama.
FACT. You may or may not have heard of Kayvon Thibodeaux’s comments last week regarding Alabama in a nationally televised interview. The potential top five NFL Draft pick disparaged a degree from Alabama while talking about why he chose Oregon over the Crimson Tide and others coming out of high school. And it was wrong. Alabama isn’t Yale or Harvard but academically it stands up well with Oregon and isn't that far off the rest of the SEC overall academically. Perhaps Thibodeaux made the right choice of Oregon for his personal growth and brand but taking shots at the academics of Alabama was a bit uncalled for as there are excellent law, engineering and other programs in Tuscaloosa.
