Rivals national recruiting analyst Ryan Wright along with Jed May from UGASports.com, Charles Fishbein from TheOsceola.com and Russell Johnson from JacketsOnline.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Georgia will sign five of top 10 in-state 2024 prospects.
Wright’s take. FICTION: After Georgia signed just two of the top 10 in-state prospects in the 2023 class and four in the top 53, can the Bulldogs have a better showing with the 2024 class? Yes, but signing five in the top 10 is a tall order.
If the current top 10 holds, Kameron Davis (Florida State) and Myles Graham (Florida) are already committed elsewhere giving Georgia just eight prospects of the needed five to accomplish the feat. Earlier this month, Eddrick Houston said that he wants to visit Clemson, Tennessee, Alabama, LSU and Texas this spring. Georgia can expect a hard fight for Houston with Clemson and Alabama heavily pursuing him.
The Bulldogs are also in a battle for Mike Matthews with Tennessee and Alabama in the mix. Zion Ragins is another in-state prospect who could end up elsewhere, Tennessee and Oklahoma are letting him know he is a priority. Another big unknown is Sammy Brown. Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Notre Dame are all front-runners. The ties to both Clemson and Oklahoma are strong for Brown. The Bulldogs could win out, but it would also not be a surprise seeing him sign outside the state.
May’s take. FACT: Georgia already has commitments from two of the top 10 prospects in the state, Ny Carr and Landen Thomas. Of the remaining eight prospers, Georgia is at or near the top for Eddrick Houston, Mike Matthews, KJ Bolden, Sammy Brown, Kameron Davis and Daniel Calhoun. Signing just three of those six would give the Bulldogs half of the top 10. Looking down the line, names such as Demello Jones and Justin Greene could end up in the top 10 in the state as well. Signing half of the top 10 is a very realistic goal for Kirby Smart and company this year.
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2. Georgia Tech will sign a top-30 2024 recruiting class.
Wright’s take. FACT: With the changes going on in Atlanta, I want to jump all over this in the affirmative, especially with the class hanging out inside the top 30 right now. But there is such a long way to go, and history is not on the Yellow Jackets' side. The last class Georgia Tech had in the top 30 was in 2020 when the program finished No. 25 in the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings.
Going off the Rivals’ rankings formula, Colorado closed the 2023 class at No. 30 with 19 commits, one five-star and three four-stars. Can the Yellow Jackets get the four to five four-stars needed for a top-30 ranking? Yes. Another potential stumbling block – will they take a full class of 20 or more? Time will tell.
Right now, there is a lot of momentum behind Brent Key and his staff that is promising on the recruiting trail.
Johnson’s take. FACT: Georgia Tech is in the midst of a complete turnover, both in terms of recruiting strategy and results on the field. With Brent Key permanently running the show, things look a lot different around Atlanta. With a foundation of the class set with four-star QB Jakhari Williams, and the talented backyard that is the state of Georgia, Key's first full class should be able to hang right in the 30 range. To reach that number, it is going to be important that they find a way to land priority local targets such as Justin Logan, BJ Gibson and Kylan Fox. They will also need to sign more in terms of quantity than they have in recent years, as they have not signed more than 20 high school recruits since 2020.
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3. Florida State will sign a top-five 2024 recruiting class.
Wright’s take. FICTION: The Seminoles are currently back in familiar territory, slotted fourth in the team rankings for the 2024 class. The challenge for the coaching staff in Tallahassee is to make it stick through National Signing Day. As recruiting has changed with NIL being a factor, and with Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State cherry-picking elite prospects, this task will be hard. FSU can end up in the top 10 but just miss out on a top-five finish.
The in-state wish list for FSU to pull off a top-five finish includes signing five-star Joshisa Trader, four-star corner Charles Lester and four-star safety Fred Gaskin. Lester and Gaskin are elite players the Seminoles have a great shot at landing.
Fishbein’s take. FACT: The Seminoles already have a top-five class right now. They already have a top-rated signal caller committed in Luke Kromenhoek. They also have Kam Davis committed who is one of the top running backs in the nation. They are in the lead group for Joshisa Trader. FSU is in on some other top prospects as well.
