Fact or Fiction: Houston transfer D'Eriq King will end up at LSU
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: D’Eriq King will end up at LSU.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Joe Burrow needs to be replaced, but the offensive talent aside from quarterback is off the hook. The Houston transfer will have many options, but LSU will be the place where he can excel and impact the most. And if King does choose LSU, watch out for the Tigers to make a serious run at the national title again.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. There are a lot of top programs in need of a quarterback and King seemingly has no idea where he’s going to end up, so I’ll take the field over LSU. The Tigers do make sense since Burrow is gone, Myles Brennan is unproven and LSU has tons of offensive firepower. But Oregon and Miami are two other interesting options, Oklahoma has never hesitated in going after transfers and others are on the list as well. King is super-talented, so whichever program gets him is boosting its quarterback talent significantly.
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2: Ed Orgeron is the coach of the year.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Matt Rhule did an amazing job at Baylor and PJ Fleck, Ryan Day and others need to be mentioned as well, but hands down it is Orgeron. I doubted this hire in a big way and I was beyond wrong. Coach O has done an amazing job and can now go down in history as a national title winner.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Not only is Orgeron the coach of the year but he might have been the coach of the best team in college football history. That will be debated for a long time, but LSU was unstoppable, especially in the latter part of the season as it obliterated Oklahoma in the national semifinal and then handily beat a great Clemson team for the title. LSU is losing a ton of talent to the NFL, so we’ll see if Orgeron can rebuild quickly, but what a run this season.
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3: Najee Harris will lead Alabama to a national title.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like the decision of Harris to stay at Alabama and he could make a run at the Heisman next season - and we all know Alabama will be in the hunt for the national title - but quarterback questions remain. And with Clemson, Ohio State and others looking to be stronger than ever next season, and LSU now over the hump, I just can’t say for sure Alabama will win it all.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Nick Saban had to sit next to Lee Corso wearing a Corseaux shirt and a Tiger head on the night of the national championship. I highly suspect that’s not going to happen again next season, as Alabama reloads and refocuses on getting back to the college football playoff. Clemson and Ohio State are the top-two teams heading into next year, but Alabama will be very good and Harris could have a breakout season like Derrick Henry did before he went off to the NFL. The former No. 1 player has not lived up to that billing yet, but watch out next season because he will be special.