Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove and national recruiting analysts Cole Patterson and Ryan Wright, along with Zack Carpenter of InsideNebraska.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Nebraska should feel confident about landing four-star OL Amir Herring.
Cosgrove's Take: FICTION. Nebraska is definitely in the running for Amir Herring's commitment, but I don't know if I would go as far to say that the Huskers should feel confident about receiving his commitment. I do know that Herring had a great official to Nebraska and the Huskers put themselves in contention with the visit, but at the end of the day I feel as though Herring would like to stay closer to home. Should Michigan be ready to go all in and take his commitment, the Wolverines will be his likely landing spot. If Herring decides that Michigan is not the spot for him, I feel Nebraska could be on deck with a couple of other teams.
Carpenter's take: FACT. From the Michigan side of things, I do know that Herring was trending there as of April, but the Wolverines staff stopped pursuing him as heavily as they had been before. They would have had to make a very strong impression on him during his official visit over the weekend in order to mend things and get him in their class. I’m not fully confident in what Herring will wind up deciding. That’s why I haven’t put in a FutureCast for his commitment. But ever since he arrived, Donovan Raiola has made a very heavy push for Herring, made him a clear-cut top target and got him on campus multiple times. The Huskers showed Herring how much they value him during those trips, including a very impactful official visit during the first week of June. So I think Huskers should feel confident where Nebraska stands with Herring as of today.
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2. Brandon Inniss will join his 7-on-7 teammate Carnell Tate at Ohio State.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. Ohio State is killing it in Florida and with receiver recruits in general. A few months ago I would have said fiction, but there is too much going in Ohio State's favor at this point for the Buckeyes not to be his landing spot. Now that Carnell Tate is committed to the Buckeyes, they should be the program to beat. Tate and Inniss complement each other perfectly and will both be able to star in an Ohio State offense that is truly becoming a wide receiver factory.
Wright's take: FACT. Last year Georgia seemingly took what it wanted out of the Sunshine State and this year Ohio State is having tremendous success with top prospects. Of the 11 commitments the Buckeyes have landed thus far, six are from Florida and each rate four-star or better. The icing on the proverbial cake will be the addition of another five-star receiver in Inniss, pairing him with Tate. Watch as Ohio State takes big strides up the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings.
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3. A future first-round pick competed at the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge.
Cosgrove's Take: FACT. There is a lot of projecting here as the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge featured a ton of young but extremely talented prospects. There are a number of players in attendance that have high NFL potential, and although I cannot give one name in particular as being a definite first-rounder, I would be more surprised if one didn't come out of the Challenge than if one did. Some players that immediately come to mind are linebackers Sammy Brown and USC commit Dylan Williams as they are both guys who have the athleticism to be high end edge types at the next level. Marquise Lightfoot proved to be a potential elite WDE at the next level as well. Then you have players with high draft position value such as offensive tackle Douglas Utu. Not to mention talented athletes and receivers like I'Marion Stewart, Winston Watkins Jr., Jeremiah McClellan and a number of others with big-time potential.
Patterson's take: FACT. Projecting long-term to the NFL Draft with underclassmen prospects is always tricky. With that said, there was a ton of talent out in Atlanta last week. Watkins is only going into his sophomore season at IMG Academy, but his ceiling is ridiculously high at receiver. Sammy Brown has a unique skill set at linebacker. Eddy Pierre-Louis turned heads at OL and on the bench press. I would say that there is a solid chance that a first-rounder comes out of the event down the road.
