Fact or Fiction: Jedd Fisch will turn around the Arizona program
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. Ceyair Wright will stay home at USC.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Ceyair Wright seems to be down to USC and Notre Dame and his recruitment seems to be close as his mom apparently really liked their trip to Notre Dame. But I think there is a movement in Southern California again to head to USC and Wright will join a few others and play for Clay Helton.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I don’t believe it’s down to only Notre Dame and USC as Farrell states but I definitely think the Trojans have a solid edge in his recruitment. Outside of football, Wright is serious about business and a career in acting and Los Angeles affords him the best opportunities when considering those things. Plus, USC has been recruiting the four-star cornerback hard and would love to close with Wright, five-star Korey Foreman, former LSU pledge Raesjon Davis and some others as well. I expect Wright to be a part of USC’s class.
2. Jedd Fisch will turn around Arizona.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Arizona is in big trouble. Jedd Fisch is a solid coach but this is a program that is clearly behind Arizona State in its home state and near the bottom of the Pac-12. The Wildcats getting enough talent to compete is going to be tough. Being the quarterbacks coach at New England meant something when Tom Brady was there but it doesn’t hold much sway in recruiting now and the West Coast is getting more and more competitive in recruiting. He has a long, long way to go.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Rich Rodriguez was at Arizona for six seasons and only had one losing year and so the Wildcats are capable of winning even though they need to wash the Kevin Sumlin years off quickly. There are definitely major challenges ahead but Jedd Fisch has a lot of NFL experience - and just like at Arizona State with Herm Edwards - that’s going to be an advantage in recruiting. Keeping more in-state prospects home will be a first priority and then getting into Southern California for some top-notch players will be important, too. But since 2010, Arizona and Arizona State each have six winning seasons so the disparity is not as much as it appears right now.
3. Oklahoma recruiting is struggling.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Oklahoma has a very good class led by quarterback Caleb Williams but whiffing down the stretch on five-stars Emeka Egbuka, Bryce Foster and Camar Wheaton isn’t a good look. The Sooners are hoping to keep offensive lineman Tristan Leigh from Florida or LSU. What looked like a great finish hasn’t happened and they are outside the national top 10. They are tops in the Big 12 but it takes more than that to win a national title. This was expected to be a massive year in recruiting.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. It did not go well down the stretch for the Sooners as Foster and Wheaton were sort of expected or leaning toward Oklahoma for a while but Egbuka was always a long shot even after his visit to Norman. Either way, Oklahoma still has a top-13 class with only 16 commitments so there is still some room to close strong with another five-star in Tristan Leigh, maybe circle around again for high four-star LJ Johnson at running back and others. In terms of average star ranking, the Sooners have the seventh-best class in the country. Everything is fine.