Fact or Fiction: Joe Burrows is the midseason Heisman favorite
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. Joe Burrow is the midseason Heisman choice.
Farrell's take: FICTION. Give me the field on this one, as you can make as good a case for Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts, among others. I really like how Burrow is playing and he's played some very good competition, but my first-team guy is Tagovaiola, followed by Hurts then Burrow. That's how good the quarterback play has been this year.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I’m going with Burrow as the Heisman frontrunner because his stats are basically similar to Tagovailoa’s, but LSU has actually played teams with a pulse and Burrow has shined. He looked great in wins over Florida and Texas and the Tigers’ offense should continue to rack up huge numbers. Alabama hasn’t really played anybody yet, other than maybe Texas A&M, so right now Burrow has had a more impressive season.
2. Lincoln Riley will be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Farrell's take: FACT. This is a tough one because Jerry Jones loves Jason Garrett and Lincoln Riley loves Oklahoma, and there's really nothing other than speculation out there that either side would even be interested.
But Riley is such a hot name and has been so successful winning and developing quarterbacks that if Jones decides to move on from Garrett, he will have to be one of his top targets. And Jones often gets what he wants. You know he will throw a ton of money at Riley, especially if he gives Dak Prescott a huge contract and it will be hard to turn down. We're talking a ridiculous amount of money here. Oklahoma fans don't want to hear this, but Jerry is coming after your coach after this season.
Gorney’s take: FACT. This is complete speculation, but when has that ever stopped us from making a prediction? Riley has done everything he possibly could at Oklahoma already, other than win a national championship, and it’s going to be extremely tempting to see if he could implement his offense successfully in the NFL. There is no more high-profile job than the Dallas Cowboys, and with Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in the offense it could get really interesting with Riley.
3. With four defensive tackles committed, Alabama is out of the McKinley Jackson race.
Farrell's take: FICTION. Not so fast my friend. Jamil Burroughs gives Nick Saban and company four committed defensive tackles, but I don't think the Tide back off Jackson now after putting in so much work with the Mississippi product. Defensive tackles are hard to find, and Jackson could be the best of the group this year if he gets more consistent with his play, so Alabama will continue to push. The Tide might not have room in the end, but I don't think they are done here.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. I struggled with this one, though, because Jackson might turn his focus to others because of the glut of defensive tackles now in the class. I’m still interested to see if Timothy Smith considers Florida moving forward after visiting this summer, but now I think Jackson looks even more closely at Ole Miss and LSU. With Alabama loading up, I still think the four-star ends up with either the Rebels or the Tigers, but I don’t completely count out Alabama yet.