Rivals national recruiting analyst Marshall Levenson is joined by national recruiting director Adam Gorney, along with Jason Suchomel of OrangeBloods.com and HappyValleyInsider.com's Richie O'Leary to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Jonah Williams belongs at LB rather than safety in future rankings updates.
Gorney: FACT. Williams could probably stay at safety even at his size and be just fine but after seeing Trey McNutt, Hylton Stubbs, Faheem Delane, Charles Bass and other safeties in person and after seeing Clemson commit Tae Harris put up an excellent 40 time this offseason, moving Williams to outside linebacker now just makes more sense. First, he's definitely bigger than all those players. And he's probably not twitched up like most of them. It's also a smart move to go down to linebacker because he'll be one of the fastest in the country with excellent range, cover ability and his size won't be impacted. We should move him to outside linebacker because my guess is that's where he plays in college.
Levenson: FACT. I am in complete agreement with Gorney on this one. While there is certainly a case for Williams to stick at safety, given his skillset, a move to linebacker just feels right at this juncture of his development. Williams has already eclipsed 200 pounds and will continue to add mass, especially once he gets into a major college program weight room. A interesting comp for Williams may be former Clemson do-it-all defender Isaiah Simmons. While he didn't have the same hype or ranking, Simmons was a safety coming out of high school with near exact measurables, including identical track times. While at Clemson, Simmons rose to 230 pounds and played both safety and linebacker before settling in at linebacker in the NFL. I look at Williams to follow a similar path.
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2. Texas should be worried about being No. 33 in class rankings at this point in the year.
Suchomel: FICTION. It’s certainly not where I expected Texas to be following last year's CFP run, and it’s obviously not where Longhorn fans want to see their program, but Steve Sarkisian and his staff have shown in previous classes that they’re able to close late on top prospects and even flip some of their more high-profile targets. Kelvin Banks, Anthony Hill and Xavier Filsaime come to mind.
The UT fan base is a bit on edge after recent losses in recruitments such as Dakorien Moore and Riley Pettijohn, but there are still enough talented players left on the Longhorns’ recruiting board that they’ll be able to climb the team rankings over time. Counting on flips or late additions is always a bit of a high-risk, high-reward game but Sarkisian and staff have earned the benefit of the doubt.
Levenson: FICTION. The last few weeks have not been too kind to Texas fans, missing out on priority targets in Moore and Pettijohn. But as Suchomel points out, we are far from the finish. And while there are plenty of prospects coming off the board halfway through the year, recent history tells us there will be plenty who end up back on the market.
While Texas may not have had as big of a summer as it had hoped, a big fall and winter 100-percent remains in play. The Longhorns also only hold 13 commitments, so we know they will add at least 10 more commits one way or another.
Texas is heading into year one of the SEC with a loaded roster and should look the part again as a national contender. If that is the case, Texas should find no issues rising up the ranks where they belong come signing day.
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3. Taz Williams Jr. would be the headlining offensive piece of Penn State's class.
Callahgan-Croley: FACT. From a pure Rivals250 perspective, he is certainly in the argument alongside the likes of Jabree Coleman. That being said, considering Penn State’s needs at wide receiver this cycle and missing on a pair of top targets in Matthew Outten and Lex Cyrus, recently, I believe it would be fair to call Williams Jr. the headlining member offensively for the Nittany Lions. If he were to choose Penn State on Saturday, of course.
Penn State and wide receivers coach Marques Hagans needed to put together a strong wide receiver recruiting class. So far they’ve got two high-upside prospects in New York’s Lyrick Samuel and Maryland standout Jeff Exinor, both currently rated as three-star talents. Outten and Cyrus both would’ve been great additions to the class for Penn State but it wasn’t in the cards for the Nittany Lions.
Williams, however, could be that missing piece. His tape and track record speak for themselves as he dominates Division I talent on a regular basis. There are a few other players who could be in the conversation including four-star running back Tiqwai Hayes, four-star tight end Matt Henderson and the previously mentioned Lyrick Samuel, the latter pair being prospects that could work their way into the Rivals250 this fall.
Levenson: FACT. This can be interpreted in two ways, technically. One is from a pure rankings standpoint. If Williams Jr. were to commit to the Nittany Lions, he would in fact be the highest-ranked offensive player among the group. So by that definition, yes, he would be the headliner. But you can also look at it from a fit and roster impact point of view. And in that way, I still feel the answer is yes.
The Penn State wide receiver room is one that needs to add talent, quickly. Following the 2023 season, Penn State saw its top two leading wide receivers transfer out. The last two years have also seen just four wide receivers sign with Penn State, three of them being three-star prospects. Adding Williams would give them the most offered wide receiver in the 2025 class. He would likely be able to provide quick production or at least be in the mix. The Nittany Lions rarely struggle to run the ball and often have legit tight ends. Adding a top wide receiver recruit is what they have been looking for.
