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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COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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1. LB Chance Campbell will be a star in the SEC. Â
Farrell’s take: FACT. Campbell is a tackling machine heading to Ole Miss from Maryland and to me becomes one of the more important pieces to the defensive puzzle for Lane Kiffin right away. I’m not talking Devin White or Roquan Smith as a first-rounder, but he’s going to be a star in the SEC.
Gorney’s take: FACT. In four games this past season, Campbell had 43 tackles, so to extrapolate that out he would be well over 100 tackles if this was a normal year. That means the former three-star prospect is going to Ole Miss to make plays and to get people on the ground, which he is excellent at doing. The Rebels have some solid linebackers coming back, but after allowing more than 38 points per game last season Ole Miss is going to find a way to get Campbell on the field, and he’s going to be outstanding.
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2. Matt Campbell will be at Iowa State for his entire career.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Another Campbell on my mind is Matt, who just signed an extension at Iowa State until 2028. He’s passed down many chances to take other jobs - and some of them pretty big ones - but eventually someone will lure him away to a bigger program. In the meantime, Cyclones fans should enjoy this while it lasts.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. The only losing season Campbell has had at Iowa State was in his first year when he just got to Ames, just started to set expectations for the program and really got a feel for the job ahead. Since then, Campbell has been phenomenal. He took Iowa State to the Big 12 championship game this past season and he’s done all he can do. Campbell was at Toledo before jumping to Iowa State, so I don’t expect him to just get up and leave for the next big job that comes calling. But let’s say Michigan opens, or an NFL job intrigues him or Ryan Day leaves to try the NFL, or Brian Kelly does. There are so many possibilities it seems unreasonable to think the 41-year-old Campbell’s last job will be at Iowa State.
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3. WR Nico Collins could be a first-rounder.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. A lot of people forget how good Nico Collins is as a wide receiver with size and speed because he opted out of last season. But I see him as a Tee Higgins type who will be a great second-round value for some team as the smaller, speedier guys go in the first round.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Collins had two great seasons at Michigan in an offense that was not exactly lighting up scoreboards and posting huge numbers, especially when throwing to receivers. If Collins is lost in the shuffle a little bit because he opted out this season, that would be a mistake because he has excellent size and length, and after Ja’Marr Chase, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle the top of the receiver board is a little muddled. After those three, Collins should be in the argument, and that means he could be a fringe, late first-rounder.
