Fact or Fiction: Texas has a real shot with OG Earnest Greene
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman along with Jason Suchomel from OrangeBloods.com and Michael Langston of Warchant.com tackle three recruiting topics and determine whether they believe each statement.
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1. Oklahoma is becoming the trendy pick for five-star OL Kam Dewberry.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I completely understand everything Sam says below and agree with a lot of it as Ohio State and Texas A&M have jumped out front and continue to recruit him hard, Texas is right there because Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood are going after him and LSU can never be counted out. But there is some reason to believe Oklahoma could be secretly emerging as a real contender here. I’m not going to count out Bill Bedenbaugh because he’s such a great recruiter and coach, and there is some chatter that recent visits to some of those other schools didn’t blow Kam Dewberry away. Does the five-star end up in Norman? Too early to tell but I’m not counting out the Sooners at all.
Spiegelman’s take: FICTION. Oklahoma has and remains a top contender for Dewberry, but if we're looking at momentum let's not sleep on LSU or both of the in-state schools. Sure, Ohio State and Alabama are two of the main teams in play that'll get Dewberry back on campus for games in the fall, but Dewberry was recently back at Texas and we know he's a top priority for Sarkisian and Flood this cycle. He has strong ties to College Station beginning with his high school football program and his glaring connection to Kenyon Green, a former teammate and now star at Texas A&M. Brad Davis, who recruited Dewberry at Arkansas, made a sizable impact on this recruitment when he landed on Ed Orgeron's staff, which also has the Tigers in play entering the fall. Oklahoma is in it, but it has serious competition.
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2. Marvin Jones Jr. is a virtual lock to Florida State.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. A lock? No. But Florida State has to love its position with Marvin Jones and if I had to guess right now the Seminoles would definitely land his commitment. He has shown only signs that he’s very interested in FSU. He believes in the turnaround story, he likes the other elite prospects the Seminoles are bringing in this class and so FSU is in a very strong position. Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and others are very much involved. It’s a step too far to call him a lock.
Langston’s take: FICTION. Yes, I do feel FSU is in a solid position here. He's only taken two summer visits to FSU and both trips were multiple day trips. One with his mom and one with his dad. FSU has done the best job recruiting him. There's also a genuine connection with Jones and this staff that is unique. Still, the job is not finished and Jones wants to see growth with this team compared to last year. Plus Marvin hasn't really gotten a detailed look at all the other national powers he's heavily interested in like Oklahoma, Alabama and Ohio State. Another good sign is that currently FSU gets the last official visit. Not to mention he's very sold on DE coach John Papuchis developing him. But Jones also wants to see how he coaches and the growth of FSU so there's still work left to do.
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3. Texas has a real shot with four-star OG Earnest Greene.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Ohio State and Texas are the two front-runners right now for Earnest Greene with Georgia right there as well, Oregon a possibility if he stays close to home along with USC and maybe Alabama if he could figure out a way to get to Tuscaloosa soon. But the word I’ve been hearing is that coach Steve Sarkisian is making a major run at Greene and there is serious interest there for sure. At the end, the Buckeyes might be too far ahead for any other team to catch up but Texas is in the game.
Suchomel’s take: FACT. The Longhorns definitely made a rather dramatic move up Greene's list after he took an unofficial visit to Texas in late June. It's interesting because when that visit first happened it felt like it was tied in with his trip to Oklahoma the day before, and there was some thought that the visit to Austin was more of a tag-along with the stop in Norman. As it turns out, Texas made a tremendous impression and surged up Greene's list. I certainly wouldn't call the Longhorns the favorites by any stretch of the imagination, but they've set themselves up to get a return visit in the fall and if Texas can keep chipping away it should have at least a puncher's chance against a team like Ohio State.