Fact or Fiction: Miami has a great chance to flip Armondo Blount back
Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith is joined by Marcus Benjamin of CanesCounty.com, Jed May of UGASports.com and Steve Marik of InsideNebraska.com as they tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Dre'lon Miller could recommit to Texas A&M | DJ Lagway is making a case for being the No. 1 QB in the 2024 class
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1. Miami has a great chance to flip Armondo Blount back?
Benjamin: FACT. Miami has a great chance to backflip Armondo Blount for several reasons. Blount could simply look at the success of current defensive end Rueben Bain. The freshman is having an outstanding season, and Blount could have a similar impact in year one if he decided to stay home. Blount and Bain played their final year of high school at local powerhouse and pipeline Miami Central, and Blount could be another hometown hero.
Who wouldn't want to be coached by a Hall of Famer in defensive line coach Jason Taylor? Taylor is developing young pass rushers like Bain and Jayden Wayne to become elite. Playing at Miami would also garner more opportunities in NIL, based on proximity. The glaring advantage that Florida State might have is its undefeated record, but that could change as Miami visits Tallahassee in nine days.
Smith: FACT. When Blount decided to flip from Miami to Florida State it was seismic recruiting news. His decision to also reclassify to the 2024 cycle made this even more urgent for the schools in Florida that want to keep him home. Blount has already played four years of high school football, since he started playing as an eighth grader. Miami will not go away easily in this recruitment, and that will keep everyone on edge until the paperwork is sent in during the Early Signing Period. Blount also plans to enroll early at his school of choice.
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2. Georgia is the clear frontrunner for 2025 LB Zayden Walker.
May: FACT. This is a clear case for those who believe in following the visits. Walker has already visited Georgia for wins over South Carolina and Kentucky this fall, and he plans to be back Saturday for the matchup with Missouri. Kirby Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann have prioritized Walker as an inside linebacker for a while, comparing him to first-round NFL Draft pick and former Bulldog Quay Walker. Those relationships have the Bulldogs in the driver’s seat for one of the top defensive prospects in the 2025 class.
Smith: FACT. There is an old adage in recruiting: Follow the visits. So Walker taking three trips to Athens this season, including this weekend, is a big deal. I got a chance to see Walker play in person last week and was very impressed with what I saw. When he decided that he wasn’t going to be blocked, there was nothing the opponent could do. He has the size and athleticism to play a number of spots in college, but I believe he is currently enamored with the vision that Smart and Schumann have for him. It’d be a major upset if he doesn’t become a Bulldog.
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3. Nebraska is waving the white flag on Florida recruiting.
Marik: FACT. Since Matt Rhule has taken over in Lincoln, he’s been vocal about using a recruiting strategy that involves searching for recruits who want to be at Nebraska and are just fine with living in the Midwest, an area kids from the Southeast need adjusting to - culture-wise, weather-wise, all of it.
Rhule’s plan is a good way to go about things, because recent trends between athletes from Florida and Nebraska haven’t been good. Not since defensive back Dicaprio Bootle, a member of Nebraska’s 2016 class, has there been a Husker from Florida who’s made a real impact. The Huskers have signed 21 Floridians since 2016, but just four stuck with the program. The others either never arrived on campus for a variety of reasons or they transferred somewhere closer to home.
Nebraska signed two recruits from Florida in the 2023 class — three-star defensive backs Dwight Bootle, Dicaprio’s little brother, and Syncere Safeeullah — and have two in the 2024 class in four-star receiver Jacory Barney Jr. and three-star linebacker Willis McGahee IV. Barney and McGahee will be ones to watch as the Early Signing Period approaches. Will Nebraska secure their signatures, or will other programs closer to home swoop in and win the recruitment?
Smith: FICTION. The trends are very bad for Nebraska and recruits from Florida. Several have left the program early and some left without ever appearing in a game for the Huskers. The adjustment from Florida to Nebraska in recent years has been a real challenge for Nebraska to overcome.
I went with fiction because while I don’t think there will be a laser-focus on the Sunshine State, I do think the team will find its chances to recruit there. Secondary coach Evan Cooper has strong ties to the state, especially in South Florida, which helps. Under Rhule, I think the Huskers will do a better job of identifying players that will stick around once they arrive in the program.
Another thing to consider is that the Florida schools are starting to do a better job of keeping talent home. The major question as signing day approaches is if Nebraska can keep McGahee and Barney in the class. It’s not impossible to see a world in which neither makes it to Lincoln in the first place.