Fact or Fiction: Miami is team to beat for Rivals100 WR Ny Carr
Rivals caps the week with a Sunshine State version of Fact of Fiction. National recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. is joined by CanesCounty.com's Marcus Benjamin, OUInsider.com's Brandon Drumm and UCFSports.com's Brandon Helwig as they tackle three statements and decide whether each is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Miami is the team to beat for Rivals100 wide receiver and former Georgia commitment Ny Carr.
Benjamin's Take: FACT. Miami is making a big push to land its third blue-chip wide receiver in the 2024 class. New Miami wide receivers coach Kevin Beard has already done a tremendous job in recruiting, helping to land five-star Jo Jo Trader and four-star Chance Robinson. Beard is also showing his worth on the football field as the current wide receiving corps ranks fifth in the nation in receiving grade (85.9), according to Pro Football Focus.
Many believe that part of the reason the four-star decommitted from the Georgia Bulldogs is because of the growing mutual interest between Carr and the Hurricanes. Miami can seal the deal this weekend as the Hurricanes will host Carr on a game-day visit, along with five-star Jeremiah Smith. I'm guessing that Miami closes on Carr and drives for more to boost its 15th-ranked class into the top 10.
Garcia's Take: FACT. The moment Carr publicly backed off of the Georgia pledge, Miami was the team controlling the buzz, despite heavy competition from Florida State, Auburn and others. The Tigers had the Peach Stater on campus for a visit last weekend, and while he came away impressed, news of his impending Hurricanes visit seemed to dominate the returns from Auburn's upset bid of Georgia.
Multiple sources have told Rivals that Miami has been in the mix for Carr longer than given credit for, and with the on-field product buzzing from a passing-game standpoint everything could be lining up for a big splash in South Florida. Carr has told many he doesn't expect to be uncommitted for very long, so every visit feels very big down the stretch.
RELATED: Miami's 2024 recruiting class
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2. Oklahoma will add at least one Floridian to its class of 2024 before the end of the season.
Drumm's Take: FACT. Oklahoma is recruiting several targets from the Sunshine State. As of the time of this write-up, I continue to feel as if the Sooners are in a good spot for Tampa Catholic four-star OL Eddy Pierre-Louis. Also, Oklahoma already has IMG teammates committed in four-star DL Jayden Jackson and five-star DL David Stone, and the Sooners are pushing for 2024 three-star ATH Cameron Campbell out of Tampa Tech. One way or another, Oklahoma continues to keep its pipeline in Florida wide open in the 2024 class, with several 2025 targets already looking hard at OU as the Sooners move into the SEC in the ‘24 season.
Garcia's Take: FICTION. OU is in the thick of it for multiple Floridians in the senior class, especially the pair of Tampa natives in Pierre-Louis and Campbell. While the Sooners sit near the top for each, however, there are still clear hurdles for the program to win out for either recruit.
Pierre-Louis has long-term personal ties to the UCF coaching staff and it hosted him yet again just last week. He also wants to get out to see several of his top contenders beyond UCF and OU, such as in-state Miami, Oregon and Texas A&M.
Campbell is in total reset mode after decommitting from Michigan State, and has yet to see OU or Kansas State for the first time. He'll take those trips while Colorado and Miami, among others, keep tabs on him going forward. Should the Sooners win either battle here it would be impressive, but it feels early to call it on my end.
RELATED: Oklahoma's 2024 recruiting class
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3. UCF is trending up in recruiting since entering the Big 12.
Helwig's Take: FACT. UCF's recruiting started to tick upward following Gus Malzahn's arrival in spring 2021 and it really took off with the Big 12 invite later that year. It didn't take long for UCF to land a caliber of recruit it never had before, a big one being last year's signing of four-star defensive tackle John Walker. Now that UCF is officially in the conference, the Knights are on track to sign their best recruiting class in history. The current 2024 haul, which is hovering around the top 25 nationally with eight four-star prospects, could finish at the top of the new Big 12 if things hold -- combined with a strong finish.
Garcia's Take: FACT. UCF is the perfect example of the reason programs aspire to get to the Power Five level. While the on-field product hasn't hit the ground running in Big 12 play, including that embarrassing collapse last week with Baylor in town, the future still seems so bright that the administration extended Gus Malzahn AFTER said disappointment. That's faith.
It's also a testament to the program's ability to recruit as a unique counter to the other P5 programs in Florida, part of the reason it has won some impressive head-to-head battles with SEC and ACC programs on the trail, and not just within the state. Atlanta-area defensive back Jakob Gude may be my favorite UCF pledge in the current class.
RELATED: UCF's 2024 recruiting class