Fact or Fiction: Michigan targets; Alabama's big week
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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1. Michigan needs to recruit the state of Florida more.
Farrell’s take: FACT. The Wolverines just landed a nice commitment from Florida linebacker Jaylen Harrell who is huge and could grow into a defensive end. However he’s the only commitment from the Sunshine State for the Wolverines in the 2020 class.
Florida is key for most schools and Michigan needs to continue to hit the state and recruit even harder if possible. It was key for Urban Meyer when he won a national title and it’s key for Jim Harbaugh.
It’s not an easy task. Convincing top players from the state to head north to the cold is never easy, but they can sell Devin Bush as a recent success story and Michigan is a big-time program, so there’s no doubt they can land more prospects. Heck, Minnesota landed two four-stars from Florida a couple years ago and have been hitting the state hard and it’s helped quite a bit. Michigan needs to up their efforts.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Florida should certainly not be forgotten and targeted recruiting in the state will work - especially at IMG Academy where kids come from all over - but the state is so saturated now with college coaches coming in that it might be a whole lot of effort for little reward.
Beating Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and not to mention all three in-state schools for kids is tough. Michigan has a lot to sell and recruiting specific kids from there should not be abandoned, but the academic load is significant and overcoming the weather in Ann Arbor is tough as well. The Wolverines can get kids from Florida - just like Alabama gets them from California - but it should be more player-specific instead of a wide-net approach.
2. Alabama will clean up this week.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Javion Cohen was just the start and I have a feeling Alabama will load up as we head to National Signing Day and pull some surprises. Nick Saban is still the best recruiter in college football and Bama is involved with a ton of key prospects, even a few committed to other schools. I guarantee they land either Darnell Washington (who isn't announcing until January), Jordan Burch or Rakim Jarrett. And many feel they trail for each. Watch out for Alabama this week.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I’m not betting against Alabama and I’m not betting against Saban, who’s out of the College Football Playoff for the first time and needs a positive spark heading into the offseason. Flipping Jarrett is a possibility. I like Alabama’s chances with linebacker Phillip Webb, possibly flipping running back Jase McClellan along with getting McKinnley Jackson and others. If Alabama gets Burch, I’d be surprised, but Saban is the master and betting against him is foolish.
3. Oregon could steal some big names down the stretch.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Kelee Ringo and Justin Flowe come to mind and Mario Cristobal could end up landing both when they were considered locks to head East. Ringo will be announcing in January and Flowe is expected to sign in December. With USC recruiting horribly, that leaves Oregon as the best option on the west coast for high-level players and both have great interest. Just watch, Cristobal will get one of them.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a lot of movement in Oregon’s class over the next few days. There’s a lot of chatter with four-star WR Johnny Wilson flipping to Arizona State and Myles Slusher looking around and the status of tight end Seth Figgins is unclear, but one thing is for certain: Cristobal and his staff are the best recruiters in the Pac-12 and the Ducks are going to do really well. I wouldn’t be shocked if Ringo ends up at Georgia and Flowe goes to Clemson but, I wouldn’t be stunned either if both go to Oregon. Cristobal and his staff are that good.