National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Poaching, Mike Leach, Amarius Mims
1. Mike Leach’s Twitter activity will drive more players away.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Defensive lineman Fabien Lovett entered the transfer portal this week after Mike Leach tweeted a meme of a woman knitting a noose for her husband during self quarantine. Leach deleted the tweet and apologized and it’s still unclear if Lovett is leaving because of the tweet, but his “wtf” response to the meme leads people to believe he was very upset by it.
Leach is an amazing Twitter follow and very funny and I can’t see any more players leaving because of a tweet. Lovett was likely going to leave anyhow and this was a nice excuse. Keep tweeting, Leach!
Gorney’s take: FICTION. In just the last few days, Leach tweeted about funny math, cats at a crazy dance party, a bald eagle snatching a rabbit from a red fox, memes about not selling nude pictures and Tiger King and many other things. He uses his social media in part as a way to try to spread humor or memes he thinks are funny.
I don’t believe in any way his perceived controversial tweet about a woman knitting a noose for her husband during self-quarantine will drive more players away. Was it in poor taste? Maybe. That’s debatable. But Leach will handle this properly with his team and everything will be fine. If more players leave, that’s their prerogative, but I don’t think it will happen.
2. Dabo Swinney’s confidence that there will be a football season is unfounded.
Farrell’s take: FACT. I love Dabo Swinney’s enthusiasm and positivity and I want to believe him when he says he is sure there will be a football season this fall. But no one knows anything and it certainly would have been better for Swinney to curb his optimism a bit at this stage of the coronavirus pandemic. I don’t feel anything Dabo said was irresponsible. I just wish he would have tempered his statement.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I want to believe Swinney. I love his passion and his confidence for the return of college football. But the virus does not care about Swinney’s timeline or the NCAA's timeline or anything else. I’m heartened to see Italy’s numbers leveling off or possibly decreasing and if the peak is in late April or early May we might have a chance. God knows I want college football back. But having a high level of confidence on sports right now is a little foolhardy.
3. Florida leads for four-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I still feel Ohio State is in the best position here followed by Florida and Oklahoma. I don’t think Tunmise Adeleye will make a quick decision and if he still decides on Aug. 1, he should be able to take visits and could change his mind. Ohio State has been the constant in his recruiting while Florida jumped up after a great visit and Oklahoma is a great local option. But to me, it’s the Buckeyes as the team to beat.
Gorney’s take: FACT. This one is still very tight, but I’m going to give the slight edge to Florida in his recruitment especially since he’s now playing in the state at IMG Academy and the Gators have made him a huge priority in this class.
If it’s not Florida, Oklahoma has the best chance of landing him because Adeleye has a great relationship with defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux. Adeleye’s recruitment could still go in a number of ways, though. Since he’s originally from Houston, I wouldn’t count out Texas A&M or Alabama, either. The four-star has a top five and all remain legitimate contenders, although the Gators have the edge.
