Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove along with Jason Killop of SpartanMag.com, Zack Carpenter of Inside Nebraska and Jon McNamara of BadgerBlitz.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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2023 RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK:
Sunday: Who could supplant Arch Manning atop the Rivals250?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Should Samson Okunlola be the No. 1 OT? | Meet the new five-stars
Tuesday: Rivals250 released | Who should be five-stars in next release?
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released
Thursday: Defensive position rankings released
Friday: Final state rankings released
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1. Jalen Thompson's recent Ohio State offer makes the Buckeyes the front-runner for his commitment.
Cosgrove's take: FICTION. Although I believe the Ohio State offer gives Jalen Thompson a lot to think about and muddies the water in his recruitment, at the same time I think the Buckeyes' offer may be too little too late. I do believe Ohio State will be in it until the end for the four-star defensive lineman from Detroit Cass Tech (Mich.). But the job that the Spartans' Mel Tucker and staff have done recruiting Thompson will win out in the end. He has been a priority recruit for Michigan State from day one and his former high school head coach is also on the MSU staff.
Killop's take: FICTION. Michigan State has been recruiting Jalen Thompson since Mel Tucker and staff first took over at Michigan State. The Ohio State offer is a big one for Thompson, but it feels like the Spartans still sit in a good position, especially with former Cass Tech head coach Thomas Wilcher on staff.
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2. Nebraska will get at least four commitments from prospects that visited this past weekend.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. While Nebraska may not get commitments from four of its top targets who took officials over the weekend, I do believe that the Huskers have a very good chance at getting a minimum of four commitments from this group of visitors. With two commitments already giving their pledge in WR Jaidyn Doss and OL Brock Knutson, they will only need to land two more out of a large group whose consensus appeared to be that Nebraska knocked it out of the park. Omarion Miller seems to be a Nebraska lean at the moment and the Georgia contingent of recruits seem likely to produce at least one Husker commit if not more. The big one for Nebraska here is local product Malachi Coleman. Should the Huskers happen to land a pledge from him, the official visit weekend was an absolute success for that reason alone.
Carpenter's take: FACT. The Huskers landed a commitment from in-state offensive tackle Brock Knutson on Monday, and both Nate Clouse and I have logged FutureCast predictions for Nebraska to land four-star Louisiana receiver Omarion Miller. I really like where they stand at receiver behind Mickey Joseph’s continued energy and the respect he’s earned. Malachi Coleman, Joshua Manning and Barry Jackson were all on campus for officials. I also feel good about the Huskers’ standing with Amir Herring after this weekend, and they made progress with Maverick Noonan, though that will be a battle.
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3. Wisconsin has a legitimate shot at landing 2024 QB CJ Carr on Thursday.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. I am not saying that Wisconsin is the team to beat for CJ Carr's commitment, but I do know that the Badgers are a legitimate contender to land the high four-star QB from Michigan. Carr has been extremely calculated with the approach to his recruitment and I don't think he would have wasted his time making multiple trips to Madison if Wisconsin was not going to be in it until the end. Carr is a Michigan legacy and there is plenty of reason for him to stay home and play for the Wolverines, but for some reason Michigan has never seemed to be his dream destination. I see this coming down to Wisconsin and Notre Dame in the end with the Irish having a slight lead over the Badgers heading into Thursday.
McNamara's take: FICTION. CJ Carr is currently the only quarterback Wisconsin has offered in the 2024 class. The Badgers have also hosted the four-star prospect a handful of times, most recently for an unofficial this spring. But to say UW is serious contender for Carr, who recently trimmed his list to six schools, is fiction. The timing of his upcoming commitment seems to favor Notre Dame, and the current FutureCast picks for the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the country back that up. Wisconsin fans should be more concerned with who is offered next at QB rather than if Carr ends up with the Badgers.
