Fact or Fiction: Ohio State will win 2025 recruiting title
Rivals rankings director and national transfer portal analyst Adam Friedman is joined by Jeremy Birmingham of DottingTheEyes.com, Mark Passwaters of AggieYell.com and Tyler James of InsideNDSports.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. No program will be able to surpass No. 1 Ohio State in the team recruiting rankings.
Friedman: FACT. This is a tough one because Ohio State has an obvious path to winning the team recruiting championship but Texas (2002) and USC (2004, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2015) are the only programs outside the SEC to ever win it. History is obviously aligned against the Buckeyes but they only hold 15 commitments right now and they’re in the running for multiple five-star and highly ranked four-star prospects. It’s not out of the question to think Ohio State could land five more Rivals250 prospects, including one or two five-stars.
Birmingham: FICTION. A Big Ten program has never won the Rivals.com team recruiting title so the odds are definitely stacked against Ohio State but the Buckeyes are in a solid position heading into the last big recruiting weekend of June.
There are a number of players on the board left for Ohio State that will make or break its pursuit of that national recruiting title, though. The Buckeyes remain a very real threat for Jordon Davison, Dakorien Moore, David Sanders, Micah Debose, Malik Autry, Riley Pettijohn, Dorian Brew and others. If those recruitments go Ohio State’s direction then yes, that’d be a tough class for anyone to top but there are always twists and turns on the road to signing day.
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2. Kiotti Armstrong will be the best Texas A&M tight end since Martellus Bennett.
Friedman: FACT. Kiotti Armstrong, the top-ranked prospect in Texas A&M’s 2025 recruiting class, has the inside track to be the best Aggie tight end since Martellus Bennett. The former Aggie had a 10-year NFL career, won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots and made a Pro Bowl. Jace Sternberger was an All-American tight end for Texas A&M in the 2018 season but he never panned out in the NFL. Bennett wasn’t in a pass-friendly offense while at Texas A&M but the Aggies haven’t produced a tight end as talented or successful in the time since he left College Station after his junior season in 2007.
Armstrong has a chance to surpass both Bennett and Sternberger. He’ll be in an offense that utilizes the tight end and he’s an outstanding talent that defenses will have to account for once he is on the field.
Passwaters: FICTION. That’s not a shot at Armstrong, it’s a reminder that the Aggies have had All-American Jace Sternberger and Mackey Award finalist Jalen Wydermyer since then, and they were just as good as Bennett if not better. Armstrong has the ability to be that kind of tight end, with his size and speed, and Collin Klein’s offense could fit him like a glove.
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3. Riley Leonard will lead Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff.
Friedman: FACT. At top-12 finish is well within the realm of possibility for Notre Dame this season. Notre Dame will be more talented at quarterback this season than they have in some time thanks to Riley Leonard. Will his efforts be directly responsible for a potential Notre Dame Playoff berth? As it often happens, quarterbacks get too much credit when things are going well and too much blame when things are going poorly. It seems likely that Leonard will be leading the Notre Dame offense more than managing it this season.
James: FACT. With as good as Notre Dame's defense should be, Leonard might not need to do much leading for the Irish to get to the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame is returning a lot of experienced talent on defense, and its schedule isn't exactly lined up with a bunch of top-end quarterbacks on the other sideline.
Leonard came to Notre Dame to prove he could be a top-end quarterback and make a run at the playoff, and I expect him to do so. Notre Dame needs to solidify its offensive tackle positions to help Leonard out, but he's used to dodging defenders at Duke. Notre Dame should have enough skill talent around him to allow him to succeed in offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock's scheme. Head coach Marcus Freeman has a chance to learn from the lesson of not putting quarterback Sam Hartman in the best position to thrive last season.