Fact or Fiction: Pryor at ND, Auburn's Derrick Brown, more
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) Isaiah Pryor will have an instant impact at Notre Dame.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Okay, he hasn’t even decided to transfer to Notre Dame, but everyone is excited about the Buckeyes' transfer and former Rivals100 defensive back visiting South Bend this weekend. And if he decides to head to Notre Dame, he will jump into a great depth situation at safety. Pryor has a ton of talent and is a hard worker who just didn’t work out as expected at Ohio State but a second chance at ND would be the perfect fit.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. I think Pryor would be an excellent addition to Notre Dame’s secondary and this could be a huge visit weekend for him, but until he at least makes a commitment to the Irish, I can’t state this as a fact. It is looking good for Notre Dame, though, since when Pryor was in high school the Irish were one of his frontrunners. I know a lot of other schools are trying to get him on campus before he makes a decision and he’s from the Southeast, so I’m sure a lot of ACC and SEC powers are trying to make a move before he makes a pledge.
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2) Auburn's Derrick Brown is the best defender in college football.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. But the only reason this is fiction is because Ohio State defensive end Chase Young exists. Both Young and Brown, the Auburn defensive tackle, should be up there in Heisman voting if the award wasn’t such a joke and just given to the best quarterback nearly every year. Isn’t that what the Davey O’Brien Award is for? Jheesh people.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. It is so difficult to say Brown is not the best defender in the country, especially watching him be so disruptive against Florida’s offense, but I have to agree with Farrell here and say Young owns that title. Brown is awesome, though, and could be the second defensive player drafted in April. But Young is insane with 8.5 sacks, which is even more impressive because teams try to scheme every way to slow him down and simply cannot.
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3) Richard Sherman proves you can’t believe much of what players complain about today.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. While video caught Richard Sherman in a blatant lie about Baker Mayfield not shaking hands before the Browns-49ers Monday night game, I think most player gripes from the NFL down to college and high school are still valid. Rakim Jarrett is a good example of this as video evidence backed up that IMG defensive end Josh Griffis purposely stepped on his hand during their game. In one angle it appeared to be an accident, but in another it looked clear that Griffis intended it. Let’s not let Sherman’s idiotic lie ruin the good name of many players who are telling the truth about poor sportsmanship.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. The latest update is that Sherman basically said that Mayfield deserves an apology. The whole story is bizarre because Sherman, who graduated from Stanford, surely is intelligent enough to realize every single inch of every single NFL game has a video camera on it, so why make that ridiculous claim in the first place? Mayfield is a blowhard sometimes who might refuse to shake hands, but this was just a dumb story started by Sherman and he looks worse off now.
I definitely don’t carry that over to anyone else in this sport. I’ve covered almost every sport known to man during my time in this profession and I’ve found football players, honestly, to be some of the most grounded human beings out there.
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