Fact or Fiction: Rashod Bateman is the best WR in the Big Ten
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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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
1. Rashod Bateman is the best WR in the Big Ten.
Farrell’s take: FACT. But it’s very close. Everyone loves Rondale Moore and so do I, but if you haven’t watched Rashod Bateman at Minnesota, you should. He’s explosive and excellent after the catch. He’s not as dynamic as Moore, but he’s more polished as a natural receiver and the NFL loves him. Chris Olave and Nico Collins are also ones to watch in the Big Ten, but give me Bateman.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. If Moore is healthy, he’s the best receiver in the conference and here’s why: In his freshman season at Purdue, he had more catches (114) than Bateman has had in two very quality seasons at Minnesota (111). In Moore’s freshman year, he also had more receiving yards and touchdowns than Bateman had last season. Now paired with receiver David Bell in the Boilermakers’ offense and back to being healthy, Moore could have a huge season again. Bateman is good, but Moore is just exceptional.
2. Elliot Donald will live up to the name.
Farrell’s take: FACT. But only to an extent. The nephew of the great Aaron Donald announced he will be following in the footsteps of his talented uncle at Pitt. Charlie Partridge is a very underrated defensive line coach at Pitt who has put together one of the best defensive lines in college football for this upcoming season and Donald already has the natural talent. He won’t be as good as Aaron in the long term because that’s essentially impossible. But he will be good.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Comparing anyone - family member or not - to Aaron Donald is completely unfair because it’s tough to live up to his success and domination, but Elliot Donald is a fantastic football player who can play across the defensive line. He’s longer and leaner than Aaron but still has that gap-shooting mentality and intensity that should bode well when he gets to Pitt. Elliot Donald is a really talented football player. He might not become arguably the best defensive lineman in the NFL, but he should have an excellent career.
3. Jake Slaughter’s loss hurts the Seminoles.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Florida State needs help along the offensive line and are back up to two OL in this class, but Jake Slaughter was important because he could play either guard position or center and he’s very mobile. And losing him to a rival team in state doesn’t help. We knew this would be a transitional year for Florida State recruiting and it has been but this one stings.
Gorney’s take: FACT. At first glance, I didn’t think it was a big deal that Slaughter flipped his commitment from Florida State to Florida, but the longer I looked, the more I became convinced it was a big issue.
There are no offensive linemen in the state of Florida who are ranked higher than Slaughter who remain uncommitted, so Florida State would have to flip a committed prospect to get an upgrade at the position. Or the Seminoles would have to go out-of-state for another interior lineman, which is certainly possible but not ideal. FSU currently has the No. 32 class nationally and now two offensive linemen committed after three-star Kimo Makaneole picked the Seminoles on Sunday. That's a good first step in building this o-line class, but more work needs to be done as soon as possible.