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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MORE FARRELL: New five-stars | Farrell's thoughts on new Rivals250 | How was this rankings cycle different? | Five-star countdown | Farrell on best trios in college football
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
MORE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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1. Texas A&M will break out with Kellen Mond this season.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I want to say fact because I was the one who pushed for Mond to be a five-star but I don’t see the Aggies competing in the SEC West this season with Alabama, LSU and Auburn all looking very solid. It will be interesting to see if Mond can take that next step in his development and how the NFL sees him but A&M doesn’t have the horses to make noise.
Gorney's take: FACT. I'm not a huge Mond fan but if there is ever a year for Texas A&M to make that big step under coach Jimbo Fisher, this would be it. The Aggies should be undefeated heading into its mid-October matchup against Auburn and then there's a decent change they could stay unbeaten heading into the closing weeks against Alabama and LSU. Mond is frustratingly inaccurate on his deep ball and that's a concern but Alabama and LSU will be breaking in new quarterbacks so from a continuity standpoint alone, Texas A&M has the advantage there. If it doesn't happen this season for Texas A&M, it might never happen.
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2. College football is in trouble for 2020.
Farrell’s take: FACT. With LA closing for the next three months and colleges already committing to online schooling in the fall, we could be in trouble for college football. Will some states play and others shut down? Who does Alabama play in the opener if USC is shut down? These are bad signs and honestly very premature. For the first time, I truly think college football will be cancelled for 2020 and that’s horrible.
Gorney’s take: FACT. It’s May, so it’s way too early to discuss this with any level of certainty, but the way states are behaving, I don’t have a lot of faith college football will be played, at least not starting on time in late August or early September. I’m not in the camp that the sport won’t be played at all during the calendar year, but it’s going to be modified, fans probably won’t be filling stadiums and it’s depressing to think about so I’m going to stop right there.
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3. Ohio State will win the 2021 recruiting title.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Even with the addition of two five-stars in the latest rankings and a dominant lead in points over the rest of the field I can’t say fact. Why? Because a northern school has never won the recruiting title in Rivals.com history and there is so much uncommitted talent in the South. I still think Clemson, Alabama, Georgia or LSU will take the title.
Gorney’s take: FACT. There are going to be threats from the SEC, but Ohio State might not only hang on to the No. 1 spot but the Buckeyes might even extend their lead. Ohio State is right there to land the commitments of five-star DE J.T. Tuimoloau, five-star receiver Emeka Egbuka, top tight end Hudson Wolfe and others. If the Buckeyes get five five-stars and possibly flip another one or get some high-level four-stars, they can hang on to the top spot. It would be an incredible statement by coach Ryan Day and his staff to do something even Urban Meyer couldn’t do during the Rivals era.
