Fact or Fiction: Texas recruits QBs better than anyone in CFB
The official visit season meets elite camp season at this time of the year, with commitments and decommitments mixed all into it of course. Rivals national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman looks at the mesh of those check-points with help from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney, national recruiting analyst John Garcia and Maize & Blue Review's Josh Henschke in the latest Fact or Fiction.
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1. Michigan is the favorite for four-star WR Phillip Wright III.
Henschke: FACT. Reading his reaction from his Michigan visit alone, it’s hard to ignore just how much of an impact Wright’s visit to Ann Arbor did for his own recruitment process. There is confidence brewing in Ann Arbor that this can get over the finish line. The only concern is what happens if programs such as LSU or Georgia decide to put the full-court press on him? Would it change the trajectory of his process?
Spiegelman: FACT. Wright is almost done with a busy month of June, which has already included stops at Georgia Tech, Baylor, LSU, Michigan and will continue with Georgia this weekend. Michigan is one of a trio of teams garnering buzz with the four-star WR from The Boot, and at this point in time, there's a sense the Wolverines are trending up in this recruitment. Wright has an official visit to Athens this weekend, then will reconvene and make a decision. Right now, I like where the Wolverines sit.
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2. Texas recruits quarterbacks better than any program in the country.
Garcia: FICTION. I know he's been at multiple programs over the span that Steve Sarkisian has been at Texas, but it's still hard to look beyond what Lincoln Riley has done at the most important position in sports during the last decade or so. Even if the span was shrunk between Sark's years at Texas, early 2021 to present, Riley had just signed Caleb Williams at Oklahoma and then brought in five-star Malachi Nelson in the 2023 cycle. Of course the current No. 1 quarterback in the class, Julian Lewis, is currently committed to Riley at USC.
In that same span, Sarkisian signed Arch Manning after winning the Quinn Ewers transfer portal battle. Trey Owens, KJ Lacey and now Dia Bell is a strong run thereafter, but Riley's resume is hard to match – even when segmented. Sark will be just fine in this department, though.
Spiegelman: FICTION. Certainly, Sark has set Texas up to be in spectacular position over the next several years behind center. After possible first-rounder Quinn Ewers, the torch gets passed to former five-star QB Arch Manning. Then there’s former four-star Trey Owens behind him with Rivals100 passers KJ Lacey and Dia Bell following suit. There’s not many QB rooms around the country on the same level as Sark’s. Two that come to mind, though, include USC and Riley as well as Ohio State. Behind Will Howard, there’s Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Air Noland, not to mention a commitment from five-star Tavien St Clair in the 2025 class.
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and LSU are a few more programs that also have compelling cases to be made.
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3. After early impressions, Keelon Russell is the biggest stock-up QB from the Elite 11 Finals.
Gorney: FACT. Tavien St. Clair is already a five-star so there's not much room for him to move up and Florida State commit Tramell Jones was also impressive, but new Alabama pledge Keelon Russell definitely did himself the most favors after night one of the Elite 11. Russell has great size and a frame he can develop, the ball pops off his hand like maybe no other at this event (other than St. Clair) and he is absolutely now in the five-star discussion. Rankings are a marathon and not a sprint, but Russell has definitely impressed at the Elite 11 and a big showing at the Rivals Five-Star next week could really move him up in a huge way.
Spiegelman: FACT. Russell has shined during multiple in-person evaluations on Friday nights and has delivered in the biggest of stages for Duncanville (Texas) High School. This offseason, Russell has flashed in camp and that's been the case again at the Elite 11 Finals this summer. The new Alabama commitment checks off so many boxes in terms of his vision attacking the field, his downfield playmaking ability and his outstanding ability to extend plays at will. If he continues to deliver in the Elite 11 setting, it's going to be hard not to consider his glowing off-season and immense upside for the five-star conversation.