National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Florida will lead for Tristan Leigh after visit | DT Maason Smith will end up at Georgia
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1. TE Arik Gilbert will end up at Georgia. Â
Farrell’s take: FICTION. While this makes sense as he’s from Georgia and many expected him to commit there early, I still think he has concerns over how UGA utilizes the tight end position and he might head to Alabama or Tennessee. I’m going against everyone else on this one as most assume he’s going to head to Georgia, but let’s not count out the other schools he liked a lot along the way as well. It all comes down to what his issues are and how close to home he wants to be, I suppose.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Gilbert’s situation is still too fluid to have any real intel on what the former five-star tight end is going to do, but he had every opportunity in the world to pick Georgia out of high school and he didn’t, so I’d suspect he will look for other opportunities close to home. Alabama and Tennessee make sense and I still think we should watch out for Clemson because he would be outstanding in that offense and that is also closer to home. Georgia will be a possibility but again this season - after numerous assurances - Georgia just has not thrown to the tight end much.
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2. Vanderbilt is the toughest place for a coach to win in the Power Five.
Farrell’s take: FACT. List the others and I will refute you. Washington State? Mike Leach almost went to the playoff, if you remember. Kansas? Mark Mangino had the Jayhawks No. 2 in the country once. Duke? Rutgers? They’ve all had higher highs than Vandy.
James Franklin did a masterful job there and still never finished higher than fourth in his own division. The SEC is the toughest conference in the country and when you factor in a lack of athletic support, facilities and higher academic standards, the next coach at Vandy could be doomed.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Oregon State is pretty impossible, too, and now we can look back and see the job Mike Riley did there was even more impressive. After Riley's run from 2003-14 that saw eight bowls and four Top 25 finishes, here are the Beavers’ records: 2-10, 4-8, 1-11, 2-10, 5-7 and now 2-3 this season.
There is a very light recruiting base in Oregon and most anybody really good goes to play for the Ducks. The Pacific Northwest’s top players go to Oregon, Washington or get raided by national programs. It’s just a tough place to win. At least Vanderbilt has high-end academics to sell, along with an awesome city, playing in the SEC and a recruiting base.
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3. Emeka Egbuka picks Ohio State. Â
Farrell’s take: FACT. At first I bought into the Oklahoma visit hype and the throwing session with five-star QB Caleb Williams, but I’ve come back to my senses and have Egbuka to Ohio State. The Buckeyes have been his leader for far too long to let one visit change things, so I’m with Buckeyes wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and company here for the Washington five-star wideout.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I was told by a person who knows the area well - but who isn’t intimately involved in Egbuka’s decision-making - that he actually thinks Washington will land his commitment. Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington are the finalists, but until the last few days it felt like the Huskies were in third place.
No one really knows what the five-star receiver is going to do Friday when he commits, but he has liked Ohio State for so long and the Buckeyes have been in his recruitment since early on. He just fits that program so well. Washington could get him and a late visit to Oklahoma could have changed things, but until Ohio State loses him I’m sticking with that pick.
