Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national recruiting analysts Sam Spiegelman and Adam Friedman along with Blayne Gilmer of UGASports.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
*****
MORE: The top WRs still available in the 2022 class
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
*****
1. North Carolina is the biggest surprise in the 2022 team rankings right now.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Almost every single thing went right for the Tar Heels in the Early Signing Period and coach Mack Brown admitted he didn’t have to worry about anybody flipping late, he was that confident in his guys. North Carolina has two five-stars in OL Zach Rice and DT Travis Shaw and that’s more than Alabama, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan. North Carolina also beat Clemson numerous times for top prospects and the Tar Heels loaded up on both sides of the line of scrimmage. There were other good and bad surprises out there but North Carolina's dominance stands out the most.
Friedman’s take: FICTION. The Tar Heels being inside the top 10 of the team rankings is a bit surprising but back in July if you told me LSU, Clemson and Florida would be ranked this low, I would be shocked. LSU is just two years removed from a national championship and having one of the best teams we've ever seen. Clemson had a number of big commitments that have since signed elsewhere. Florida seemed like a hot team on the recruiting trail coming off of a good summer. Now two of these teams have new head coaches and the other had to replace both coordinators. The fact that these three huge brands in the sport are recruiting so poorly this year is more surprising to me than North Carolina recruiting well.
*****
2. TreVonte’ Citizen is pretty much a lock to re-commit to LSU.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. My bet is that TreVonte' Citizen re-commits to LSU. But it’s not a complete lock. Auburn is making a run at him, Florida’s new coaching staff has made him a big priority and others could get in the mix in the closing weeks as well. LSU is in a good spot with coach Brian Kelly and his staff working on Citizen hard but he could still end up elsewhere.
Spiegelman’s take: FICTION. LSU is in need of a running back and Citizen has already received visits from Kelly, but the competition is fierce. Auburn has made a run in Louisiana and has Citizen in mind. Ole Miss and Florida are other SEC teams lurking and Citizen has a long-standing connection to Jabbar Juluke and Billy Napier at Florida. LSU is among the favorites, but this is still far from the finish line.
*****
3. There is still a real threat that Christen Miller will leave the state of Georgia to play college football.
Gorney’s take: FACT. There is a very good chance Christen Miller ends up in Georgia’s class. He’s close with Mykel Williams (the two almost committed together to USC at one point) and the Bulldogs are still going hard after the four-star DL from Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove. But Miller has had numerous opportunities to just end it and he’s decided against it. Ohio State is a very real player in his recruitment and there’s some talk that Florida is really making a serious run at him as well. I would not be shocked at all if Miller ends up at Georgia and is playing the recruiting game a little bit. But a surprise could be in store, too.
Gilmer’s take: FACT. The longer an in-state prospect with a committable offer from an in-state school goes without committing, the more real the chances of them going elsewhere becomes. Ohio State is 100 percent making this a race with Miller. Given the relationships Miller has with the staff and in the 2022 class for Georgia, I’d still give the Dawgs the edge. Kirby Smart has yet to use his in-home visit and Ryan Day already has.
