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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1. Jabril Cox will be a difference-maker at LSU right away.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Haven’t heard of the North Dakota State FCS star? You will. With Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen gone, Jabril Cox will step right in and be a star for LSU on defense. He has size, range and he’s experienced. He has one year left to make that impact, but NFL teams like him quite a bit and he is a talent. LSU is getting a key, key transfer here.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Cox is an important addition and will help with linebacker depth at LSU but calling him a difference-maker might be a little much, especially as the Tigers bring in so much young talent. I highly doubt Cox would have transferred to LSU unless he was told he’d have a chance to contribute and he will, but Damone Clark is back, I expect Marcel Brooks to have a big year and then Antoine Sampah, Phillip Webb and others could have a big year, too.
2. Virginia Tech is now a force in Texas.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. The Hokies have a couple of nice commitments from Texas in QB Dematrius Davis and WR Latrell Neville, but this likely won’t be a trend and the Hokies still need to recruit their home state and local areas first and foremost. Davis has a lot of connections to Texas players as the son of a coach, so this will pay dividends, but Virginia Tech will continue to spot recruit the state and won’t do much damage to Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and LSU overall.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Among the top 30 prospects in the state of Texas, only the Longhorns have more commitments than Virginia Tech, which is really impressive at this point. But I don’t think the Hokies’ success will last over the long haul. Landing a commitment from Davis and from Neville over the weekend was huge, but I doubt Virginia Tech will become a force in the state.
Texas could have a great class, Oklahoma is going to do well, Texas A&M could load up and others will do fine as well. Virginia Tech is off to a great start, but the Hokies need to recruit their region more and only spot recruit in Texas and elsewhere.
3. Vince Young would dominate college football today.
Farrell’s take: FACT. We don’t have sports to watch these days so replays of amazing games like Texas-USC for the national title back in the 2006 season are being shown in prime time. And it brings back amazing memories. And it leads to questions like this — would Vince Young dominate in today’s game like he did back then?
The simple answer is yes and he might be even more valuable if that’s possible. Teams are more spread out than ever on defense and a guy like Young could just kill you with his ability to run and scramble and he wasn’t a bad passer. He would dominate similar to what Lamar Jackson did a few years ago in college football.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Young achieved mythical status - and rightfully so - after that incredible performance in Texas’ win over USC in 2006. Young was masterful that season, led the Longhorns to the title and became the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.
But Young’s stats over his three-year career at Texas were really not all that impressive or otherworldly and while Young would be a quality college quarterback today, I don’t think he would dominate the sport. Jackson had 9,043 passing yards in three years; Young had 6,040. Jackson had 69 touchdown passes; Young had 44. LSU’s Joe Burrow had almost as many passing yards this past season as Young had in his entire career and Burrow had 16 more TDs in one season than Young had in three. Young would be a top-notch quarterback, but he wouldn’t dominate like Jackson or Burrow did.
