Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia is joined by national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney, Marcus Benjamin of CanesCounty.com and Caleb Jones of AUSports.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Winston Watkins is the best wide receiver recruit in Florida.
Garcia: FICTION. This is more taking the strong field than knocking down Winston Watkins Jr., who may very well be the best slot receiver in the 2025 class. On Sunday at Under Armour Miami, he was named positional MVP and continued to show how tough it is for secondary players to stay in front of him. That said, there is a major group of contenders that we could see eventually pushing him for the top spot.
The polish Watkins shows in the slot may be unmatched, but the counter arguments on more traditional WR1 frames are aplenty in the state. Jaime Ffrench and Donovan Olugbode are 6-foot-2 or so, Jayvan Boggs is up to 198 pounds while Naeshaun Montgomery and Cortez Mills profiles more like Wilson in the long and lean department. Each brings special traits to the game and each has showed up against strong competition just as Watkins has. Even those closer to Watkins in stature, Vernell Brown III and Koby Howard, have made major impressions this offseason. This will be a furious finish.
Gorney: FACT. This is a very strong crop of receivers in Florida for the 2025 class so Watkins is going to have a lot of competition to keep that top spot in the state but I still think he has dynamic qualities that other receivers just don't possess right now. Ffrench is as sure-handed and steady as they come, Dallas Wilson needs more national exposure and he could end up more in that five-star talk, Olugbode catches everything and looks like a grown man and Ohio State commit Jayvan Boggs is definitely someone who could shoot up the charts. But Watkins is getting bigger physically, he's as dynamic as any receiver in the class and the five-star is a pure playmaker.
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2. Miami will bring in a better wide receiver commitment haul in 2025 than it did in 2024.
Garcia: FACT. Kevin Beard is the type of relatable assistant coach prospects close to home clamor for and now there's continuity with offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson entering his second year in Coral Gables. The thought is that Miami will try to bring in four prospects at the position in 2025 and there aren't many candidates holding fewer than four-stars next to their name, so the odds favor The U sitting strong at wide receiver come February.
As for the most likely names, Cortez Mills, Joshua Moore and Koby Howard would be the three atop my list with the best chances of staying in South Florida to play college football. Paired with Waden Charles, who is a bigger body type like Moore, the slender Mills and the shifty Howard would also project as a balanced position group. Even if the race is close, Miami is addressing a major positional issue in the process.
Benjamin: FACT. If Miami pulled off the biggest caper of the 2024 recruiting cycle by flipping Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State, then this would be fiction. The three four-star talents that did land in Miami (JoJo Trader, Ny Carr and Chance Robinson) set a high bar, but it is the standard given the program's fertile grounds.
The 2025 class is arguably a more loaded wide receiver class than 2024. Miami already has Charles committed to the class and is in a great place with local talents Mills, Moore, Naeshaun Montgomery and Howard. Miami will not miss on all of those four-star receivers.
Outside of South Florida, Miami is high on Jaime Ffrench, Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson and Caleb Cunningham. I see Miami landing at least one of those four. There is no chance that Miami will acquire fewer than three blue-chip pass catchers even if the season falls short of expectations. Recruits are buying into what Mario Cristobal is building in Coral Gables. The Air Raid offense run by offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, and the chance to be developed by receivers coach and Miami alum Kevin Beard, helps Miami to be a destination for premier wide receivers.
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3. Auburn is the top threat to flip Texas QB commitment KJ Lacey.
Garcia: FACT. The allure of Alabama as a flip contender for KJ Lacey is easy to see on paper, right? Former teammate Ryan Williams is there and the Crimson Tide coaching staff is one that isn't afraid to air it out in all of the winning it did under Kalen DeBoer at Washington. However, Auburn has hosted Lacey much more than Alabama has and, believe it or not, Auburn has recruited the wide receiver position better of late, having brought in the top haul at the position nationally in 2024.
Of course the transfer portal and general attrition won't allow for a clear path to playing time at either spot at the moment, but there may be less quarterback depth on the Plains than in Tuscaloosa as well. The latter is the only reason why Ole Miss, also in the mix with Lacey, isn't projecting as the best flip destination.
All that said, bailing on Steve Sarkisian and Texas would be a bit of a surprise for the elite quarterback recruit but stranger things have happened.
Jones: FICTION. It's true that Auburn holds Lacey in high standing, and while the quarterback remains firm in his commitment to Texas, he hasn't held back from visiting Auburn. However, I wouldn't say Auburn is the top threat, but neither is Alabama. The two appear to be neck-and-neck in their attempt to flip him and I don't believe either one of them has a significant advantage over the other at this point in time.
