Florida spotlight: Top class of 2019 storylines
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A Rivals100 watch list for the class of 2019 has been released, and with that list comes potential future storylines. Today, we look at a handful of storylines the new rankings could create in the talent-rich state of Florida.
CAN THE BIG THREE RETAIN THE TOP PRIZE?
With Patrick Surtain Jr., the No. 1-ranked prospect in the state, seemingly high on both LSU and Clemson, the streak of top prospects leaving Florida seems to be trending toward continuing into 2019.
The last time an in-state program retained the state’s top recruit was in 2014, when Florida State landed Travis Rudolph, the No. 11 overall prospect in the class. For a state with three programs that boast national championship pasts, the trend is one that logic says can’t continue for much longer.
With Florida State currently among the recruiting elite and Miami seemed poised to join the Seminoles in that group, 2019 seems to be as good a time as any to break the streak. Florida seems to be one impressive season away from joining the FSU and UM in elite recruiting waters and could also be a player by this time next year.
WHAT OF MIAMI'S MOMENTUM?
Where will Miami be at this time next year? The Hurricanes have the top 2018 class in America for the time being and don’t seem to be losing much steam. A year is a lot of time, however.
It’s suddenly not difficult to imagine a 2019 that sees the Canes as the state’s top recruiting team with Florida-based players spurning Florida State to migrate to Coral Gables. It’s just as easy to envision a 2019 that sees the Hurricanes in the midst of a backslide brought on by a less-than-stellar 2018 season. Neither is out of the question and what’s to come packs plenty of intrigue.
HOW MANY FIVE-STAR RUNNING BACKS DOES IMG HAVE?
The answer to this could legitimately be zero, one or two.
Only at IMG.
The athletes-only boarding school boasts a pair of running backs rated as high four-stars in massive Alabama commit Trey Sanders and the uncommitted Noah Cain. Both sit on the verge of five-star status and could put themselves over the top at any given moment. Sanders fits the mold of Crimson Tide running back and has everything he needs to be a legitimate star in Tuscaloosa. Cain, on the other hand, has the look of a more versatile runner capable of shining in just about any system. It will be interesting to see who rises to the top in the year ahead.
KIFFIN WATCH
Say what you will about Lane Kiffin. And maybe FAU isn’t as nationally relevant to the college football landscape as Miami, Florida or Florida State, but that doesn’t make the situation any less interesting.
By the time Signing Day 2019 rolls around, Kiffin will have had two seasons as the Owls’ head coach under his belt and there will be narrative in place. Just what that narrative will be is unknown, but the possibilities are certainly intriguing. There seems to be little chance that Kiffin in South Florida will end with anything other than an incredible redemption story or a point-and-laugh situation.
Kiffin has a brand and recruits seem to be drawn to him. How that holds up in the year to come will be fun to watch. Whatever the well-traveled head coach is, he’s rarely boring.
WHERE'S THE FIVE-STAR?
The initial Rivals100 watch list does not include a single five-star from the state of Florida. This, of course, is an upset. It’s also something that is likely to change down the road.
For now, the list of candidates capable to grabbing their final star is as follows; Sanders, Cain, Carol City running back Nayquan Wright and Dunnellon High School wide receiver Maurice Goolsby. Others will certainly emerge as candidates down the road, but if history means anything the Sunshine State will have its first five-star prospect sooner rather than later.