Hitting the Road: The 10 biggest out-of-state commits for 2019
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
Out-of-state commitments are always huge in the recruiting game. Here are 10 big ones in the 2019 class that could help shape the landscape of college football for the next few seasons.
BEST AVAILABLE 2019 RECRUITS: QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG | C | DE
Wease and Henderson have been tied at the hip since their recruiting process began, so they are also grouped together on this list. The duo initially committed to Oklahoma in February of 2017, but then both decommitted only two months later. After checking out a few other schools, which included a short commitment to Oregon by Henderson, both Texans found their way back to Norman. Grabbing one of these two top-level receivers out of Texas would have been impressive for the Sooners, but adding both is a huge recruiting victory and has OU on top of the Big 12.
While coach Jim Harbaugh has had his fair share of huge recruiting victories during his collegiate career, grabbing Hinton out of Georgia may rank among his best. Holding offers from a majority of the elite SEC programs, including Georgia and Alabama, Hinton’s relationship with the Wolverines' coaching staff, plus admiration of the education he would receive in Ann Arbor, helped put Michigan over the top.
This recruiting battle came down to Penn State and Virginia Tech, with Ohio State dropping to the wayside after the Buckeyes grabbed a commitment from Steele Chambers. While the pull of playing in-state was there for Ford, Penn State proved to be too much to overcome for the Hokies. His longstanding relationship with the coaching staff that strengthened during multiple visits to Happy Valley and the possibility of becoming the next Saquon Barkley was too much for Ford to pass on.
In order for Tennessee to re-establish itself on the field in the SEC and nationally, the Vols have to once again strengthen their recruiting success in neighboring Georgia. Adding Morris is a great way to get this started. While it is likely that other top programs, with Auburn leading the charge, will continue to recruit Morris until he signs his NLI, this was a major victory for new coach Jeremy Pruitt.
If you’re a fan of college football recruiting, Pappoe is a name you have been familiar with for several years now. Since he began picking up FBS offers in the 8th grade, he has become a recruiting priority for many of the top programs in the country. One of the schools that has been on him since the start is Auburn, and with the help of his strong relationship with linebacker coach Travis Williams, the Tigers were able to pull off a huge recruiting victory by pulling Pappoe out of Georgia and away from the rival Bulldogs.
Oklahoma has a long history of recruiting success on the West Coast, but the addition of Rattler was still a big get for the Sooners. This is especially true since his commitment happened soon after Lincoln Riley took over. This helped ease any concerns that fans had regarding a potential recruiting dip, plus proved that the Sooners would still have to be taken seriously in Pac-12 territory.
While Wilson may currently live over 1,200 miles from Ohio State, the Buckeyes actually had a couple of recruiting advantages working for them. Wilson grew up in the Columbus area before moving to Austin, and with his former high school teammate, Matthew Baldwin, currently on the Buckeyes' roster, it was more than enough to pull in the commitment. Even with these advantages, it is still an accomplishment to pull a top recruit away from Austin and the Longhorns. Ohio State recruits Texas very well.
Hilinski took an aggressive approach with his recruiting process, taking several unofficial visits during the winter and spring. A visit to Columbia sealed the deal for him and a commitment to the Gamecocks followed in early April. Since his commitment, offers from schools like Ohio State, UCLA and LSU have come in, plus USC has continued to increase their efforts. However, with his family planning to move to South Carolina in the near future to be around Hilinksi during his playing days, his commitment looks to be as firm as ever.
With offers from most of the SEC and ACC, Booth acknowledged that he knew that Clemson was the place for him after a visit to the spring game. A subsequent cookout in Death Valley only strengthened this feeling which eventually led to his late July commitment. The Tigers are more accustomed to winning recruiting battles like this at this point, but it also further solidifies Dabo Swinney and his staff as elite recruiters.
Give Wisconsin’s coaching staff full credit for recognizing Mertz’ abilities before anyone else, aside from the in-state Kansas Jayhawks. The Badgers offered Mertz during his junior season, which resulted in his commitment in October. Since that point, he has established himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in the class of 2019, while picking up offers from many of the elite programs in the country, including Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia. Despite all of these new options, the Wisconsin staff has done an amazing job keeping Mertz locked down and committed to the Badgers.
