Midwest commitment previews: Decision time nears for four
Several Midwest prospects in the classes of 2021 and 2022 are expected to make commitments in the coming weeks. It is time to preview those decisions, handicap the fields and make predictions on which schools are looking likely to be on the receiving end of those commitments.
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CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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Announcement date: In the coming weeks
Preview: Burden has not announced a specific date for his commitment, but it could come any day. Burden told me last week it would be sometime in the next few weeks, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s sooner than later.
Schools have lined up to recruit the five-star talent out of St. Louis, but he narrowed his list to Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio State and Oklahoma last month. Ohio State was a popular pick after the Buckeyes offered last April. After all, they have recruited St. Louis well in recent years, from Ezekiel Elliott to Mookie Cooper in the most recent signing class.
Burden has never visited Ohio State, however. But he has visited Oklahoma, and the Sooners also recruit St. Louis well. Their recent on-field letdowns could play a role here, but if they do it would likely only serve to postpone the decision as opposed to changing the pick. The home-state Missouri Tigers are the dark horse, but I do not see them beating out Oklahoma if a decision is made this month.
Prediction: Oklahoma
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Announcement date: Oct. 10
Preview: The son of a future NFL Hall-of-Famer, Antonio Gates Jr. barely got his recruitment revved up before deciding he was ready to make his college commitment. Gates does hold nearly 20 scholarship offers. All but a handful of those came before the NCAA shut down recruiting visits, however.
One of the first offers Gates received after the NCAA put recruiting in a dead period came from the new coaching staff at Michigan State, led by Mel Tucker. Gates quickly grew a close bond with player personnel coordinator Sean Levy, and he sees the new offense being implemented in East Lansing as an ideal fit for his skill set because he can play both on the outside and in the slot. You might be able to make a case for Nebraska here, but the strong expectation is Gates stays home to play for the Spartans.
Prediction: Michigan State
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Announcement date: Oct. 12
Preview: There are a lot of reasons to pick Iowa here. For one, no team in recent history has been more proficient at producing professional tight ends. And, Carnie would be the only tight end in this Iowa 2021 class to date if he picked the Hawkeyes, whereas a school like Nebraska has Rivals100 tight end Thomas Fidone already committed in their class. Also, the Hawkeyes were in with an offer early, relatively speaking, before more recent offers came from Kansas State, Pittsburgh and Nebraska.
I am not going to pick Iowa, however. Nebraska just offered Carnie on Monday, exactly one week before he plans to announce his decision. The Cornhuskers have been recruiting the local product for several months and were clear with him throughout they were trying to work out the numbers to get him into this class. I expect the chance to play for the home-state school – a team he dreamed of playing for as a kid – is too tempting an offer to turn down. In head vs. heart decisions, the heart usually wins.
Prediction: Nebraska
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Announcement date: Oct. 14
Preview: Buckley has had this decision date locked in for a couple months. He released a Top 11 earlier this month, but the schools at the top are Florida State, Michigan State, Minnesota and Nebraska. You can pare that even further down and call this a Michigan State-Nebraska competition.
Buckley was able to visit both schools before the NCAA put recruiting into a dead period in March. In fact, those were the only two schools he was able to visit before the shutdown. The success of his Nebraska Junior Day visit last January led to Buckley naming the Cornhuskers as the leader in the past. The new coaching staff at Michigan State has been pushing to make up ground here, and it would not be a surprise if Buckley decides to stay close to home. This is a close contest with a week to go.
Prediction: Nebraska