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Recruiting streaks that are on the line in 2019

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

College football recruiting is often about momentum and the challenge for most programs is carrying that momentum over from class to class, even if the on-field results vary. Today we take a look at some notable recruiting streaks and analyze whether or not schools can extend them with their efforts in the 2019 class.

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Will Florida State sign an out-of-state five-star for the fifth year in a row?

Kayvon Thibodeaux
Kayvon Thibodeaux (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

It’s hard to believe that despite a down season on the field and a coaching change in December, the Seminoles were able to keep their streak alive.They landed five-star defensive back Jaiden Woodbey out of California in December. The playmaking safety joins a long list of elite players to head south to the Sunshine State in recent years, including Josh Sweat (2015), Levonta Taylor (2016) as well as Khalan Laborn, Cam Akers and Marvin Wilson (2017).

As usual the ‘Noles are making waves on the national recruiting scene again in 2019, with the nation’s No. 4 overall player, Kayvon Thibodeaux, expected to be on campus for a visit this weekend. Thibodeaux highlights the list of likely candidates to extend the streak, but expect FSU to continue to be mentioned with several other five-stars as the cycle moves along.

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Can Georgia and Clemson extend their five-star quarterback streaks?

Last year at this time it would have seemed highly unlikely that Georgia would sign a five-star quarterback for the third-consecutive year but that’s exactly what the Dawgs did by eventually landing Justin Fields. The streak, which has included Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm and Fields in back-to-back-to-back years, is the first such streak in Rivals.com history and shows just how much emphasis Kirby Smart and his staff have put on the position since arriving in Athens.

Having already made history, chances are the Dawgs will have to settle for just a three-year run. Currently there are no quarterbacks ranked as five-stars in the 2019 class and while that might change, it will be quite the task to land another truly special quarterback this year.

The same rationale can be applied to Clemson, which is coming off back-to-back years with five-star quarterback signees in Hunter Johnson and Trevor Lawrence. Three of the four quarterbacks the Tigers have offered in the class have already committed, with Rivals250 prospect Taisun Phommachanh the lone offeree still on the market.

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Will Clemson sign a five-star receiver for the fourth year in a row?

Brannon Spector
Brannon Spector (Tigerillustrated.com)

The Tigers like to call themselves “Wide Receiver U” and with good reason considering the team’s recent of run of success both on the recruiting trail and when it comes to putting players into the NFL.

The streak started in 2014 with Artavis Scott and continued with five-star Deon Cain (2015), Cornell Powell (2016) and five-stars Tee Higgins (2017), Derion Kendrick (2018) and Justyn Ross (2018). In fact, the streak should be even longer had eventual All-American and first round pick Mike Williams (No. 222) been ranked appropriately in 2013.

Currently, the Tigers' lone wide receiver commit to date in 2019, Brannon Spector, is ranked as a three-star, but the Tigers are involved with several of the nation’s top wide receivers, including Rivals100 prospect Frank Ladson. Last year at this time Kendrick wasn’t even ranked in the top 100 and usually the Tigers find a way to land top players at the position, so expect this streak to continue.

Will Michigan sign a Georgia-based four-star for the fourth straight year?

Christopher Hinton
Christopher Hinton (Chad Simmons)

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has made headlines for his recruiting efforts in the Southeast over the last few years, but the hard work has paid off with the signing of at least one four-star or higher prospect from the Peach State in three consecutive years. The streak started in 2016 with Elysee Mbem-Bosse and continued with five-star defensive tackle Aubrey Solmon in 2017 and Rivals100 defensive back Myles Sims in 2018.

This year the Wolverines already have a commitment from five-star defensive end Christopher Hinton and appear to be set to extend their streak of success in Georgia. But if for some reason Hinton doesn’t stick, the Wolverines are still chasing many other prospects in the state, including elite defensive back Andrew Booth and four-star running back Derrian Brown.

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