Rivals Rankings Question of the Week: Which program has buzz?
As the high school season picks up, so does the process of evaluating prospects all around the country. In today’s Rivals Ranking Question of the Week, we ask the analysts when they’re out at games or talking to prospects, which program or coach have you noticed is generating a lot of buzz with players?
RIVAL VIEWS: Who could jump into top-10 of recruiting rankings?
ROB CASSIDY: Pitt
Clemson continues to dominate the conversation with the elite prospects in the state of Florida, but that's no shock. Pitt is still a hot name with the high three-star and low four-star crowd, however, as the Panthers' brand is only getting stronger. Pat Narduzzi has built a strong pipeline to South Florida and it will only get stronger if the Panthers start to produce results on the field.
MIKE FARRELL: Clemson and Texas
Clemson and Texas. They are the two hottest programs in the country right now when it comes to 2020 and 2021 recruiting and prospects I have talked to always seem to mention them. Clemson is getting more national talk as prospects from all over the country are interested and looking for an offer while Texas is more about the Midlands and West Coast but these two teams seem to keep coming up over and over again.
ADAM FRIEDMAN: LSU, Tennessee and Boston College
Earlier this season I heard a lot about LSU and Tennessee. A lot of that buzz has revolved around five-star Rakim Jarrett. He's currently committed to LSU but Tennessee has been pushing for him to flip. With LSU, there continues to be a lot of buzz around 2021 Rivals100 quarterback Caleb Williams but his recruitment isn't close to coming to an end. I just finished up a trip around Connecticut and Massachusetts and Boston College has done a good job of working the "stay close to home" and academic angles with many of the top prospects.
ADAM GORNEY: Clemson
This was not the case only a few years ago, but a lot of people in the West are talking about Clemson - and not only talking about them but taking visits there and making commitments to the Tigers. Clemson has already landed the pledge of No. 1 overall prospect D.J. Uiagalelei from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco and the Tigers are probably the front-runner for five-star linebacker Justin Flowe from Upland, Calif. The top-ranked prospect in California’s 2021 class, Corona Centennial defensive end Korey Foreman, has already visited Clemson and so has the second-best player in that class, St. John Bosco four-star receiver Beaux Collins. Clemson will spot recruit the state especially since USC has been down recently and the Tigers could continue to play an important role in the region.
JOSH HELMHOLDT: LSU
A surprise school I have been hearing about lately in the Midwest is LSU, but when you look at it the Tigers offered 19 prospects in the region's biggest talent-producing states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan, and they have offered 13 from those states already in the 2021 class. Ed Orgeron and his staff are putting time into the Midwest, and it's paying off. Just this past weekend when I was in St. Louis I had four-star linebacker Antonio Doyle tell me he was going to take an official visit to LSU, while underclassmen Rico Barfield and Kevin Coleman both listed the Tigers when I asked which programs were piquing their interest early in those recruitments.
CHAD SIMMONS: Georgia
Georgia and Kirby Smart have people all over talking about them. I have covered games with teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Ohio in them — all have mentioned Smart and what he is doing in Athens. I was at a game in Alabama last week, and a head coach for one of the teams thinks Georgia is next to go on a run, winning championships. He has sent players to Alabama, Auburn and other powerful programs in the last decade, and Smart reminds him a lot of Nick Saban. This coach is not the only one who thinks/says things like that. Georgia is recruiting nationally, they are knocking on the door as a national contender and people are talking a lot about the Bulldogs.
SAM SPIEGELMAN: Texas
No question, it's been Texas. The Longhorns have an incredible foundation in place with their 2020 class, which features three members of the Rivals100 from in-state. They are off to a torrid pace in their 2021 collection, which also includes a trio of Rivals100 prospects from Texas and are sitting in a good spot with several more.
Of course, we're still three months away from the Early Signing Period and there's more dominoes that still need to fall, but Texas has a lot of momentum, in particular with in-state prospects, which shows the strides Tom Herman and his coaching staff has made.