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Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.
THE STORYLINE
Oklahoma did something unheard of last recruiting cycle by signing three of the top four receivers in the class and all of them were five-star recruits in Jadon Haselwood, Theo Wease and Trejan Bridges.
Could Ohio State do something similar this cycle? The opportunity is there especially at the very top with Julian Fleming, Rakim Jarrett and Johnny Wilson, currently the top three receivers in the 2020 class who all have the Buckeyes among their favorites.
Fleming, from Catawissa (Pa.) Southern Columbia, has Penn State and Ohio State as his favorites with the Nittany Lions probably having the edge. The Buckeyes could be the team to beat for Jarrett out of Washington (D.C.) St. John’s College High. And Wilson has Ohio State in his top five with Texas, UCLA, Washington and Oregon.
A lot of people thought it was unlikely that Oklahoma could sign Haselwood, Wease and Bridges last recruiting cycle, that there would be too much of a glut at the receiver position and that it was improbable. But it happened.
Could Ohio State be the team that pulls the trifecta this recruiting cycle or is it unlikely all three head to Columbus?
FIRST TAKE: MARC GIVLER, BUCKEYEGROVE.COM
“I would say it’s probably unlikely because I don’t know if they lead for Fleming right now, I know there is confidence there but Penn State and Clemson are right there. Maybe even beyond that with Wilson, he’s not much of a talker, so it’s hard to measure how serious he is about Ohio State. He puts them on his top list, but to my knowledge there hasn’t been a visit and I’d need to see things progress with Wilson, who is probably the longest shot of the three right now.
“If things started to progress with Wilson, I could get on board with the idea, but until he backs up the interest it’s hard to pencil him in or claim that they lead. I do think they have a good lead for Jarrett right now. They would take all three of those guys, but that would push them to five receivers.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“I don’t think they get all three. Wilson strikes me as the type of kid who’s probably going to go to a warm-weather state or stay home. Everybody feels like Fleming is probably going to go to Penn State and they could get Jarrett. Ohio State could get the two Mid-Atlantic kids in Fleming and Jarrett, but I just don’t see them getting Wilson. The way that the Ohio State receivers ran at the combine certainly doesn’t hurt, though. I know those kids are watching that and Ohio State had some guys who put on a show, so that will help but I don’t think they can pull off the trifecta.”