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 of team sites or a regional analyst.
MORE: Foreman moves up to No. 1 for 2021
THE STORYLINE
Korey Foreman is the new No. 1 prospect in the 2021 class, an outstanding five-star defensive end who teamed up with four-star defensive end Drake Jackson at Corona (Calif.) Centennial last season to cause all kinds of problems.
Foreman is a close friends with Jackson and Centennial teammate Gary Bryant, a four-star receiver in the 2020 class who’s looking at USC, Arizona State, Washington, Oregon and others.
USC is playing a major role in Foreman’s early recruitment, but the Trojans are entering a season of uncertainty as it’s yet to be known what will happen to Clay Helton if the program doesn’t show marked improvement early this season.
Foreman has time to figure things out. He’s only entering his junior season, so any coaching dust-up should be clear by the time he needs to make his decision.
And he’s such a talented prospect that every national powerhouse is coming after him. The 2021 five-star recently returned from visits to Clemson, Alabama and Georgia.
Can USC land Foreman’s commitment or will this be another case of an elite talent leaving the region for better opportunities with teams competing for a national championship?
FIRST TAKE: RYAN YOUNG, TROJANSPORTS.COM
“I don't think Korey Foreman even knows the answer to this question at this point. He has expressed eagerness to visit some of the top national programs courting him while noting that he really hasn't seen a lot yet in his recruitment. Until he travels to SEC country or visits Clemson again or Notre Dame and the like, he's not going to know how he truly feels about the potential of leaving home. And as the 2019 and 2020 recruiting cycles have taught us, USC is not in a position to assume anything with the top local prospects.
“The Trojans do have a built-in advantage, however. Foreman is especially close with Jackson, his former Corona Centennial teammate. He looked up to Jackson as an older teammate and continues to talk to the USC freshman standout about potentially joining forces again. Also, if Jackson has the kind of breakout true freshman season we are expecting from him, that will only further entice Foreman.
"So USC should feel cautiously optimistic here, but nobody knows what's going to happen this fall. If the Trojans stumble again while Foreman is taking a closer look at the current national powers, anything can happen. USC has missed on too many top players in its backyard the last couple years and needs to win this recruiting battle. First, they need to win on the field to bolster their other selling points for the five-star defensive end.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“He’s going to wait and see. Even if he does commit, it really doesn’t matter because you have to wait and see what the coaching situation is and it all depends on who they hire. If they get a big-name hire, they can keep kids like Foreman home.
“Just like Justin Flowe is looking at Clemson, I can see Foreman looking at Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and some other SEC schools. This one is far from over and I can’t say he’s a USC lean even with his friends going there just because of the coaching uncertainty.”
