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.
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THE STORYLINE
McKinnley Jackson is the highest-ranked defensive tackle in the 2020 class who is not committed or signed and his recruitment could still take a lot of different paths heading into January.
Ole Miss looked like the frontrunner just a few weeks ago, but when Matt Luke got fired and Lane Kiffin got hired, the Rebels’ status became far more unclear.
Now Luke is the offensive line coach at Georgia and the Bulldogs recently offered Jackson, who could take a visit to Athens next month.
Early in his recruitment, the Lucedale (Miss.) George County four-star defensive tackle was committed to LSU, but he backed off that pledge. Still, the Tigers remain one of the top contenders along with Alabama and Auburn, which could be surging a little bit in Jackson’s recruitment.
January is going to be a crucial month in Jackson’s recruitment. With his connection to Luke, can Georgia became a legitimate contender, can Kiffin convince the state’s top player to stay home or will LSU, Alabama or Auburn land the four-star standout?
FIRST TAKE: CHAD SIMMONS, SOUTHEAST RECRUITING ANALYST
“Georgia is considered a long shot for him. There is the connection with Luke, but they’re going to be tight with numbers. Could they make room? Maybe, but I don’t see them as a true player yet. If he does visit, then that could change.
“With Kiffin and Ole Miss, it probably puts them toward the bottom of the list. Nothing against Kiffin, but losing Luke and not having that connection could hurt. Again, if he takes that visit, then things could change there, but they’re toward the bottom.
“As far as the candidates, it’s mainly Alabama, LSU and Auburn. Auburn is that sneaky school that should be talked about over the past month. Bama and LSU are going hard and you can’t count out Texas A&M, but I don’t see it quite as high as the trio of Alabama, Auburn and LSU. He can still go a bunch of different places.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“Georgia makes sense because Luke was recruiting him and that could mean a lot. I still believe Kiffin can keep him home. He will have quite a bit of time after the holidays to build that relationship and try to keep him home.
“Auburn is definitely a team that’s in there as well and I’m not counting out LSU or Alabama by any means, but if he doesn’t stay home then Georgia would make a lot of sense.”
