Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues 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 a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
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STORYLINE
Amon-Ra St. Brown is the top receiver in the 2018 class and ranked fourth overall in the Rivals100 behind quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields and cornerback Patrick Surtain.
The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei prospect is also going through one of the more mysterious recruitments since there are a select group of schools he’s focused on – but many different thoughts on where he could end up.
St. Brown’s oldest brother, Equanimeous, goes to Notre Dame and the five-star receiver is planning to visit when the Irish host USC. But if Equanimeous, who is a sophomore, leaves early for the NFL, will his brother still seriously consider South Bend?
His middle brother, Osiris, is a freshman receiver at Stanford. But will St. Brown want to follow his brother to college or chart his own route?
USC and UCLA have become serious contenders as well and St. Brown has said complimentary things about both Pac-12 programs. Being a potential star – and staying in the Los Angeles area – could be a really interesting proposition. So would playing with 2019 five-star quarterback JT Daniels, his teammate at Mater Dei who is already committed to the Trojans.
There are some possible surprises as well. Michigan continues to intrigue St. Brown and a visit to Ann Arbor could be huge. Ohio State had been a school mentioned all the time by the five-star receiver but recently it seems that has slowed a little.
So where does the best receiver in this class end up? It could be following one of his brothers, it could be staying home in Los Angeles, or it could be heading to a Big Ten power. It seems, this early, it’s anyone’s guess.
FIRST TAKE: JACOB RAYBURN, CARDINALSPORTSREPORT.COM
"There are a number of compelling reasons why Stanford should be a top contender for Amon-Ra. But USC has made a powerful impression on his thinking and it's more likely that all three St. Brown brothers will end having played at different universities."
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
"I would say USC with JT Daniels. They obviously have a connection already. I don’t see him going to Notre Dame even if his brother stays there, Stanford is a threat but I’m going with USC just because of the Daniels connection and the Trojans' offense seems to be the best fit for him. It would be huge for USC. When you get a kid like that, you’re going to see other kids want to play with him and USC should then be able to continue to recruit five-star quarterbacks around the country with guys like that out there. It’s definitely going to help the Trojans in the 2019 class if he does decide to commit there."