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.
THE STORYLINE
When five-star receiver Rakim Jarrett was asked which programs were recruiting him the best at the recent Rivals 3 Stripe Camp presented by adidas, he said Tennessee, LSU, Clemson and Ohio State in that order.
It seems as if the Volunteers and Tigers have jumped out in front for the Washington (D.C.) St. John’s College High standout even though it’s still early in the process. Visits are coming up and Jarrett’s mom will be on the road with him. That could be an important consideration since her opinion should carry a lot of weight in his final decision.
Early on, it looked like the Buckeyes could hold the edge. Ohio State is still very much there but the two SEC teams might have taken a step ahead for Jarrett, who’s rated as the second-best receiver in the class behind Catawissa (Pa.) Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming. There was even talk that both could end up in Columbus together and that might still happen.
But recently, Tennessee seems to hold a slight edge and LSU is right there as well. This is far from over, though, since a round of important official visits will be coming up soon and he will get to see all these schools with his mother.
Does the five-star receiver end up in the SEC or can Clemson or Ohio State flex its national recruiting muscle to land Jarrett’s commitment?
FIRST TAKE: Adam Friedman, Mid-Atlantic analyst
“At this point it’s an SEC battle between LSU and Tennessee, but he’s not making his decision anytime in the next couple of months until he takes at the very least these two official visits. I expect him to take official visits to Ohio State and Clemson and that could be the big difference there if he does make it to those two official visits.
"If his mom goes to see the school, she could give him the stamp of approval and her word carries a lot of weight for him. She’s only been to Maryland so far. She’s going on these official visits so that will be huge.
“I would kind of give Tennessee a slight edge, but not very much. He fits in very well with both especially when you consider the big personalities at wide receiver that both schools have produced. He fits the mold of those guys, so I could really see him at either, but at this point Tennessee holds a very small edge.”
SECOND TAKE: Mike Farrell, National recruiting director
“It’s going to come down to who he feels most comfortable with, who his mom feels most comfortable with and originally I thought Ohio State was the team to beat. I don’t know if he’ll go to LSU but I do know he’s intrigued by Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry and the great receivers that have come out of there.
"I would watch out for Clemson here because if they really want him and get heavily, heavily involved they could steal him away. Right now, I would have to guess based on what I’m hearing is that it’s going to be either LSU or Tennessee.”
