Take Two: Who wins race for five-star Brendan Radley-Hiles?
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.
RELATED: Farrell Twitter Tuesday mailbag | Updated 2018 Rivals250
THE STORYLINE
New five-star Brendan Radley-Hiles is one of the best cornerbacks in the 2018 class and recently he backed off his pledge to Nebraska, sparking one of the more interesting recruitments this cycle.
The Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy CB, who is originally from Southern California, decommitted from the Huskers soon after his visit to Oklahoma. The Sooners are definitely a top contender for Radley-Hiles.
Things got more interesting in recent weeks when Radley-Hiles took a visit to UCLA. With coach Chip Kelly in place, the Bruins could become an even more serious contender, but not retaining defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin - who is loved by many top recruits - could hurt the Pac-12 team.
Florida cannot be counted out yet especially now that he’s booked an official visit to Gainesville and neither can Clemson, another serious player for him.
So where does the five-star cornerback end up? Does he follow his close friend T.J. Pledger, a four-star running back, to Norman? Does he come back home and play for Kelly? Or does he look at Florida or Clemson, two top programs that produce NFL defensive backs all the time? Nebraska had Radley-Hiles locked up. Can the Huskers get back into the picture with new coach Scott Frost?
Now that he’s opened his recruitment, what happens next?
FIRST TAKE: Josh McCuistion, SoonerScoop.com
“My pick is still Oklahoma and I continue to think a huge part of it is his relationship with T.J. Pledger. Obviously the success Oklahoma is having on the field is having an impact for the Sooners. It does feel like UCLA has made things interesting after spending the past few weeks looking like an Oklahoma race. What could be interesting is Nebraska. With Scott Frost in place, do the Huskers have a chance to get back in? In the end though it seems Radley-Hiles will end up in Norman or Westwood.”
SECOND TAKE: Mike Farrell, Rivals.com
“UCLA has gained a lot of momentum with that hire but Chip Kelly is an offensive coach. Demetrice Martin can recruit defensive backs as well as anybody in the country, but it looks like he won’t be retained, which could be a concern.
“Radley-Hiles could impact the Oklahoma defense immediately and he had a great visit there. He decommitted from Nebraska right after that visit. The coaching carousel has to stop spinning, they have to fill out staffs, but if I had to guess, I’d say he goes back home and picks UCLA.”
