Today’s edition predicts the decision on every uncommitted five-star prospect, looks at the Army Bowl prospects pushing for a fifth star and discusses the SEC East.
Five-star predictions
Okay, I preface this by saying the following: it’s only Jan. 9 and there is a long way to go before National Signing Day. But, as always, I’ll throw myself out there and take the risk of looking like a fool and make predictions on each of the current uncommitted five-star high school prospects.
* DT Rashan Gary - The No. 1 player in the country goes to Michigan.
* LB Mique Juarez – The No. 5 player in the country goes to UCLA.
* LB Ben Davis – The No. 7 player in the country goes to Alabama.
* ATH Demetris Robertson – The No. 8 player in the country goes to Georgia.
* LB Lyndell Wilson – The No. 12 player in the country goes to Florida.
* WR Nate Craig-Myers – The No. 13 player in the country goes to Auburn.
* DE Terrell Hall – The No. 14 player in the country goes to Alabama.
* ATH Mecole Hardman - The No. 15 player in the country goes to Georgia.
* LB Caleb Kelly – The No. 17 player in the country goes to Oklahoma
* TE Isaac Nauta – The No. 18 player in the country goes to Georgia
The ones I don’t feel super confident about are, well, many of them.
Despite his family legacy, Davis could very well end up at Georgia based on what some people close to him say. Robertson told me this week his leaders are Stanford and Notre Dame but I’m not quite buying it. Wilson could also end up at Alabama. Craig-Myers and Hall could both land at Florida State.
Important note: These are subject to change –- a lot –- over the next few weeks.
Pushing for five-star status
Now that I’ve been at all the important U.S. Army All-American Bowl practices for the week, there are a few guys who are in San Antonio this week that stand out to me as potential five-star prospects if they sustain their level of play during the game itself.
Defensive tackle Derrick Brown, a former five-star, has been a force most of the week for the East and should be in the discussion. Wide receiver Tyler Vaughns is a guy I like more and more as I watch him and, at No. 28, is right in range. Athlete Jack Jones has been exceptional at cornerback all week long and has that swagger you love at the position. I have also become enamored with defensive end Jeffery Simmons, who could be a Chris Jones-type late five-star add from Mississippi.
Some guys who are in range but haven’t really shown five-star ability this week include wide receiver DeKaylin Metcalf, running back Tavien Feaster and offensive tackle Tommy Kraemer, at least in my mind.
A few wildcards to think about who need a big game include quarterback Feleipe Franks, offensive tackle Landon Young -- who I think I like more than the rest of the analyst team -- and a longshot in super explosive but slightly undersized defensive end Brian Burns.
There are others that are set to make big moves up and down, and you never know how a dominating performance in the game itself might impact things, but there will be some big-time rankings changes between now and National Signing Day.
Disappointment in the SEC East
I've already named Tennessee as the team to beat in the SEC East for 2016 -- and I’ll probably make some more crazy predictions somewhere down the line and change them often -- but it got me wondering if a team I predict to win a division next year can also be that division's most disappointing team the previous season?
In the case on Tennessee, I don’t think you can say that. The other candidate in the SEC East is Georgia. The Bulldogs went 10-3 and lost their best player -- Nick Chubb -- midway through the season in a loss against the Vols.
The Vols finished with six straight wins while Georgia closed with five, and both teams finished 5-3 in the SEC. But even though the Bulldogs had one more win on the season -- and a nice excuse for their struggles with Chubb's injury -- they were also the big-time favorite to win the division and disappointed so much that long-time coach Mark Richt was sent packing.
So the most disappointing team in the SEC East was Georgia by a hair.
I’ll do more of these as the off-season drags on with some very obvious choices for most disappointing and some that may surprise a bit.