Three-Point Stance: Colorado, departures at North Carolina and Va. Tech
Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman has thoughts on Deion Sanders and his efforts to sign top offensive linemen and two ACC programs handling the recent losses of important assistant coaches.
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MORE: Four-star OL Jordan Seaton makes his first cuts
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Could Colorado land the top offensive lineman in the nation?
Deion Sanders has landed two five-star prospects during his time as a head coach and he could be positioning Colorado to move into the lead position for another top prospect. Four-star Jordan Seaton, currently ranked as the top offensive lineman in the nation, is considering a trip to Boulder for his next visit.
Adding Seaton to the Colorado roster would be an incredible win for Sanders because of what Seaton could help build on the field and what it would mean on the recruiting trail. Seaton is talented enough to be a cornerstone offensive lineman for the Buffs for multiple years. Colorado has never signed an offensive lineman ranked as high as Seaton is now.
On the recruiting trail, landing a commitment from Seaton would signal to the rest of the college football world that Sanders and his recruiting pitch appeal to more than just highly ranked skill position players. Elite offensive linemen appear as if they are beginning to take Sanders more seriously, and that could be bad news for some of the sport’s bluebloods.
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Replacing the recruiting effort of Dre Bly at North Carolina
Former North Carolina defensive backs coach and legendary player Dre Bly was a major recruiting force for the Tar Heels and it will be interesting to see how they fare with him no longer on staff.
In the last three recruiting classes, North Carolina signed around 11 players from Virginia that Bly, now the cornerbacks coach for the Detroit Lions, had a hand in recruiting. Star recruits such as Tony Grimes, Zach Rice and Andre Greene Jr. would not have signed with North Carolina had it not been for Bly’s ability to build relationships and trust with recruits and their parents.
North Carolina and Penn State have largely owned the recruiting trail in Virginia in recent years but now the Tar Heels are facing tougher battles for the state’s top recruits. Penn State had some staff turnover but it is still set up to be major contenders for any coveted player in the state. Virginia Tech and Virginia have revamped staffs as well and they’re primed to gain some momentum with in-state prospects. It's up to North Carolina to adjust to make sure the Tar Heels don’t miss out on some of the region’s most talented prospects.
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Joe Rudolph's short stint at Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech and head coach Brent Pry had a lot to celebrate when they added Joe Rudolph to their new staff as offensive line coach. That celebration was short-lived though. The former Wisconsin offensive line coach left to take over the same position at Notre Dame last week after just a short time in Blacksburg.
It would have been fun to watch Rudolph start from scratch and revamp the Hokies offensive line. During his time at Wisconsin, the Badgers signed double-digit offensive linemen who were ranked at least four-star prospects. Over that same span, Virginia Tech signed just three.
Rudolph's one of the most respected offensive line coaches in college football and it's a position group that hasn't been a real strength of Virginia Tech's program. Rudolph built the Wisconsin offensive line into a juggernaut. The Badgers had the fifth-best rushing offense in the nation in the years after Rudolph got to Wisconsin in 2015. Now Virginia Tech is left wondering what could have been.