Three-Point Stance: Jadyn Davis, NC State, new FutureCasts
Rivals national recruiting analyst and rankings director Adam Friedman is here with a look at whether the top-ranked quarterback in the 2024 class made a strategic error, the changing dynamics on the recruiting trail in North Carolina and a dozen FutureCast predictions.
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1. Did five-star Jadyn Davis make a mistake by not committing sooner?
Five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis hit two Big Ten campuses this past weekend: Penn State and Ohio State. The Buckeyes have long been one of the top contenders for Davis and many considered them the leader for a time, but that's no longer the case. In what must have been a very interesting conversation, Davis and his family met with Ryan Day and discussed Ohio State's quarterback recruiting priorities for the 2024 class.
Whatever was said in that meeting, the end result is that Davis is going to seriously consider a longer list of schools throughout the rest of his recruitment. Big-time 2024 quarterback Dylan Raiola was also on campus on Sunday, and Ohio State has been putting the full-court press on him.
The Buckeyes will still be one of Davis' preferred schools, but he'll go back to the drawing board and reassess his other options, which could benefit Florida State, Penn State, North Carolina, Texas A&M, Texas and a few others.
With Ohio State seemingly choosing Raiola over Davis, it would appear that Davis – if he wanted to go to Ohio State – should have committed sooner. Is that a major error on his part? Probably not, given all of his other options at top-tier programs, but it's definitely a strategic move he'll look back on and either be thankful for or regret.
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2. Running with the Wolfpack in 2023
North Carolina might get more headlines, but NC State is setting the tone for in-state recruiting this cycle. The 2019 recruiting class was the last time NC State placed higher than North Carolina in the team rankings, but the Wolfpack and Dave Doeren should beat the Tar Heels on the recruiting trail this year. The 2023 recruiting class is shaping up nicely for NC State. The Wolfpack have a few major holes in their roster to fill in this cycle and they're in really good shape to address those concerns with highly rated prospects.
It isn't an overly strong year at the top of the North Carolina state rankings this year, but the Wolfpack will likely land the state's top prospect, Noah Rogers. Ohio State is its main competition for him right now. Javonte Vereen, a top 10 in-state prospect, has already committed to NC State and the Wolfpack should reel in at least one or two more from the top 10.
Mack Brown and his Tar Heels are working hard to pull off some upsets but, as it stands now, it looks like they might only sign just one top 10 in-state prospect.
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3. A dozen new FutureCasts
This week I entered a number of FutureCast predictions for players around the country, including for Rivals250 offensive lineman Sam Pendleton to Notre Dame and four-star defensive end David Ojiegbe to Clemson. Here are a few more to keep an eye on as "commitment season" really gets going.
This Philadelphia defensive lineman has visited Penn State multiple times already this month. He was supposed to commit this summer but moved up his decision to Friday. I think the Nittany Lions get him.
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One of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 class, Raiola was at Ohio State this past weekend, along with Jadyn Davis and a number of other highly rated recruits. With Davis stepping back and looking at his options, Ohio State looks like it will be the landing spot for Raiola.
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Absher is heading to Notre Dame this weekend for its spring game, but Clemson seems to have his attention right now. His reaction to this visit is definitely something to watch, but for now I think he'll end up at Clemson.
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I keep going back and forth on this one, but I think Georgia will get Jarrett in the end. It's a tough choice among the Dawgs, Clemson and North Carolina.
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Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh is a Penn State pipeline and the Nittany Lions just signed his teammate, five-star Dani Dennis-Sutton. James Franklin and his staff should reel in Robinson.
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North Carolina has done a great job making Hobbs feel like a priority and he’ll fit in well with that defensive front.
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Leacock, a big receiver from Raleigh, N.C., is so close with many of the current NC State players and quarterback commit Lex Thomas. Those relationships should tip the scales in favor of the Wolfpack.
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Florida is just one of the teams heavily pursuing Webb. Penn State is another major contender for him, but it looks like the Gators will keep him in the Sunshine State.
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Georgia coach Kirby Smart and assistant coach Will Muschamp made Aguero a priority early in the process and that will likely pay off down the road. Ohio State and Alabama are tough to pick against, though.
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Michigan State is the pick for Hall, the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy linebacker who was just on campus in East Lansing again.
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This is a tough one because the hometown pull is really strong and Gallagher was just on campus at Pitt. He's going to take plenty of visits this spring and summer, but I think he'll end up at Penn State.
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Notre Dame is the pick for Houstan, even though his brother plays basketball at Michigan. Defensive line coach Al Washington laid a very strong foundation in his recruitment while coaching at Ohio State, and the off-the-field opportunities at Notre Dame seem to be enough to push the Fighting Irish over the top.