Three-Point Stance: Louisville on a roll; FutureCasts; ACC
In today's Three-Point Stance, national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman addresses Louisville's winning ways on the recruiting trail recently, offers some commitment predictions and highlights the ACC's new scheduling format for the 2023 season.
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info for 2022 series
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1. Louisville staying hot on the recruiting trail.
Don't let recent headlines fool you. Miami isn't the only ACC team making major waves on the recruiting trail. Louisville continues to make noise, pulling in four-star commitment after four-star commitment. The Cardinals haven't ever experienced a recruiting run like this. Scott Satterfield's last four commitments have all been four-stars, the most recent pledge coming from offensive lineman Luke Burgess out of Indiana. Their biggest commitment thus far is from former Texas product Rueben Owens II, the top-ranked running back in the Rivals250.
The star-studded commit list doesn't end there. Rivals250 quarterback Pierce Clarkson is the ringleader of this 2023 class. His early decision helped Satterfield and his staff secure commitments from fellow Rivals250 prospects Aaron Williams and Deandre Moore. The Louisville coaching staff is definitely attacking this recruiting class with more intensity than in years past and its success - in part - can be attributed to the important contacts it has made with influential people on the ground level in the recruiting community.
Those contacts and the relationships they've built with the staff have put Louisville squarely in the race for even more highly ranked prospects. Four-star offensive linemen Raymond Pulido and Madden Sanker - along with three-star offensive linemen Koby Keenum and Jordan Church - are just a few of the top targets up front. The Cardinals just got Rivals250 Oregon defensive back commit Cole Martin to take a visit and they seem to have some momentum in his recruitment.
There are bound to be more big names jumping on board with Louisville before this recruiting cycle ends, so make sure you don't overlook the Cardinals as we enter a busy stretch on the recruiting trail.
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2. FutureCasts for seven four-star prospects.
Commitment season is upon us. A flurry of new commitments are coming between now and the end of July, and many of them will be four-star prospects. Here are some new FutureCast predictions for some of those four-stars that could be committing in the coming weeks.
Christian Hamilton: The Rivals250 receiver out of the Charlotte area is expected to commit this Friday, and North Carolina appears to be the team to beat. The Tar Heels were his latest visit and he has dozens of strong connections to the current players, recruits and coaching staff.
Dante Reno: South Carolina has been hot on the recruiting trail and the Gamecocks are in great position with Reno. The 2024 Rivals250 quarterback and son of Yale head coach Tony Reno has been to the Columbia campus a number of times this spring and summer and it looks like they'll land his commitment when does decide to announce.
Dashawn Womack: Womack has taken official visits to Georgia, Ole Miss, Maryland, LSU and Oregon, but it seemed like the reigning national champs were in the driver's seat just a few weeks ago. Now it sounds like momentum is on the side of SEC West rival LSU.
Rico Walker: Walker hasn't set a commitment date, but North Carolina appears to be the clear leader for the in-state four-star. Maryland, Jackson State, Auburn and Tennessee are also in the mix, but they're all chasing North Carolina at this point.
Semaj Bridgeman: Michigan hosted Bridgeman for an official visit earlier this month and the Wolverines knocked it out of the park. Georgia, Rutgers and South Carolina are staying on him, but this is Michigan's race to lose.
Ronan Hanafin: Hanafin has been taking his time with the recruiting process but did take official visits to Alabama, Boston College, Clemson and Notre Dame this month. Notre Dame is in position to get his commitment when the time comes, but Clemson isn't making it an easy decision.
Daevin Hobbs: After blowing up at the Charlotte Rivals Camp this spring, Hobbs saw his recruitment explode with major offers. He took official visits to North Carolina and Auburn and did unofficial visits to Alabama, Penn State and Tennessee. For now, it looks like the Tar Heels will get his commitment when he does make his announcement.
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3. ACC unveils new scheduling format.
On Tuesday the ACC announced it is moving to a new scheduling format starting in the 2023 season. Now each team in the conference has three permanent opponents and will cycle through the rest of the conference opponents twice every four years. Check out the top five permanent matchups that will have the biggest recruiting implications.
The Seminoles and the Hurricanes have been battling on the recruiting trail for prospects for a long time. Now, in the NIL era, it feels like the heat in this rivalry has been turned up to 11. Recruits will flock to this game every year and the outcome and atmosphere will almost certainly influence where these players end up.
This isn’t a traditional rivalry like some of the other matchups on this list, but every time the Tigers and Seminoles play it is a national event. Recruits from all over the country and within the two Southeastern states keep a close eye on these two programs and will definitely make the time to check out this game in person.
The Tar Heels and Wolfpack, about 30 minutes apart, have been battling for recruits since the formation of the ACC. At various times each program has been up while the other one has been down and vice versa. Every major in-state recruit has been pursued by these two programs at one point or another. That will continue as this traditional rivalry remains a permanent fixture in the ACC.
The Wolfpack have become a major thorn in the side of the Tigers in recent years, and we’re lucky that this budding rivalry will continue. The Tigers have done a great job historically recruiting the state of North Carolina, but NC State has been building some recruiting hype of its own and the Wolfpack are hoping they can finish this recruiting class with a bang.
The Hokies and Cavaliers both have new head coaches, but they know the importance of winning this historic rivalry game. Each program’s renewed focus on in-state recruiting should supercharge the intensity on game day. Expect dozens of in-state recruits to be on hand when this game rolls around this fall.