Three-Point Stance: Prime has a point, USC's Big Ten move, flip watch
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has thoughts on Deion Sanders’ latest comments, diverging opinions on USC’s move to the Big Ten and five flip candidates to watch heading into the season:
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1. DEION SANDERS MAKES A POINT
During a recent interview on the Joel Klatt show, Colorado coach Deion Sanders explained why he went into his first team meeting in Boulder and basically told everyone to go to the transfer portal.
His comments about bringing his own luggage – his Louis Vuitton – rubbed a lot of people the wrong way especially since he’s dealing with the lives of college students. Sure, Colorado was 1-11 last year and a complete disaster. Everybody knows that. And sure, there is a way to shepherd people out of the program that’s a little more delicate and understanding than the way Sanders did it.
But I actually agree with Sanders after he explained to Klatt what he walked into when he got to Boulder. Man, it sounds like former coach Karl Dorrell had absolutely no control and let the players basically do whatever they wanted.
Sanders talked about music playing in meeting rooms, while the new Colorado coach was meeting with the players for the first time. That players were on cell phones while Sanders was trying to break things down for them.
That’s probably only half of what was going on. So when Sanders walked in the room and said no more of it, I’m surprised he didn’t take a baseball bat to a water cooler like Brad Pitt did in Moneyball when he saw the actor playing Jeremy Giambi dancing after a loss.
“I get rid of that and you have a problem?” Sanders said into the camera during Klatt’s show.
I have no idea if Sanders is going to win at Colorado, which has a losing record in 15 of the last 16 seasons. And if he does have any significant level of success, or even not completely fail, if he will stay in Boulder if Southeast programs come calling.
And I did roll my eyes when Sanders claimed to Klatt that he didn’t try to make things go viral as he has people shoving cameras in his face constantly and new sayings on sweatshirts every other day.
But Sanders - a lifelong winner at everything he’s done - wasn’t going to Colorado for the status quo. He wasn’t going there to let the patients run the asylum.
Especially in this social media age, we’re going to see how the sausage is made sometimes. It can be a little unsettling but when Sanders told everybody in that meeting that he’s basically bringing in his own players, maybe that’s exactly what needed to happen.
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2. OPINIONS ON USC MOVE TO BIG TEN DIFFER
The general consensus from recruits I’ve talked to about the move by USC to the Big Ten has been positive for numerous reasons including from four-star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa after his official visit this past weekend.
Better TV slots for exposure. Playing more high-profile programs. Going to Michigan and Ohio State instead of Pullman, Wash., and Corvallis, Ore., sounds appealing to basically everyone. More money could mean more enriched NIL deals. The whole thing does make sense.
But there are two factors to consider that might be overlooked by some.
According to a report by CBS Sports, UCLA and USC will each travel more than 15,000 miles roundtrip in conference play alone during their first Big Ten season. In 2024, UCLA will make the nearly 5,000-mile roundtrip to Rutgers and USC will go to Maryland and Penn State, each around 4,500 miles.
Travel hell.
And the other issue that was discussed with me by the parent of an elite 2023 signee is weather-related issues.
High-end quarterbacks trying to throw in miserable weather, icy and windy conditions in Iowa or Minnesota or anywhere across the conference? That really wouldn’t have happened in the Pac-12. Receivers trying to use their speed when they can’t feel their legs because it’s bitter cold and sleeting in the middle of November? No thanks.
To Big Ten fans, those concerns are laughable. But when you’ve lived your whole life in 75 and sunny Southern California, putting on a winter jacket only happens when you take your Tesla to the mountain ski resorts to stay in an upscale Airbnb, bruh.
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3. FIVE FLIP CANDIDATES
Every recruiting cycle there are elite prospects who make big flips in the recruiting process and while some of these might never come to fruition, it’s certainly worth watching in the coming months heading into the December signing day.
I’ve been told that no final decision will probably be made until the five-star receiver sees if position coach Brian Hartline stays at Ohio State or leaves for a head coaching job. Even then, it wouldn’t be lights out for the Buckeyes but Georgia appears to be the biggest threat especially as five-star QB Dylan Raiola is working to flip Smith.
The five-star Georgia commit just took a big visit to USC and the Trojans look like the biggest threat to flip him but trips back to Alabama and Ohio State are expected. He has always had a lot of interest in the Buckeyes, too. I get the sense he is leaning toward sticking with the Bulldogs but USC is pushing.
I get that Miami is the biggest threat to Georgia here and the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout has a lot of interest in the Hurricanes but I’d be surprised if this happens. The new No. 1 cornerback is being pursued heavily by Georgia still and the success the Dawgs have had at defensive back speaks for itself.
It sounds pretty ridiculous that all these Georgia commits would be under flip watch – and many probably stay in the class – but Riddick is definitely one to watch. The Clanton (Ala.) Chilton County standout is not talking much about his recruitment anymore but Alabama is a big-time threat to flip him and Auburn is trying as well.