Three-Point Stance: QB rankings, Calipari's comments, hot seat
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has thoughts on the ongoing quarterback debate in the 2023 class, whether John Calpari’s recent comments were off-base and he looks at five coaches entering this season on the hottest seat:
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MORE THREE-POINT STANCE: LSU's skill class, 2023 edge talent, 2024 risers
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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THE ONGOING QB DEBATE
New rankings for the 2023 class are going to be released this upcoming week and, like always, there is a debate over the order of the top-end quarterbacks.
I get all the questions about Texas commit Arch Manning and his dodging of national events. I also get that he’s incredibly talented and incredibly advanced with the best pedigree of any quarterback in Rivals history.
Oregon commit Dante Moore had arguably the best summer and definitely the best showing at the Elite 11 along with a very strong performance at the OT7 event in Las Vegas.
USC pledge Malachi Nelson, who recently shocked a lot of people by visiting Texas A&M, was also excellent, especially at the Elite 11. And then Tennessee commit Nico Iamaleava is by far the best athlete of the group who looked the best at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles and was great in Vegas as well.
In some ways, there is no wrong answer here. But also no right answer. There are a lot of tough calls ahead and then numerous elite four-stars who could be pushing toward five-star status as well.
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CALIPARI WAS INSULTING - AND RIGHT
In an effort to push for a multi-use practice facility, John Calipari called Kentucky a “basketball school” this week and football coach Mark Stoops took exception publicly on social media.
Calipari’s words were insulting and unnecessary. He’s also not wrong.
The job Stoops has done in Lexington especially in recent years has been nothing short of extraordinary as the Wildcats have two 10-win seasons in the last four and have won four-straight bowl games.
Kentucky beat Florida and torched LSU last season. The Wildcats gained great exposure by being the marquee CBS matchup the following week in a loss to Georgia, the eventual national champs. They blitzed rival Louisville, 52-21, and then grinded out a victory over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
There is a lot to celebrate when it comes to Kentucky football.
But, come on. Kentucky is still a basketball school. I’d bet most people in the state love watching their football team, but they obsess over hoops. They live for it. It’s rooted in their being. This is the home of Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall and Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith and now Calipari.
Kentucky is a basketball school but the trick is for Stoops and his staff to leverage that in recruiting. Bring prospects into a packed Rupp Arena to experience that. Show them the excitement around the entire athletic department.
The trick is to find a happy medium where basketball might mean a little more but football still means a ton like has happened at North Carolina, or Florida, or Auburn, or Tennessee.
Calipari shouldn’t have made those comments. They weren’t necessary and it benefits no one. But he wasn’t wrong. Kentucky loves its football and is consumed by its basketball.
Stoops shouldn’t take offense. He should take advantage.
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COACHES TO WATCH ON HOT SEAT
Scott Frost, Nebraska: Frost has been inexplicably ineffective during his four years at his alma mater where the team looks to not be improving much at all but a quick turnaround is still possible especially with the transfer portal being available. He’s 15-29 in four seasons and has won only 10 conference games, one last season which is just inexcusable. New faces could help but the Huskers haven’t been on a bad run like this since 1956-61 but it was 1962 when Bob Devaney was hired, followed by Tom Osborne and Nebraska became a national power.
Bryan Harsin, Auburn: Harsin survived an attempted ouster and investigation and is now ready for his second season on The Plains where it isn’t exactly a warm welcome and he’s doing things his way and that has rubbed some the wrong way. Still, a 6-7 season isn’t good enough in the SEC especially as the Tigers closed the season with losses to Texas A&M, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Alabama and Houston. Many of those games could have bounced the other way but Harsin is on a short rope.
Herm Edwards, Arizona State: When Edwards was hired at Arizona State, some laughed it off and predicted it would end in failure. Just not this way. The Sun Devils have been decent on the field under Edwards, who is 25-18 as coach, but a lingering NCAA investigation has made things really difficult in Tempe. ASU has only six commitments in this class with no four-stars as a lot of prospects wait to see how this all unfolds.
Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech: Collins was undertaking an entire rebuild away from former coach Paul Johnson’s offense so there was going to be some latitude along the way. But the results better come fast now after back-to-back-to-back three-win seasons. Under Collins, the Yellow Jackets are also just 7-18 in ACC play and haven’t suffered through three-straight losing seasons since the early 1990s.
Scott Satterfield, Louisville: I’ve written that Satterfield might have bought more time with the exceptional recruiting class Louisville should bring in this cycle and the hot seat could get cooler if quarterback Malik Cunningham can deliver this season. Things could get much tougher late in the season but the Cardinals have a chance this year.