Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. has a trio of predictions on how NIL will accelerate decommitments, Arch Manning's coming breakout game and Notre Dame upsetting Georgia.
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1. EVEN MORE PROSPECTS WILL MAKE MORE THAN ONE COMMITMENT.
Low hanging fruit, right? This trend in recruiting used to be centered around very linear paths towards a decommitment. Typically it meant a bigger or more prestigious program came calling or it meant the prospect simply popped too early. But in the world of NIL, the transfer portal and year-to-year rosters, the trend of picking one program and keeping an eye on many will become all but the norm.
Over the weekend, Rivals spoke to a top-100 recruit long on board with his local program, the dream school, and yet he admitted he continues to communicate with multiple coaching staffs because of the NIL implications. He comes from very little and understands he has a short window to potentially change his family's financial status, so there will be several official visits elsewhere and he is already preparing his family on the likelihood of him playing his college ball very far away from home. This is the new normal in college football recruiting.
2. ARCH MANNING BREAKOUT IS ON DECK.
Texas had Arch Manning holstered against Clemson but didn't need to use the NFL legacy thanks to being able to run all over the Tigers with multiple backs. It may be more of the same against Arizona State on New Year's Day, but thereafter -- Manning will get his chance. The winner of the Ohio State-Oregon matchup may be considered the favorite the rest of the way anyway, so what better time to unleash Manning's dual-threat ability?
Longhorns starter Quinn Ewers hasn't looked bad of late, but he hasn't quite lit it up in turning the ball over in three-straight games. So while the Manning package currently looks like a run-first setup for Steve Sarkisian, I'm envisioning a sequence in which we see him take off but also showcase his arm in some critical moments moving forward.
3. NOTRE DAME UPSETS GEORGIA.
This isn't Brian Kelly's Notre Dame. This time of year, most (and I have done it, too) throw the Irish into the same basket we have for the last decade-plus when it comes to comparing them to another loaded roster. We think Notre Dame is physical, yet ill-equipped to match up with SEC or Big Ten playoff teams on the outside. This roster has a different feel to it, overall, and while there are still some shortcomings on offense at wide receiver -- the Irish secondary may be the best group remaining in the playoff field. Texas has more star power and Ohio State is always strong on the back end, but the Irish may have the most versatility in that it has a lockdown cover guy, multiple hybrids who can fill the run or play in space and experience to boot.
I say all that to say this Notre Dame defense is for real, and a one-dimensional Georgia offense won't be able to take advantage of the man coverage it's about to face without Carson Beck at the helm. Take the points.
