Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith has three predictions on the recruitment of Shahn Alston, the College Football Playoff and standout 2027 quarterback Trae Taylor.
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1. IT WILL BE USC FOR SHAHN ALSTON.
Back in November, Shahn Alston released a top eight of USC, Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, Florida, Auburn, Nebraska and Missouri. He has since trimmed that list down to Wisconsin, USC and Penn State. He’s set to announce his college decision during the Navy All-American Bowl on Saturday.
I’m logging a FutureCast for the four-star running back to select USC. Sources indicate that the race was close until his visit to Los Angeles back in November. That combination of good football and the opportunities off the field and after football would be a hard combination for Alston to pass up.
Alston had a great junior season racking up 1,104 yards on just 132 carries and 16 touchdowns in eight games. If the Trojans can pull this off, it’d be another solid pickup in the Midwest as the team gets used to the Big Ten.
2. OHIO STATE WILL WIN THE NATIONAL TITLE.
If you had asked me who would win the national championship after Michigan beat Ohio State in November I would have picked just about anyone but the Buckeyes. We’ve got a lot of potential great storylines brewing with the Final Four teams including the strong possibility of a “Marcus Freeman Bowl” dream matchup of Notre Dame and Ohio State in the championship game.
We will likely get that matchup but I don’t think it matters.
The Buckeyes have looked like the clear best team in the country since the playoffs began. Credit to coach Ryan Day for finding the edge the team needed heading into the postseason. Huge credit to Chip Kelly for finding the balance of feeding freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith while still getting the ground game going. We don’t talk enough about how strong the Buckeyes’ defense has been all season either.
What a twist it would be if the Buckeyes roll to a national championship after all the things said about the program in November. That’s exactly what I think is going to happen.
3. ELITE QB TRAE TAYLOR WILL END UP IN THE BIG TEN OR SEC.
There are several 2027 prospects that are already firmly on college coaches’ radars and the fans should know them too. One of those 2027 players to know is four-star quarterback Trae Taylor.
The Illinois native impressed coaches coast to coast during camp season last spring and summer when he racked up a lot of offers. During the season he took several game-day visits including Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio State, South Carolina, LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss.
Things tend to move quicker for quarterbacks in their recruitments since the position is so important and the players want to get in a class to help peer recruit. So, I believe that Taylor may already be narrowing things down internally. My prediction is that despite the 30-plus offers from around the country he will end up playing in the Big Ten or SEC. Those are the two power conferences in college football and Taylor will want to showcase his talents on the biggest stages.
