Tuesdays with Gorney: Decompressing after a hectic Early Signing Period
Now that Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney has had a moment to breathe and soak in the Early Signing Period, here are some takeaways from the hectic last week.
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RUMOR MILL: Focus shifts to February for 2022 class
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
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TRAVIS HUNTER THOUGHTS
For weeks before National Signing Day, there were rumors swirling around that the five-star athlete and No. 1 prospect in the 2022 class would flip to Georgia. I could see that happening. That one made sense. But no one saw the Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill standout flipping to Jackson State until about an hour or so before it happened on national television. Apparently, Travis Hunter took a visit to Jackson State, hung out with the coaches and players and did this all under wraps. Maybe Hunter gave up on the opportunity to play for national titles and on national television each week but he’s going to gain a lot of attention - and potentially a boatload of NIL money - by playing for Deion Sanders and at Jackson State. It’s really one of the more interesting recruiting storylines in Rivals history.
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TEXAS A&M IS NOT DONE
Texas A&M closed so extraordinarily well in the Early Signing Period that the Aggies now have the best class in the country - and I’ve been told they’re not done yet. I’ve actually heard Texas A&M might even have to turn away one five-star prospect because it’s running out of space with five-star linebacker Harold Perkins, four-star defensive end Shemar Stewart and others still in play. From Wednesday to Saturday, coach Jimbo Fisher flipped Marquis Groves-Killebrew from Georgia, landed Kam Dewberry, Enai White, Anthony Lucas and Denver Harris and got Jake Johnson, who had recently decommitted from LSU. An incredible haul that is not finished yet.
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TMAC MOVE IS INTERESTING
Arizona averaged 17 points per game this season. The Wildcats rushed for only six touchdowns and threw for just 12. They lost to every team on the schedule except Cal. It was a rough first season for coach Jedd Fisch. But Arizona pulled off a major recruiting win when five-star receiver Tetairoa McMillan flipped there after coach Mario Cristobal left Oregon for Miami. He joins three talented Anaheim (Calif.) Servite teammates in the Wildcats’ class and I saw McMillan three times this season: He might be the best receiver in the class and Fisch should have him on the field from Day 1.
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MIAMI WILL MAKE THIS INTERESTING
Maybe Miami has only nine total commitments but its entire class could have collapsed if not for coach Mario Cristobal keeping it together after he got the job - and things could get way more interesting in the coming weeks. Every single commit had other options but they decided to stay and then Cristobal flipped four-star tight end Jaleel Skinner from Alabama. He could end up as the best tight end in the class. There are new targets with Miami getting more involved with Kevin Coleman, staying involved with Shemar Stewart, getting Cyrus Moss down for a visit and Dave Iuli is another prospect to watch. January and February is going to get really interesting.
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TOP THREE PROGRAMS SEPARATE THEMSELVES
Texas A&M (3249 points), Alabama (3201) and Georgia (3115) are so far ahead in the team rankings it’s pretty impressive to see their dominance. The Bulldogs have five five-star commitments and the Aggies have three and it wouldn’t be a complete shock if they end up with five as well. The Crimson Tide have “only” one five-star but 20 four-stars including six of them who are one step below five-star status. Ohio State (2618) and Texas (2570) round out the top five but it’s clear the team rankings are dominated by those three SEC powerhouses right now.
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DISAPPEARING ACTS
Plenty of programs loaded up and put their finishing touches on their recruiting classes in the early period. There are others that still have a ton of work to do. A plethora of reasons exist for that whether it’s coaching changes or losing coordinators or whatever else but LSU is ranked No. 27 nationally. That’s unheard of. How about Clemson at No. 28 or Florida at No. 46 or Oregon at 50, Miami at 56 or USC at 63. There will be tons of changes after the all-star events and into February but here’s one more: Washington has as many commits as Georgia has five-stars committed.
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PAC-12 CRAZINESS
It’s a topsy-turvy world in the Pac-12 team rankings with Stanford and Arizona leading the way despite both of them having disappointing seasons. Coaching changes at Washington, Oregon and USC have changed things up drastically. The Huskies have only five total commitments. USC only has seven although more could be coming soon as the Trojans are involved with four-star receiver CJ Williams, four-star DE/OLB Cyrus Moss and others and Oregon is sitting at fifth in the conference after dominating recent recruiting cycles.
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CREDIT TO KENTUCKY
Kentucky is sitting No. 10 in the team rankings and coach Mark Stoops and his staff deserve a lot of credit because they closed strong and averted a really big - literally - disappointment by convincing high four-star offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin in the class after he took visits all over the country and was close to flipping to Michigan State late. Goodwin wasn’t the only win as Kentucky landed Auburn decommit Kobi Albert, beat Michigan for Deone Walker, landed four-star JUCO defensive back Zah Frazier and more. Four-star receiver Barion Brown, who committed earlier in December, could be a future star.
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CREDIT TO TENNESSEE
The Volunteers put in a lot of strategic work and on signing day it paid off. Tennessee beat Auburn for four-star running back Justin Williams. It flipped four-star defensive tackle Tyre West from Georgia, which was not a shock but it was expected he would pick Florida State. Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers four-star defensive end James Pearce is one of the quieter players in the class but the Vols got him on signing day, too. Things are trending the right way for Tennessee now and another building block came on Wednesday.