Twitter Tuesday: Lincoln Riley's start, Gamecocks, Mark Richt
Our weekly #TwitterTuesday file continues this week where you ask National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell questions via social media. Here are five questions we chose, including Farrell’s take on Oklahoma’s hot start under new head coach Lincoln Riley.
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Lincoln Riley is killing it, as expected. Bob Stoops had some amazing recruiting years in his tenure, and 2017 was one of his best efforts, but everyone will agree that having a young, aggressive and active recruiter like Riley in charge will be a boost to recruiting.
This is especially true with Tom Herman in charge at Texas. This recruiting battle between the two will be epic and fun to follow over the coming years. In fact, they are already battling head-to-head for prospects. Riley has already flipped a commitment from the Longhorns and I expect each of them to work locally and gradually work themselves outward to recruit more nationally.
And can they keep it up? Yes, they can. It will become easier if each program has a huge season as expected. I still think Herman has the advantage over Riley because of the geographical edge when it comes to elite recruits, but this will be a two-team battle in the Big 12 as usual between the Sooners and Longhorns. But it will now be much more fun to follow.
The Gamecocks could have a very nice July. Stephon Wynn could start it off on July 1; it seems to be a Georgia-South Carolina battle, with my sources telling me the Gamecocks hold an edge. He’d be an especially important get because he left the state to go to IMG but would be coming back home a la Xavier Thomas and showing in-state kids that home is where the heart is.
JUCO defensive tackle Jabari Ellis is set to announce on July 4 if all goes according to plan and I’d be surprised if he didn’t pick the Gamecocks as well. He’s a plug-and-play guy at a position everyone needs.
Fellow JUCO Dorian Gerald has been hinting at a decision soon as well, so he could pop in July. Cornerback Jaycee Horn will commit on July 15 and will choose between the Gamecocks and Alabama with many feeling good about South Carolina’s chances. Fellow defensive back Trey Dean is set to commit in late July but, he’s trending elsewhere.
If the Gamecocks can land Wynn, Ellis, Gerald and Horn as well as perhaps a few more at their big summer event on July 21, it will be a very nice month.
Malik Zaire will be the starter, but that doesn’t mean he’s the savior. He is older, more polished and more mature, so Jim McElwain will give him the nod. It doesn’t hurt that he can move around and extend the play, but I wonder if he can stay healthy and upright in the SEC. I'm also curious to see how effective he will be coming into the league without a ton of experience.
Feleipe Franks is still a bit of a project who could be prone to big mistakes at this stage. Zaire will be smarter with the ball.
It’s just a hunch, but I think McElwain will go with age and more experience to try to cut down on mistakes with Franks only pressed into duty in an emergency.
Previous history doesn’t mean much to me when it comes to the capability of a head coach. Otherwise Nick Saban would never have won one at LSU or the many he won at Alabama and Mack Brown wouldn’t have won one at Texas. You get the point.
Yes, Mark Richt has a reputation for underachieving from his days at Georgia, but that doesn’t mean he can’t win a national title at Miami.
However, the Hurricanes are a long way from having the same roster talent as Clemson and Florida State in their own conference, much less programs like Alabama, Ohio State, USC and others across the nation. It will be a slow build at Miami. The Hurricanes need to win their division first and worry about getting past the Seminoles or Tigers, then we can talk about the College Football Playoff.
But to say Richt can’t do it at Miami is foolish. If he keeps recruiting the way he has and can find a quarterback that is a difference-maker a la DeShaun Watson or Jameis Winston, he can win another national title for the ACC.
I took this as a bonus question just for fun and the answer is clearly Jim Harbaugh. After hearing one particular story from John Harbaugh about his brother’s intensity in a fight they once had, I’d put Jim up against almost everyone because he has zero quit in him. I would think he could be borderline nutso when involved in a physical confrontation. I think the story John told was about how Jim tried to drown him once in a fight or maybe it was the other way around, but what I took away from it was not to mess with the Harbaughs.
