Twitter Tuesday is back again this week, as Southeast recruiting analyst Woody Wommack is answering your questions.
WEEK IN COMMITS: Every Power Five commit from May 14-20
This is a great question from friend of the Twitter Tuesday column Earl Gill. But it’s also a little tricky to answer because it’s only May and a lot of the new coaches in the SEC are just getting ready for their first big summer pushes on the recruiting trail. So since that’s the case, we will default to the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings and add a little flavor to each coach’s current situation.
1. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M (No. 3 overall in the SEC)
The Aggies have gotten off to quite the start on the recruiting trail under Fisher and company, with 12 commits already on board. The group is headlined by Rivals100 defensive back Brian Williams but also features four-star receiver Kenyon Jackson, a Georgia native.
2. Matt Luke, Ole Miss (No. 4 overall in the SEC)
While not technically a new coach, Luke was working on an interim basis last year so we will include him on the list. The Rebels are actually tied for Alabama for most commits in the conference with 13 and versatile in-state athlete Diwun Black as the highest-ranked member thus far.
3. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee (No. 7 overall in the SEC)
The Vols had a nice weekend, adding one of the top junior college players in the country in linebacker Lakia Henry. That continues a hot month for the school, which also landed one of the nation’s top offensive linemen in Wanya Morris to kick things off on May 1. The Vols' average star ranking of 3.5 per commit is also the best among schools in the conference with new head coaches.
4. Joe Moorehead, Mississippi State (No. 8 overall in the SEC)
The Bulldogs have just two four-stars committed in the class so far, but they are good ones in talented defensive ends Ani Izuchukwu and Charles Moore. The school has already extended its recruiting reach this cycle, with players from five different states already committed.
5. Dan Mullen, Florida (No. 9 overall in the SEC)
This one is a little confusing for Gators fans who probably expected to be higher at this point in the process, but it’s clear the new staff is taking a wait-and-see approach thus far. Of the eight committed players, just one, Georgia linebacker Tyron Hopper is a four-star. With Florida State and Miami recruiting at a higher clip, the Gators will need to kick thing up a notch heading into the summer.
6. Chad Morris, Arkansas (No. 12 overall in the SEC)
It’s been a slow start for the Razorbacks in the 2019 cycle, although the school did just get a major boost in the form of quarterback commitment K.J. Jefferson. Hopefully for Hawgs fans, getting a quarterback in the fold will help them move up this list as the cycle moves along. All four of the Razorbacks' commits are currently ranked as three-stars.
This is a fun question because we always have guys who come into Rivals Camps looking to make a name for themselves and hopefully jump start their recruitment. Over the years we have had players come into the camp with no offers, only to end up as All-Americans with options all over the country.
While it might be recency bias, that guy this year is Kentucky linebacker Jared Casey. He came into the Nashville stop of the camp with a few offers, including Temple and Purdue, but I hadn’t ranked him yet because he had limited film and I wanted to see him in person.
He wowed at the camp, winning MVP honors and earned a four-star ranking in the process. In the week since the camp wrapped up, he has picked up offers from Oregon, Kentucky and Syracuse and I have a feeling they will just be the start of an onslaught once schools get a chance to see him in person.
I hadn’t heard any rumors about Malik Heath going to junior college instead of enrolling with the Bulldogs, but obviously if that happens that would be a major blow to first-year Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead and his staff. To me, Heath is the perfect complement for Devonta “Whop” Jason and both players would be pushing for playing time in the fall.
Working under the assumption that Heath does go to JUCO – which is unverified and just for the purpose of this question – we would see the Bulldogs try to load up again at the position in 2019. Currently the Bulldogs don’t have any pure wide receivers committed, but before it’s all said and done I could see the school signing at least three players at the position.
This is a loaded question and is related to 2018 Clemson signee Josh Belk’s recent announcement that he would be leaving the Tigers after just one semester on campus. Most expect Belk to end up at South Carolina and he was granted his release from the Tigers, with reports saying he was leaving school to be closer to home.
Obviously there are only a few prospects over the years that have transferred from the Tigers to the Gamecocks and Clemson fans surely won’t be sending him any Christmas cards, but if Belk did leave school to deal with a family issue and the Tigers granted him his release, then it’s worth charging this one to the game and moving on if you’re Clemson.
