Twitter Tuesday: Recruiting tools, Graham Mertz, early commits
Twitter Tuesday is back again this week, as Southeast recruiting analyst Woody Wommack is answering your questions.
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There’s no doubt having a high-profile prospect commit early in the process helps recruiting and even though last year at this time Justin Fields was uncommitted, he was already forging relationships with prospects across the country. Those bonds would pay dividends later down the line as he and several other high-profile Georgia commits helped the school build a historic class.
But it’s not all about rankings when it comes to being a recruiter as a prospect. Personality plays a major role and sometimes even though a player is a five-star on the field, it doesn’t mean he’s a five-star recruiter. Players like Fields, or Oklahoma signee Brendan Radley-Hiles, had the perfect combination of on-field skill and off-field personality to be a top prospect and a top recruiter and the earlier a school can get a player like that in the fold the more it will help them when it comes to landing other elite players.
I’m sure a lot of people would like to know the answer to this one but it’s a tough one because not many people really know about Tennessee’s in-state recruiting strategy at this point. Considering Jeremy Pruitt and his staff’s connections to other areas, it only makes sense that the capitalize on those relationships and target players in talent-rich areas like Atlanta and Charlotte. However, the city of Nashville has seen a population boom in recent years and that has also meant more quality football players in the state as a whole. In the class of 2018, 34 players signed with Power Five schools, a huge jump from the 20 players from the state that signed with Power Five programs just two years earlier in 2016. That number may be even higher in 2019.
A common theme among in-state prospects has been a request from Tennessee to come and camp in front of the coaches in order to get a fresh evaluation. But most of the elite players in the state already have long standing relationships with other top programs as well as visits set up, making a trip to Knoxville to camp no sure thing.
When it’s all said and done, Tennessee will have to turn up the heat on the in-state talent, especially when programs like Georgia, LSU, Louisville, Mississippi State and South Carolina all hold as many in-state commitments as the Vols do at this point. I would be surprised if Tennessee didn’t end up with multiple commitments from in-state prospects by the time Signing Day rolls around, I just can’t tell you which ones yet.
This is the question on every Wisconsin fan’s mind as we head into the summer and quarterback Graham Mertz continues to see his stock rise, both in terms of rankings and in the eyes of opposing coaches.
The Badgers' staffs have also been known for their keen evaluations and this year they got a jumpstart on the process, nabbing commitments from several prospects before many other schools even had a chance to extend an offer. Mertz was one of those prospects, committing last fall and remaining a pledge to the school despite overtures from several other programs.
In recent weeks, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Stanford have all continued to push Mertz to flip and he faces an interesting conundrum. Stick with the school that believed in him first or explore other options? My guess is Mertz’s Midwest sensibilities win out and he stays loyal to the Badgers, especially considering he’s a Kansas native with no major ties to other programs. But I also think it will be tough and there might be some twists and turns before it’s all said and done.
This is a good question because often times we find ourselves as recruiting analysts comparing classes year-to-year. The refrain is often, “this year’s class isn’t as good as last year’s” and you end up harping on perceived weaknesses. Of course, recruiting classes are like snowflakes, no two or the same, and each year different position groups will have their ups and downs. Having traveled around the country and seen a lot of players on this year’s Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas, I feel somewhat qualified to weigh in on the overall strength of the class.
My favorite year since I took this job (in 2012) in terms of top-notch talent was probably the class of 2014. That year, players like Myles Garrett, Jabril Peppers, Adoree Jackson, Marlon Humphrey and Jalen Tabor were in our top 10 alone. Several of those guys have moved on to prominent roles in the NFL and were stars in their own right in college. This year’s class has several top talents, but still would put it behind some others in the last five years.
In terms of positional strengths and weaknesses in this class, there’s no doubt the quarterback position is down. Last year we had Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in the top five, while this year we don’t have a single five-star quarterback to date. However, I do like some of the depth this year’s class has at defensive end compared to last year. Currently there are four five-stars between strongside and weakside defensive end, with several other prospects, like Georgia commit Nolan Smith, pushing for five-star status. We’ve seen the position value of pass rushers go up in recent years and it doesn’t look like that trend is stopping anytime soon.
If a prospect has a commitable offer and knows where he wants to go, it only makes sense to lock in to a school prior to the start of their senior season. Even though verbal commits aren’t binding, most schools will honor a commitment even if an injury happens, something every prospect has to considering heading into their final year of high school ball. The flipside of the non-binding commitment is that if things go well in the fall of your senior year, there’s always an opportunity to change your mind later in the process.