Competitors nationwide recruiting analysts John Garcia Jr.and national analysts Adam Gorney and Marshall Levenson and CanesCounty.com Marcus Benjamin Work with three subjects and determine whether they believe each statement to be fact or fiction.
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1. Auburn is now emerging as its biggest threat to flip No. 1 recruit Julian Lewis of USC.
Gorney: Novel. I don’t know if there’s a major contender right now as Julian Lewis’ biggest threat to USC. Before the Bulldogs took four-star Ryan Montgomery, it was definitely Georgia, and now with other official visits to Colorado, Indiana and Auburn, it’s not exactly a who’s who of offense there.
Alabama could be a contender on offense Karen DeBoer Going to run and win in Tuscaloosa history.Auburn will definitely be fun for coaches Hugh Freeze‘s offense and the receivers the Tigers have brought in for the 2023 class, but I don’t think there’s a clear threat to USC right now.
GARCIA: Facts. With Georgia seemingly out of the race for in-state prospects, and while we never say never in this business, the next closest contender to home is also coming from the SEC’s Auburn Tigers. stop freeze Since he took over the Plains, the company has been able to compete with national powers in big-name recruiting battles, and Lewis will be his biggest haul yet.
Rival sources continue to tend to be confident in Lewis’ chances of eventually making it to the AU, so there should be plenty of eyes on his official visit to get the closest look at his plans on June 14. back An official visit from USC, we know Lewis hopes to complete the process before football season begins.
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2. SMU’s Keelon Russell is more likely to commit to another program than Notre Dame’s Deuce Knight, though both are being pursued by numerous programs.
Levenson: Fact. There are never any guarantees in the recruiting process, but I’d say there’s about a 99% chance that Keelon Russell will sign with a program other than SMU that he’s currently committed to. Looking at Draw Knight, while a flip is certainly possible, I’d say it’s less likely we’ll see him flip than Russell.
Duncanville, Texas’ standout, along with Alabama, Florida State, Mississippi State and now Oregon State, are all in desperate need of a flip. Texas is also a major contender if they offer it in the near future. Comparing the two programs each is committed to, Notre Dame has a much greater presence in college football than Southern Methodist. Knight could easily stick with the Irish and be content with his name’s future in development and marketing. However, Russell may have reservations about SMU’s abilities compared to some of the major championship-caliber programs that are looking to take the field.
GARCIA: Facts. While they’re currently in good shape with verbal commitments, there’s no lack of interest in either blue-chip pass rusher, and the move could impact many plans in the hunt.Knight talks about everything right about the Irish every time and even keeps recruiting the Irish Marcus Freemanplan, so almost by default, Russell seems to be the one more likely to make the change. Similar programs like Alabama and Auburn continue to appeal to everyone — and then there are local powers like Texas (Russell) and Mississippi State (Knight) whose presence makes every recruit It was all fun until the final whistle.
More about Russell: How high will he jump in the next rankings?
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3. It would be frustrating if Miami didn’t add local Rivals250 DB Chris Ewald Jr. next month.
Benjamin: Fact. Ever since Chris Ewald decommitted from Michigan a few months ago, it seemed like a sure thing to join Miami. However, in terms of recruitment, only the transaction was completed on the signing day, so this recruitment is far from over. Ewald narrowed his search to six programs last month: Auburn, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Penn State and Tennessee. Auburn received two visits from Ewald this spring, while Georgia and Louisville both visited separately and remain strong contenders.
Miami remains the favorite here. Ewald has visited the University of Miami multiple times since his options opened, while other programs have failed to take advantage of the opportunity to really jump on the Hurricanes.defensive backs coach Jamil Ada Taking the Buffalo Bills job certainly spelled trouble for Miami’s plans, but with the quick hire Chevis Jacksonwho is building a strong relationship with Ewald.
The X-factor is that his former teammate and current Miami Hurricane Zaquan Patterson is constantly in Ewald’s ear as Cane, but the Bulldogs could be the top contender for an upset. Ewald will officially visit Miami on June 14.
GARCIA: Facts. The former Michigan commit has been fairly quiet of late, but he has publicly worked with top teams including Miami, Louisville, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee and Penn State. Of the bunch, the Canes are certainly the most familiar, but there’s still plenty of travel to be done between now and the decision date of June 27. Particularly curious about Georgia, Auburn and Penn State. Even before he restarted recruiting in January, the Miami angle was one of the most consistent he’d received.
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