Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith is joined by national recruiting director Adam Gorney, BoilerUpload.com‘s Dub Jellison and Maize&BlueReview.com‘s Josh Henscheke to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
1.
USC is now the West Coast team best positioned to enter the Big Ten?
Gorney: FICTION. The team best positioned from the Pac-12 entering the Big Ten is Oregon because the Ducks are the most talented team of the four, they’ve been the best recruiters for a handful of years and while there will be some major turnover, Oregon still has a ton of talent coming back.
What the Ducks also have is the weather factor. They play in the Pacific Northwest so cold weather, rain and wind is nothing new to the players or game preparation. USC might end up being the most successful over the years but going into Year 1, the Ducks are the most prepared.
Smith: FICTION. USC has closed the gap on the perception here but it is not the leader. The Trojans had a good March landing verbal commitments from four players all on the defensive side of the ball, including five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry who is one of the best players in the country. Getting a pledge from Hylton Stubbs, who can be an ultimate chess piece in the Trojans’ defense should not be overlooked either.
However, those are just verbal commitments right now. The Trojans are taking the right steps in actually trying to solidify the trenches heading into the Big Ten. But the program is still behind Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks in this key category. The Ducks are still the best positioned team out West to make noise in the Big Ten.
*****
2.
In-state success for Purdue this cycle will make or break Ryan Walters?
Jellison: FICTION. The first time Ryan Walters spoke as Purdue’s head coach, he said the Boilermakers wanted to build a fence around Indiana. While that hasn’t necessarily occurred with some of the top in-state prospects going elsewhere, it didn’t deter Walters from netting Purdue’s best class since 2019.
Walters and his staff have already laid the foundation for strong pipelines to other states, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and Illinois, in particular. Those four states, along with Indiana, made up 16 of Purdue’s commitments between 2024 and 2025. They are also the home to all four of the Boilers’ four-star pledges.
Indiana’s 2025 class is loaded with the likes of Eugene Hilton Jr., Mason Alexander, Mariyon Dye and more in the Boilermakers’ sights. Purdue is still going to remain a strong player for most Indiana prospects, but the staff’s ability to sustain pipelines elsewhere will have a greater impact.
Smith: FACT. It sounds a little crazy to be talking about “make or break” for a coach entering Year 2 at a program but it might apply here. Walters came into a situation at Purdue where it was accepted that it will take some time to rebuild the program. He’s (rightfully) got some runway before worrying at all about his job.
But we still might look back at how successful Walters was in this cycle with the in-state talent as a catalyst for his success or failure. Every coach hopes to come into a situation where in-state talent is strong enough to boost the program. There are six four-star prospects in the state for 2025. All are undecided right now. How many can Walters land? There are some quality three-star prospects in the state, too.
We’ll know a lot about Walters’ early recruiting operation after this cycle.
*****
3.
We are already seeing Tony Alford make a big impact on Michigan recruiting.
Henscheke: FACT. Michigan was stuck in an awkward transition of Jim Harbaugh’s departure to Sherrone Moore taking over, plus having to navigate Mike Hart’s absence from the program. So you’re seeing an impact by Tony Alford almost by default in the recruiting sphere. A lot of recruits felt like Michigan was no longer interested and all it needed was a sit-down with Alford to make things right. You hear glowing reports from recruits about Alford as a coach which, in turn, should help Michigan in the long run. Of course, everyone wants to see results and not just happy feelings, which I think will show soon enough.
Smith: FACT. This was a tricky situation for new coach Sherrone Moore to navigate. First off, I’d say he handled it very well given the behind the scenes issues that can arise with a name of Mike Hart’s stature departing the program. Moore had to nail this hire and it appears he did.
We are already seeing players consider Michigan more now that were not before. Ohio four-star running back Bo Jackson told me this week that Alford is a big part of his increased interest in Michigan. Five-star running back Jordon Davison is making a multi-day trip to Michigan this week because of his relationship with Alford.
If these two are a sign of things to come, fans in Ann Arbor will be very happy about this hire long-term.
Source link
Greg Smith, National Recruiting Analyst
