Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney is accompanied by a national recruitment analyst Michael Levenson together with Dale Dowden from VolReport.com and Jed May of UGASports.com to cover three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Tennessee should start to feel comfortable with taking five-star OL David Sanders.
Gorney’s opinion: FACT. A few weeks ago, it felt like the David Sanders signing might come down to a coin flip between Ohio State and Tennessee, and even then, the Buckeyes’ coaching staff believed they had a pretty good chance. But in the final days before a decision, this seems to be leaning heavily toward Tennessee. Nebraska impressed him, but it seems like quite a gamble. Georgia slipped in this game. Ohio State and Tennessee seem to be the real contenders, but there was a lot of Vols smoke involved here, and I believe it.
Dowden’s opinion: FACT. Tennessee is hot on the heels of the nation’s top offensive tackle as it tries to close the gap between itself and once-supposed frontrunner Ohio State. Sanders has visited Tennessee more times than any other program this calendar year, including two visits in the spring and a visit in late July that followed his official visit.
Sanders told Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman earlier this year that he was correct that the Vols were the team he was most excited about in January. I believe that to be true, and after that began a series of visits to Rocky Top. Will the Vols land the second-best player overall? That remains to be seen, but they should feel very good as the decision date quickly approaches.
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2. Justus Terry’s decision to wait until shortly before the signing period is bad news for Georgia.
Lance McCurley
Gorney’s opinion: FACT. I still fully expect Georgia to ultimately get Justus Terry after previous commitments to the Bulldogs and USC, but the longer that takes, the longer Alabama, and especially Florida State, have a chance at the five-star out of Manchester, Ga. The rumor has been swirling in recent weeks that Crimson Tide commits are making a concerted effort to get Terry, and if he was so sure he was coming back to Georgia, why didn’t he just do it already? I still think the Dawgs are in the best position here, but if this drags into the fall — and Alabama stays undefeated or accomplishes something really special — it could be way too close for comfort.
My opinion: FICTION. Kirby Smart would of course rather see Terry commit than not. Still, this is a recruit that will be fought over until Signing Day either way. Georgia has been drilling the “marathon” message into Terry all year and that continues now. He should be in several Bulldogs games this season, starting with the season opener against Clemson. While it will take a little longer than some would like, we still fully expect Terry to be a Bulldog come December.
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3. LSU almost always gets the best young player in the state. Jahkeem Stewart will also end up in Baton Rouge.
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
Gorney’s opinion: FACT. Jahkeem Stewart will do things his way and on his schedule, and he was given this opportunity because he’s a phenomenal defensive end that every program in the country desperately wants. USC, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and others are in the running here, and Stewart has said multiple times that he definitely has no hesitation about leaving the state. I believe it. But a recent visit to Baton Rouge could have helped the Tigers, and history is so strong in their favor that until something else happens, I still think LSU has the best chance here.
Levenson’s opinion: FACT. While right now most would say the out-of-state programs, USC, Ohio State and even Oregon, are the ones on the upswing the most, I tend to always feel that Louisiana’s best prospects will end up staying home. When it comes to them leaving the state, it’s almost a case of “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Since 2012, the state’s best prospect has only gone anywhere other than LSU once, and that was Arch Manning. I believe USC has a real role to play in his recruitment, as does Ohio State because of the coaching and legitimate, strong relationships. We also know that Oregon can probably outbid anyone if the Ducks want to. But at the end of the day, I still think LSU has no choice but to lose. Louisiana has one of the strongest cultures of any state in the country when it comes to representing their state in college or even in the NFL.
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