Tag: 2020 recruiting

New Crystal Ball predicts Oklahoma to land 5-star DL David Stone

A new crystal ball prediction flipped from Michigan State to Oklahoma overnight ahead of five-star DL David Stone’s commitment on Saturday.

When you’re the Oklahoma Sooners, you’re destined to be in a number of high-profile recruitments. With Brent Venables in town toting his illustrious career, the Sooners will be in position for a lot of the top defensive prospects year to year.

Given the top players that Oklahoma’s been in consideration for, there may not be a more important recruitment that they’ve undertaken than the one for five-star defensive line prospect [autotag]David Stone[/autotag]. Stone is set to announce his decision on Saturday, December 26.

The five-star defensive lineman hails from Del City, Okla., just south of Oklahoma City, and plays his football at Florida powerhouse IMG Academy. With his commitment day approaching on Saturday, it looks like the Sooners are in a favorable position.

Overnight, Michigan State Insider for 247Sports, Justin Thind, flipped his crystal ball prediction from the Spartans to the Sooners.

Thind joins 247Sports national recruiting director Steve Wiltfong and director of scouting Andrew Ivins favoring the Sooners. Wiltfong and Ivins predictions came back in 2022, so Thind’s prediction flip just days away from a commitment is notable.

Stone’s been tied to the Sooners for a long time. Growing up in the state and with strong relationships with [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] and [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag], it’s long been thought that Oklahoma would be the team to beat. However, they’ve had to hold off strong recruitments from Michigan State, Miami, and a number of other high-level Power Five programs along the way.

The Spartans were at one time thought to be the biggest contender for the Oklahoma Sooners. Most recently, the Miami Hurricanes have made a strong push for the five-star defensive lineman. Then there was always the Alabama and Nick Saban threat.

Though the crystal ball flip is promising, anything can happen in the final days of a high-profile recruitment for one of the nation’s best prospects. The Oklahoma Sooners are in a good spot, but can’t let up in their pursuit of David Stone before Saturday and even until the early signing period or national signing day.

It’s an encouraging place to be, but Todd Bates, Miguel Chavis, Brent Venables, and Ted Roof won’t take their foot off the gas until the signature hits the page and that page is faxed in.

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Texas Football: Is Bijan Robinson a breakout candidate in 2020?

Recently 247Sports named Texas running back Bijan Robinson a freshman breakout candidate in 2020. We examine that claim.

There is quite a buzz surrounding the newest running back for the University of Texas. Bijan Robinson was the number one rated running back in the country according to 247Sports Composite rankings. Throughout the 2020 recruiting cycle it seemed back and forth with Zachary Evans (TCU) and Robinson as to who would be the number one back.

Our friends at 247Sports put together a list of freshmen who could be top 50 players by seasons end. Several players on the list have Big 12 ties such as Spencer Rattler (redshirt freshman, Oklahoma) and Evans. Robinson is also on the list.

Sean Logan/The Republic

 

What 247Sports says

Head coach Tom Herman is hyping Texas’ running back depth. And while the Longhorns do return a pair of highly-effective rushers in Keaontay Ingram (5.9 ypc, 853 yards) and Roschon Johnson (5.3 ypc, 649 yards), it’s worth noting Johnson is entering only his second year playing the position and Ingram has already suffered a hamstring injury ahead of fall camp. Robinson, meanwhile, is a potential bell cow.

A ridiculously effective high school ball carrier, Robinson finished his senior season with 2,235 yards and 35 touchdowns while averaging 17.7 yards per carry. Those are video game statistics. The 2020 five-star and No. 1 overall back in the 247Sports Composite arrives with a college-ready frame and big-play potential. Given that the Longhorns have struggled to produce explosive rushing plays under Herman’s direction, ranking 100th (2017), 120th (2018) and 91st (2019) in runs of 20-plus yards, Robinson figures to have an instant role within the offense. Don’t be shocked if he quickly maneuvers his way into the status of Texas’ top back.

Next we give our take on Bijan Robinson

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Notre Dame makes cut for prized 2022 athlete/wide receiver

Notre Dame hasn’t had the best luck recruiting the wide receiver position in recent months. Perhaps that’s headed for a change here shortly

Notre Dame hasn’t had the best of luck recruiting the wide receiver position in recent months as one of the nation’s best for 2021 de-committed and the only wide receiver commitment in the 2021 class appears to be very much on the fence.

Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish did get a small dose of good news though for 2022’s class Tuesday as one of the nation’s top athletes in Kaden Saunders revealed Notre Dame as one of his seven finalists.

Saunders says in his statement that he wants to make a commitment around his birthday in September and tells how pretty much every video conferencing app has become his way of developing relationships at potential schools.

Saunders, a four-star recruit according to 247Sports, hails from Westerville South High School in Ohio.  The 5-10, 170 pound athlete is being recruited to Notre Dame as a wide receiver.

If the Irish are going to win his commitment in a few short months they’ll have to stand out compared to Michigan, Arizona State, TCU, Penn State, Indiana and West Virginia, all who Saunders also listed in his top seven.

 

Notre Dame Adds 10th Commitment to 2021 Recruiting Class

Notre Dame didn’t get perfect news in recruiting this week but they did just get another commit as Jason Onye announced Thursday.

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his staff have received their second commitment to the 2021 recruiting class this week and tenth for the class overall.

Defensive lineman Jason Onye announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish early Thursday afternoon.

Onye gets a three star grade on 247Sports and the 6-5, 245 pound defensive end is listed as the top player in Rhode Island for the entire 2021 recruiting class.

A product of Bishop Henricken High School in Warwick, Onye chose Notre Dame despite having a total of 21 scholarship offers.  The likes of Arizona, Boston College, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Pitt, Tennessee, Virginia Tech were among those 21.

Onye’s addition brings Notre Dame’s total commitment count to ten and moves them into the eighth spot of 247 Sports team rankings for 2021 recruiting classes.

How will Todd Monken’s air raid offense translate to Georgia football?

New Georgia football offensive coordinator Todd Monken takes over a talented UGA offense with air-raid scheme.

After a pedestrian year from the Georgia Bulldogs on offense in 2019, Kirby Smart wasted no time making scheme changes, bringing in Todd Monken from the Cleveland Browns to take over for James Coley as offensive coordinator and play caller.

Monken has coached all over the football landscape, including 23 years of college coaching experience and eight years coaching in the NFL.

Most recently, Monken spent a season as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns and before that, three seasons as the offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 2011-2012, Monken coached Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and the air-raid Cowboys offense to record breaking seasons, averaging well over 500 yards a game.

So, how does Monken’s air-rade scheme fit with a Georgia team built for defense and a power run game?

In 2019, the Bulldogs struggled with the deep passing game and the blame can’t be all on Coley, as Jake Fromm had issues with his deep ball and other than George Pickens, receivers either struggled with injuries, getting separation from defenders or dropped passes.

In 2020, there will be no shortage of depth or talent on the Georgia offense and in the light of recent off-season moves, it seems Kirby is planning to be more aggressive offensively.

The Bulldogs bring in a great arm in Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jamie Newman, paired with returning receivers George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock and added five receivers in the 2020 recruiting class.

Georgia will have the ability to stretch the field on anyone and that is exactly what Monken’s offenses do. Still, the traditional Georgia run game can only benefit from the space the air-raid creates.

As Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator in 2019, Monken led an offense that saw former Georgia great Nick Chubb run for nearly 1,500 yards, so we can expect that running backs Zamir White and James Cook will get their fair share of touches in 2020.

Bulldog fans should be excited to see what 2020 will bring for this young team. In Monken’s system, expect to see much more complex route trees than in previous years, as well as a more aggressive approach to offensive strategy because of the security blanket that is the Georgia defense.

Oklahoma gains commitment from Gerald McCoy’s son, Marcellus Crutchfield

Marcellus Crutchfield, son of former Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy announced his intentions to follow in his father’s footsteps…

Football stops for nothing.

Marcellus Crutchfield, son of former Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy announced his intentions to follow in his father’s footsteps and attend the University of Oklahoma.

The class of 2020 product is unranked on Rivals and 247, but out of Tampa Catholic High School in Tampa, Fla., Crutchfield put up 1,225 yards on 61 receptions and eight touchdowns in just 21 varsity games over his junior and senior seasons per Max Preps.

Listed at 6-foot and 190 pounds, Crutchfield fits the typical build of a Lincoln Riley wide receiver but is quite the opposite athlete from his father.

Gerald McCoy was the third overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft behind fellow Sooner Sam Bradford and arguably one of the greatest defensive players to play college football, Ndamukong Suh.

Drafted by Tampa Bay, McCoy left the team in free agency to the Carolina Panthers where he signed a 1-year deal worth $8-million. McCoy is currently an unrestricted free agent and is still a top-tier pass-rusher at 32 years old.

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2020 Four-Star Wide Receiver Commits to Texas

On the eve of NSD, UT picked up another four-star prospect in the 2020 class. Kelvontay Dixon out of Carthage, TX committed late Tuesday.

On the eve of National Signing Day, the Longhorns picked up another four-star prospect to add to the 2020 class. Kelvontay Dixon out of Carthage High School in Carthage, TX committed to Texas late Tuesday night.

Listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 180 pounds, Dixon is officially listed as an athlete and is the 15th ranked player at his position. While he does not rank the best nationally at 342, he makes it inside of the top 50 in the state of Texas, coming in at 49th in the state.

Dixon had an outstanding senior season in 2019, recording a 1,000 receiving yard season. Securing 73 catches, he was able to have a total of 1,223 yards and 20 touchdowns. Dixon was also a threat on the ground, rushing for 232 yards and getting into the endzone three times. Winning the 4A-D1 State Championship, Dixon and Carthage High School had a perfect 16-0 season.

Baylor, TCU, and Oklahoma State were the only other teams in the Big 12 to offer Dixon, but according to 247, it was a three-team race between Houston, Texas, and UTSA.

Picking up the second wide receiver of the 2020 class as Dixon joins four-star Troy Omeire out of Sugar Land, TX. When Quentin Johnston de-committed from Texas before the early national signing period and went to TCU, it looked like only one wide receiver would come in this year’s class. Now, Dixon adds another four-star prospect to the 9th ranked class.

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A Big National Signing Day Could Put Texas Back In Top 10

With a big National Signing Day coming up on February 5th, the Texas Longhorns could jump back into the Top 10 with the 2020 class.

Prior to the updated National Rankings from 247 Sports, the Texas Longhorns were rated as the number one recruiting class in the Big 12 and top 10 in the Nation. Currently the sit 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 conference behind rival Oklahoma.

The team just ahead of them in the rankings, Michigan, is just 0.11 points ahead of them based on the recruiting rankings provided by 247. Signing Alfred Collins, Princely Umanmielen and Ennis Rakestraw Jr would definitely get them into the top 10 and likely overtake the Sooners for best in the Big 12.

Collins would give the Longhorns their second five-star recruit to go along with Bijan Robinson and Princely would be the classes 12th four-star signing. Neither Michigan or Oklahoma have a single five-star recruit in their prospective classes.

Recruiting classes rankings don’t carry much weight into the season without coaches putting them into a position to win but it provides fans and teams bragging rights. Well at least until they take the field in the fall.

This year will likely be the lowest ranked class since Tom Herman stepped onto the Forty Acres but he hasn’t finished outside the top 10. Every class has been third in the nation until the 2020 class.

2020 Texas Longhorns Spring Battles: The Quarterbacks

Who will be Sam Ehlinger’s primary backup in 2020? Hudson Card, Casey Thompson and Roschon Johnson all in the mix.

With spring football practice not to far away we look at the upcoming position battles that will take place over the offseason for the Texas Longhorns. The quarterback is one of those positions that has the starter firmly locked into place. The Longhorns will go into the season with Sam Ehlinger under center but what about who will be his primary backup?

Casey Thompson

Thompson returns for his sophomore season as the primary backup for Ehlinger but will it stay this way? The four-star obviously will have a leg up on the competition due to being in the system for a full year. Even with new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich on staff, Thompson should still be the favorite as the number two.

Thompson appeared in just four games as a freshmen in mop up duty for the Longhorns throwing for 84 yards last season. Not much can be expected from Thompson if Ehlinger stays healthy in 2020. Thompson is definitely a talented dual-threat quarterback that racked up 12,840 yards in high school.

John Gutierrez-USA TODAY Sports

Roschon Johnson

Coming out of high school Johnson was quite the quarterback prospect having appeared in the Under Armour All-American game and an Elite 11 Finalist. Johnson showed just how versatile his skill set was when he made the change to running back due to the injury to Jordan Whittington that ended his season.

With Whittington coming back and the addition to Bijan Robinson, Johnson could find himself back in the quarterback battle with Thompson. Should Whittington move to another position like wide receiver then Roschon could find himself at running back once again due to need.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Hudson Card

Early enrollee and incoming freshman quarterback will find himself in the mix during spring football. Card comes into Texas as the second-ranked dual-threat quarterback of the 2020 class.

Hudson was much like the others on the list, he played in the Under Armour All-American game and was an Elite 11 finalist. Card will be part of the spring camp and he will work on getting acclimated to the college game. He will be battling to be Ehlinger’s primary backup in 2020 and eventually the heir apparent for 2021.

2020 Recruiting Target: Ennis Rakestraw

The Texas Longhorns are wrapping up their 2020 recruiting class and are set to meet with three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw.

There is less than a week to go before the final National Signing Day of the 2020 recruitment cycle. One target that remains in the sights of the Texas Longhorns will be teammate of Ja’Quinden Jackson, Ennis Rakestraw. The two helped lead Duncanville to a state championship game. Rakestraw is currently ranked as a three-star cornerback.

The top three schools believed to be in the running for his recruitment are Alabama, Missouri and Texas. According to 247, they project that Rakestraw will sign with Alabama on February 5th. He is scheduled to meet with Texas on January 31st.

At this point of the recruiting cycle, John Tyler’s Kitan Crawford is the only other cornerback of the 2020 class. Rakestraw was named Dallas Morning News Defensive Player of The Year. At this point it seems all signs point to him joining Alabama but crazier things have happened on National Signing Day.