Tag: 2022 recruiting

Oh Duck, Notre Dame misses out on key ’22 wide receiver

Duck.

Notre Dame had been in fairly early in Anderson’s recruitment, and he announced the Irish as a finalist just last month. Anderson then visited Notre Dame, Penn State, and USC before visiting Oregon on June 25. The Ducks clearly made a big impression on the big-time recruit.

Notre Dame has 16 commitments in the 2022 recruiting class but just one wide receiver, Amorion Walker of Louisiana.

Anderson becomes the 13th commitment in Oregon’s 2022 cycle; its class ranks ninth on 247Sports.

Be sure to check out our friends at Ducks Wire for everything related to Oregon football.

Related:

Is Notre Dame a finalist for a different four-star wide receiver?

Prized new commitment Brenan Vernon on Notre Dame decision

What makes Notre Dame special to you?

Notre Dame landed one of their biggest defensive recruits in recent history as five-star defensive end Brenan Vernon announced his decision to play for the Fighting Irish earlier this week.

Vernon surprised many as he became the first five-star player (non-OL) from Ohio to not choose the Buckeyes since Urban Meyer was hired before the 2012 season.

Vernon is the second commitment in Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class that is already looking like it’ll bring in one of the best defensive lines nationally as four-star defensive end Keon Keeley also committed earlier this week.

Here is what Vernon had to say to Mike Singer of Rivals about a few things related to Notre Dame:

WATCH: Spartan QB commit Katin Houser shows off arm

WATCH: Spartan QB commit Katin Houser shows off arm

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Recent Michigan State commit quarterback Katin Houser, has been showing off his talents at the Elite 11. He was among the few elite high school quarterbacks invited to the prestigious event.

Houser became the eighth different Spartan to attend the Elite 11 camp since it started in 1999.

Houser has been impressive during his workouts at the camp and showed off a nice throw on the run in one of the drills.

You can watch the video, via Twitter, here:

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Alabama lands commitment from 2022 3-star ATH Amari Niblack

The 2022 Crimson Tide recruiting class continues to grow!

The 2022 Alabama Crimson Tide recruiting class currently ranks No. 11 in the nation and No. 3 in the SEC, but there’s plenty of time left for Nick Saban to get those rankings up. His latest recruit to commit is Amari Niblack, a three-star athlete from Clearwater, Florida.

In a post to Twitter, Niblack shared a photo of him in an Alabama uniform and a message that thanks his family, coaches and supporters for helping him get to this point.

At 6-feet-5-inches, Niblack is a massive offensive target. He identifies his skillset as a “hybrid wide receiver” and tight end.

While those positions may be crowded at Alabama, it’s all about who outworks those around them. Niblack will definitely have an opportunity to see the field if he puts in the work.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

Dan Mullen is bringing major speed back to Florida football

It’s been about a decade since Florida was considered one of the fastest teams in the SEC. Coach Dan Mullen is trying to bring that back.

Florida used to have a pair of the fastest players in college football that starred in the orange and blue from 2008 to 2011 — Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey. The Gators are attempting to regain some of that speed in their 2022 recruiting cycle.

It’s not surprising to see the program want more quickness on their team because coach Dan Mullen played a pivotal role in landing Demps and Rainey when he was an offensive coordinator for UF.

Florida netted 3-star wide receiver Chandler Smith to add to his corps of burners like 4-stars wide-out Isaiah Bond and cornerback Julian Humphrey.

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Smith and Bond are state champions on the track. Smith won two Florida 2A state titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes this spring. Bond also collected some state trophies as the Georgia 6A 100- and 200-meter sprint champ.

Humphrey wasn’t too shabby, either, despite the lack of trophies. He recorded a 10.55 in the 100-meter dash and a 21.17 in the 200-meter dash, which fares better than the national standard.

The Gators can add another speedster as well. Five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart has pinned them as his leader, and he can move, too. He went 10.58 in the 100-meter dash and 21.38 in the 200-meter dash while claiming the Texas 5A state title in the long jump.

It’ll be interesting to track any other speedsters Mullen might land in the future.

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Michigan State 2022 target cornerback Shannon Blair announces commitment date

3-Star cornerback Shannon Blair, a top priority for Michigan State coaches, has announced his commitment date will be June 25.

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A high priority for Michigan State coaches in the 2022 class has announced his commitment date. Three-star cornerback Shannon Blair announced on Twitter that he will commit on June 25.

Blair, who is 6-foot-1 and 170-pounds, is a cornerback from Knoxville, Tennessee and currently plays for Knoxville West. He is the No. 68 athlete and No. 32 player in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2022.

Blair has also been offered by Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Purdue, Tulane, Virginia and Wake Forest.

247sports Crystal Ball currently has Michigan State as the favorites to land the talented prospect with four predictions in favor of the Spartans.

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Michigan State 2022 target cornerback Shannon Blair announces commitment date

3-Star cornerback Shannon Blair, a top priority for Michigan State coaches, has announced his commitment date will be June 25.

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A high priority for Michigan State coaches in the 2022 class has announced his commitment date. Three-star cornerback Shannon Blair announced on Twitter that he will commit on June 25.

Blair, who is 6-foot-1 and 170-pounds, is a cornerback from Knoxville, Tennessee and currently plays for Knoxville West. He is the No. 68 athlete and No. 32 player in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2022.

Blair has also been offered by Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Duke, Eastern Kentucky, Liberty, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Purdue, Tulane, Virginia and Wake Forest.

247sports Crystal Ball currently has Michigan State as the favorites to land the talented prospect with four predictions in favor of the Spartans.

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Gators snag a second blazing fast wide receiver in 2022 recruiting class

The Florida recruiting class adds another speedy wide receiver to the mix after a successful official visit with the team over the weekend.

Sunday evening, wide receiver CJ Smith announced via his Twitter account that he has committed to play for the Florida Gators’ football team. Smith, a member of the 2022 recruiting class, had just wrapped up his official visit with the team when he decided to commit. He is the second player to make their commitment to Florida official on Sunday, following linebacker Shemar James. 

What makes Smith special is his combination of long levers and straight-line speed. He was a member of the Bishop Moore track team that won the 2021 2A Florida state championship, including a personal record 21.01 second 200-meter dash in the final meet.

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“I like that they’re close to home and they have a passing offense, which really suits my playstyle,” Smith said, following his official visit.

It’s no surprise that the on-field product is what finally convinced Smith to sign on with the Gators. Head coach Dan Mullen and his assistants, especially wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales, routinely do an outstanding job at selling players on the idea that their particular playstyle will be a natural fit in the Swamp. With the ability to point at the electrifying 2020 offense and say “you can do that too” in their back pocket, it’s hard for a player like Smith to ignore the team’s pitch.

The Gators’ 2022 recruiting class now stands at eight players. Smith is the fourth player at an offensive skill position to make a verbal pact with the team. The others are quarterback Nick Evers, tight end CJ Hawkins, and wide receiver Isaiah Bond.

As wideouts with unbelievable speed who plan to play football and run track at Florida, Bond and Smith are similar players. There are a few important differences between them that may impact how the Gators plan to move forward with the pair. For instance, Bond is three inches shorter than Smith, but only five pounds lighter, meaning their physical development as SEC-caliber athletes may need to take different paths.

More importantly, Bond is still being pursued by other SEC teams, namely, Alabama, whereas there has not been reporting of any team pushing for Smith as much the Gators did. Should the Crimson Tide overturn Bond’s commitment, there won’t be as much heartburn about it because the Gators still have Smith in-house.

Gators take the lead in this 2022 4-star running back’s recruitment

The Gators hosted 2022 running back Terrance Gibbs over the weekend and came out as the clear leader in his recruitment.

The running backs room is one of the strongest position groups on the Florida Gators football team right now. It includes a blend of players with experience and upside. In a world post-Kyle Trask, running backs will be important to head coach Dan Mullen‘s offensive plan built around Emory Jones as the spearhead.

There’s no rest for the wicked, though, and virtually nothing is set in stone even one season in the future. Therefore, the team has to approach the 2022 recruiting cycle with all angles in mind. The Gators’ plan for the is to snag commitments from two running backs. In pursuit of that goal, they have offers out to 19 of the yet-uncommitted running backs in the class.

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One from that group who the team has been tied to routinely, Terrance Gibbs, visited the Swamp this weekend.

“We watched some film and got to see what I can do out of the backfield. What the NFL looks at and what they would implement here for me to be successful in the NFL,” said Gibbs to 247Sports after his visit. “[They like] the fact that I can catch and they like to move their running backs out to one-on-one coverages and stuff like that. They want to take that to their advantage.”

After suffering a torn ACL in late 2020, he’s fully healthy again but it won’t be clear if he was able to fully regain his game speed until he plays competitively again. Fortunately, he’s a well-rounded back who can also make a difference in the passing game and plays tough up the middle.

The Gators were considered strong contenders for Gibbs’ commitment all along, but he confirmed that they’re the leading school after his visit to the campus went well. He’s targeting a late June commitment date, and everything seems to be pointing toward him donning the Orange and Blue.

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This Florida commit took a ride with Nick Saban during his Alabama visit

The Gators are in danger of losing speedy wideout Isaiah Bond from their 2022 class after a visit to the Alabama Crimson Tide this weekend.

The Alabama Crimson Tide made a major move to flip 4-star Florida commit Isaiah Bond this weekend. Their coach Nick Saban gave Bond and his family the VIP treatment. Saban and his wife Terry showed them around Tuscaloosa, Alabama in his Mercedes-Benz.

He told 247Sports that the ride with Saban was the highlight of his trip to see the Crimson Tide.

“The atmosphere was amazing down here, some highlights were seeing campus in person, meeting with the players and them showing us around town and also riding with Nick Saban in his car,” Bond told 247Sports.

Bond added that he’ll have to sit down at the table and talk to his family about his June visits.

That news doesn’t sound promising to Florida fans.

Bond originally committed to Florida on May 9 and took his official visit to see the Gators the first weekend after the dead period was lifted.

He said after the visit that it confirmed his decision to commit to coach Dan Mullen’s program.

“It really just put the icing on top coming here.” Bond said, according to AllGators. “I couldn’t have made a better decision.”

This wasn’t the only official visit Bond has taken to another program. He visited Miami the weekend and prior and is scheduled to see Texas before June wraps up.

Most programs like Penn State, Clemson and FSU don’t permit their commits to visit other schools once they commit. Bond said that coach Dan Mullen gave him his blessing to see other programs during his Gators visit because prospects haven’t had the chance to see other places due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’ll be interesting to see if Florida can hang on to its speedster.

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