Tag: 247Sports

Three-star Baltimore cornerback Antoine Booth commits to Michigan State

Mel Tucker lands his sixth commitment of the 2021 recruiting class.

Michigan State is reaching out east for their latest football recruit.

Cornerback Antoine Booth, a three-star prospect out of DeMatha Catholic in Baltimore, MD, announced his commitment to Michigan State Monday afternoon.

Booth chose Michigan State over power five offers from Maryland, Rutgers, and Virginia. He is rated an 84 in the 247Sports composite rankings and is the 26th-best player in the state of Maryland. Booth is the sixth commitment in MSU’s 2021 class and the second defensive back to make his pledge to MSU. Defensive line coach Ron Burton offered Booth in January and Mel Tucker reaffirmed that offer when he took over the program in February.

Booth is not the first Spartan to come from DeMatha Catholic. Former standout linebacker and current Director of Player Engagement Darrien Harris arrived to East Lansing from the Baltimore football powerhouse.

Michigan State’s 2021 class ranked 35th in the country prior to Booth’s pledge and has yet to be updated at the time of publishing.

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Michigan State football hosts Louisiana safety Jah’von Grigsby on virtual visit

Mel Tucker and his staff are getting creative on the recruiting trail during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mel Tucker and his Michigan State football staff have been getting creative while recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The staff hosted three-star safety prospect Jah’von Grigsby on a virtual visit this weekend.

Grigsby is not listed in the 247Sports composite rankings–a fact that I’d venture to be guessed will change soon–but is a three-star prospect and boasts a pretty impressive short list of offers that is growing quickly. The Baton Rouge product has power five offers from Auburn, Miami, Purdue, and Vanderbilt. Grigsby is ranked by 247 as the 23rd-best player in talent-rich Louisiana.

Michigan State is hosting 4-star QB Kaidon Salter, one of the top dual-threat prospects in the country, on a virtual visit this Sunday.

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Recruiting expert believes the Badgers have a good shot at landing a top 2021 offensive tackle 

247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong wrote yesterday that he believes five-star 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci is leaning towards…

247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong wrote yesterday that he believes five-star 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci is leaning towards joining either Wisconsin or Penn State next fall.

The Pennsylvania native is the 13th-ranked overall recruit and 3rd-ranked offensive tackle in the nation and the highest-rated player in his state.

Rucci’s older brother, Hayden, is a current tight end for Paul Chryst and the Badgers but the brothers’ parents both attended Penn State.

The Warwick High School standout has offers from top schools including Clemson, Alabama and Notre Dame in addition to the Badgers and the Nittany Lions.

247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn, however, predicted Penn State is still the favorite to land the tackle with Clemson also having a legitimate shot.

Rucci tweeted on April 12 that he is taking a week off from his recruiting so it is unlikely a decision is coming soon.

The Badgers have an exceptional history at the position and adding Rucci would no doubt be massive news for the program.

Three Michigan State commits rise in latest 247Sports ratings

Michigan State respects see their stocks improve in the latest re-rank.

The latest 247Sports re-rank was quite kind to Michigan State prospects.

Three of MSU’s four recruits, Davion Primm, Ethan Boyd, and Derrick Harmon, saw their stock rise in the recruiting site’s mid-April re-rank. Primm, a three-star running back from Oak Park, was the biggest riser, jumping 21 spots in the state of Michigan rankings and going from an 83 rating to an 86 rating. He jumped from No. 95 at running back all the way up to No. 52 at the position.

Also rising was Michigan State’s latest commit, defensive tackle Derrick Harmon out of Detroit Loyola. The three-star prospect went from an 83 to an 84 and went from the 44th-best player in Michigan up to the 34th-ranked player. He’s the 59th-best DT prospect in the country.

MSU’s other recruit from Michigan also rose in the rankings. Offensive tackle Ethan Boyd jumped eight spots in the state of Michigan, going from 29th to 21st. The 6-foot-7 East Lansing product is now ranked as the No. 57 offensive tackle in the country, up from No. 105. His rating jumped from an 84 to an 86.

MSU’s fourth commitment, three-star defensive back Gabe Nealy out of Miami, was stagnant in the re-rank. Nealy is a three-star prospect with an 85 rating.

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Georgia recruiting: Notable changes in 247 Sports’ updated player rankings

Here are some notable changes in the 247 Sports recruiting rankings as it pertains to Georgia football.

On Wednesday, 247Sports updated its 2021 recruiting rankings for the top high school football prospects in the country.

Georgia, which holds six commitments in the class of 2021, has five players ranked in the top 247.

Remember, these rankings are different from 247’s Composite Rankings. The Composite Rankings take into account all four primary services in the industry, while the 247 rankings are created by the company’s own analysts. 

Here are the new rankings for Georgia’s commits:

QB Brock Vandagriff out of Bogart, Ga.

Vandagriff, a 4-star in 247’s rankings, moved down one spot to No. 32 overall. He is the No. 2 ranked dual-threat QB. He remains a 5-star in the composite rankings.

OT Micah Morris out of Kingland, Ga.

Morris, a 4-star OT, remains the 92nd overall player in the nation. He’s America’s No. 17 ranked OT and No. 10 player in Georgia.

RB Lovasea Carrol out of Warrenton, Ga. (currently attending IMG Academy)

4-star RB Lovasea Carroll remained the No. 106 overall prospect. He did, however, move up one in the running back rankings from No. 8 to No. 7.

DB David Daniel out of Woodstock, Ga.

Daniel is a 4-star defensive back who saw a slight change and is now the No. 134 overall prospect.

SDE Johnathan Jefferson from Douglasville, Ga.

4-star SDE Jefferson dropped five slots and is now ranked as the nation’s No. 171 overall prospect.

A few notable players who are uncommitted:

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Notre Dame Commit Given a Fifth Star

In them, long-time Notre Dame commitment Tyler Buchner was awarded a fifth-star, making him one of their top-32 prospects in the 2021 recruiting class.

Star ratings in college football recruiting aren’t everything.  You hear the stories of JJ Watt not being a star recruit and he seems to have done alright in his football career.  There are plenty of others as well and each year walk-on players at almost every school make a difference.

That said, they’re certainly not a nothing, either.

247Sports determines their stars for players based off of essentially doing their own first round of a draft but instead for high school players in each class.  They give out 32 five-star statuses each season, one for each NFL team.

Now think of the NFL and if the New England Patriots or Kansas City Chiefs were getting more first round picks than anyone else every year.  It’s been hard enough to beat those two in recent years anyway, now just think how hard it’d be if they were bringing in more young talent than everyone else year in and year out.  That’s essentially what competing with the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and LSU has become.

Notre Dame did get good news in that department Wednesday though as 247Sports updated their rankings.  In them, long-time Notre Dame commitment Tyler Buchner was awarded a fifth-star, making him one of their top-32 prospects in the 2021 recruiting class.

Does it really matter for Notre Dame?  Not really, Buchner has been committed for over a year and doesn’t appear interested in re-opening that at all.  It will matter in terms of final team rankings but he’s still the same prospect he was two days ago, when he didn’t have the fifth star.

However, it’s still something worth celebrating for the future Notre Dame signal caller.  He’s had an incredible high school career already and now only more eyes will be on him during his senior year of high school.

Notre Dame Safety Target Chooses Biggest Rival

USC is also the top ranked Pac-12 team on in those rankings which hasn’t been the case the last couple of seasons under Clay Helton.

With no football being actually played or practiced right now it has left us looking more into recruiting, both good and bad.  As Notre Dame and every other football program continue full steam ahead to piece together their 2021 classes, the Irish did miss out on one safety target after he announced his decision Friday.

Xamarion Gordon, a four-star safety from Warren High School in Downey, California will stay in his home state and meet up with the Fighting Irish annually.

It remains early in recruiting based off of the amount of big-time players that are yet to announce their decisions but USC is off to a very good start now with six commitments in their class and are currently ranked 11th nationally on 247Sports.  They also are the top ranked Pac-12 team on in those rankings which hasn’t been the case the last couple of seasons under Clay Helton.

Blue chip, five-star recruits are not the answer for Wisconsin. The Badgers have an identity that works

High school basketball in the state of Wisconsin has exploded over the last decade. Even specifically in the last few years, the high school talent level in the state is different than ever before. Historically, five-star basketball prospects are …

High school basketball in the state of Wisconsin has exploded over the last decade. Even specifically in the last few years, the high school talent level in the state is different than ever before. Historically, five-star basketball prospects are not offensive lineman in Wisconsin. They do not grow on trees.

Over the past few years, however, Wisconsin has seen elite high school basketball talent. Tyler Herro is a name that most Badger fans do not want to hear. The former 2018 five-star recruit infamously de-committed from Wisconsin in favor of Kentucky after John Calipari swooped into the picture. It’s hard to argue with his decision, as the former Whitnall star was having a solid rookie year with the Miami Heat before the NBA suspended the season. In the 2020 class, Jalen Johnson is the top-ranked player in the state of Wisconsin. The 6-8 forward is a consensus five-star product, and eventually signed with Duke. UW made their play for the Milwaukee native, but eventually lost out to the Blue Devils.

Looking forward to 2021, Patrick Baldwin Jr. is one of the top-ranked prospects in the history of the state of Wisconsin. Listed as number three overall nationally by ESPN, 247sports has the Sussex Hamilton star leaning towards Duke.

The trend of this story is easy to see: Wisconsin high school basketball is at an all-time best and the Badgers are missing out on most of the top players in the state. But the question I want to ask is would UW be better off at making aggressive plays for five-star recruits? Wisconsin basketball has a brand. That brand is defined as we over me. Being a Badger is about winning and building community over a number of years at the college level. Being a Kentucky Wildcat is about making it to the next level. There’s nothing wrong with either way of running a program. They are simply different styles.

Did Herro make the best decision for himself? Absolutely, and I think that it is hard to look at his results and think anything differently. At the same time, are the Badgers really better off throwing time, energy, and resources at trying to steal five-star recruits from Duke and Kentucky, even if those players are in-state? Or is a school that does not have the basketball brand of a Duke or Kentucky better off recruiting players that will not only buy into the program on day one, but also play at UW for multiple years? I think the latter is where Wisconsin is better off. We have seen examples of this in Greg Gard’s 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes. There are players coming into this program that are going to be excellent Badgers, and be at Wisconsin for four, maybe even five years assuming a redshirt or two. We even see it on the players returning next year, many of which made massive leaps from 2018-19 to this past season.

Also, does the fact that Wisconsin is not the best place for a one-and-done recruit mean that the Badgers cannot develop talent? No, not at all. In fact, it is hard for me to think of a player over the last decade (I am a young guy) that Wisconsin has ruined in terms of NBA potential. Sam Dekker was the highest recruit of that decade, and he went 18th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Kentucky and Duke are excellent at what they do, and over the past decade Wisconsin has proved to be excellent at what they do. There are multiple ways to build a successful college basketball program. Should the Badgers turn away a five-star recruit who wants to play in Madison? Of course not. But it does not have to be the focus of Badger recruiting for this team to find success. Wisconsin should not be Duke or Kentucky. The Badgers should be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.

Georgia football QB Jamie Newman keeps moving up in Heisman odds

Georgia football QB Jamie Newman moves up in 2020 Heisman odds.

Georgia was in need of a quarterback and the graduate transfer from Wake Forest was a hot commodity when he made his decision to depart the Demon Deacons and take his talents to Athens. As if replacing three-year starter Jake Fromm isn’t difficult enough, Jamie Newman will be challenged to implement a new, more RPO- oriented attack and add some swagger to the UGA offense.

The Las Vegas oddsmakers, who are more right than wrong, believe he made the right decision in choosing the Bulldogs.

According to William Hill Superbook, Newman’s odds for securing the Heisman have moved to 10/1, now third behind Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (7/2) and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (4/1).  In early February, Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook had Newman at 12/1 odds and just after his transfer announcement, Newman was listed at 16/1 odds.

Newman was one of the top graduate transfers on the market. Miami, Oregon, Maryland and Washington, among others were seeking the services of the North Carolina native.

According to Pro Football Focus, Newman is the nation’s third-highest graded returning quarterback, behind only Fields and Lawrence.  He started all 13 games last season and led Wake to an 8-5 record. He completed 220 of 361 passes (60.9 percent) for 2,868 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He rushed for 574 yards and six touchdowns on 180 carries.

Being the starting quarterback at the University of Georgia always comes with high expectations and takes an extremely talented, confident and bright athlete to handle the pressure. Jamie Newman checks off all the boxes. Dawg fans will have their first opportunity to check out Newman and the 2020 Bulldogs during G-Day, scheduled for 2:00pm on Saturday, April 18. The game will be game carried live on the SEC Network.

Notre Dame Pursuing Stanford Transfer Running Back

One of those looking to move on is running back Trevor Speights, a former three-star recruit.  Speights didn’t receive a single carry for Stanford in 2019 after rushing for 363 yards and a touchdown in the two seasons previous.

Stanford football has fallen on hard times of late and not just because they finished 2019 just 4-8 and without a bowl appearance for the first time since 2008.  It’s also because they have seen a mass-exidous from Palo Alto as 16 different players have entered the transfer portal.

One of those looking to move on is running back Trevor Speights, a former three-star recruit.  Speights didn’t receive a single carry for Stanford in 2019 after rushing for 363 yards and a touchdown in the two seasons previous.

247Sports is reporting that Notre Dame is working hard to make Speights part of their 2020 backfield.

Not only have conversations gone extremely well so far, but we’re actually told the 5-11, 205-pounder is finalizing plans to get on campus for a visit in March. Running backs coach Lance Taylor is leading the way on this recruitment and if things go well on the visit between both sides and the staff is sure there is a spot for him, it’s hard to see him landing anywhere else. – Tom Loy of 247Sports.  Read the entire piece here.

Speights would potentially step in a backfield that currently has the likes of Jafar Armstrong, Jahmir Smith, C’Bo Flemister, Kyren Williams, Avery Davis and prized-recruit Chris Tyree.

Speights is a graduate transfer which means he’d immediately be eligible.

We’ll keep you posted on any developments with Speights and Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish host Stanford on the evening of October 10 this fall.