Tag: Rivals

Rivals: Notre Dame Football recruiting “as expected” in 2021

The Irish’s 2021 class has been labeled “as expected” but what does that actually mean?

While it might be a one-off year that Notre Dame is associated with ACC football, they have been included when examining the recruiting classes with the conference. Rivals took a look at the ACC recruiting as a whole and gave out some superlatives to the group.

The Irish scored big when instate offensive tackle Blake Fisher decided to stay home and play for Blue and Gold. Rivals saw this as a huge win for Brian Kelly, as they named it the second biggest recruiting get in the conference. “This (Fisher’s commitment) continues the excellent recruiting tradition along the OL for the Irish,” is what recruiting director Mike Farrell said.

It’s not just instate where the Irish have had recruiting success, they went into Ohio and got a commit from Lorenzo Styles Jr. Farrell see this as the second biggest out-of-state recruiting win in the conference. “Styles doesn’t play far from Indiana as an Ohio native, but his skill set was coveted by everyone,” noted Farrell. Indeed it is, and just yesterday we looked at the potential for Styles to end up on the other side of the ball.

Kelly also found himself being highlighted “As Expected” by Farrell. We all know the lead man “wanted to bring top-five classes to South Bend, but with academic restrictions that’s not going to happen very often. Notre Dame is No. 10 and that’s around where you’d expect them to be.”

It’s safe to say this group will be making their mark for Notre Dame soon, with elite talent at numerous positions. The Irish aren’t done yet either, as they still have multiple 2021 targets who are highly considering committing to the program. The 2022 class, although just 3 members, is already a Top 5 class. Recruiting is the lifeblood of every program and the blood is flowing in South Bend.

Irish’s Mayer added onto Freshman 15, the good version

Notre Dame’s freshman tight end is already turning heads just one game into his Irish career. And this freshman 15 is not bad.

When you think of the freshman 15, you don’t normally think of it as being a good thing. Well, in this case it is, as Notre Dame freshman tight end Michael Mayer made Rivals freshman 15 list. It consists of the best 15 freshman playing football this fall .

The highly talented Mayer is ranked as the 10th best true freshman hitting the gridiron this fall. We already know that he is talented. I can’t stop watching his 3rd down catch, where he trucked over a defender to get the 7 yards needed for the first down.

Here it is because you can’t have enough Michael Mayer in your life.

We can expect to see plays like this for the next 3 years. Yeah, I’m saying it now, Mayer will be a 3-and-out player for Notre Dame. Talents like his don’t come around often, so we should enjoy the time that Mayer wears the Blue and Gold.

Mike Farrell, who comprised the list, had a glowing review of the freshman, saying “Mayer is too talented to be kept off the field for Notre Dame and that has already shown. He’s likely the next great tight end in that offense with his ability to stretch the field and separate.”

As long as Mayer stays healthy, he will compile some big stats for the Irish. Those stats should translate into a high draft pick as well, maybe even topping his predecessor, Cole Kmet’s early second round selection.

Rivals: Irish don’t have enough firepower to beat Clemson

It’s a bit premature to make that assumption, there are a lot of unknowns about Notre Dame’s new offense behind Tommy Rees’ direction.

There are plenty of prognosticators who want to go out on a limb and make predictions that might be a bit far out there. Rivals’ Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney both looked at if the Irish could beat out Clemson for the ACC Title.

Both, Farrell and Gorney, believe that Notre Dame won’t be able to knock off the perennial College Football Playoff contestant. Farrell says that “I don’t think there’s a threat” when referring to Notre Dame’s potential to topple the Tigers. Farrell cites Clemson’s hunger after losing last year’s CFB Championship to LSU and that he “can’t see either (North Carolina or Notre Dame’s) defense holding up to the explosive Clemson offense.”

Clemson’s explosive offense has probably the best pair of backfield mates in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne in the country. However, losing potential star wide receiver Justyn Ross to a spinal injury and Tee Higgins going to the NFL, gives the Tigers WR unit some questions going into the season also. Lots of talented players are behind them, but like the Irish, they’re going to have to find playmakers. Their situations, Notre Dame’s and Clemson’s, are very similar and claiming Clemson has an explosive offense at this point in time seems foolish.

Gorney see’s things playing out very similar to Farrell. He worries “the Irish don’t have enough offensive firepower to keep up with Clemson… because Notre Dame is still looking for playmakers in the passing game.” Gorney, like Farrell, fails to see the similarities between both teams playmakers situations.

It’s a bit premature to say Notre Dame’s offense won’t be able to contend with Clemson’s. Defensive coordinator Clark Lea is a rising star and new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees had time to install his offense during the offseason. Rees will find playmakers from his talented group, it could be tight end Brock Wright, wide receiver Braden Lenzy or Lawrence Keys III, running back Chris Tryee that breaks out. The Irish will have players break out and perform at a high level this year.

Farrell and Gorney are a bit off when saying the Irish don’t have the offensive firepower, there’s plenty of talented players on the Notre Dame roster who will have their opportunities this season. Each team will have plenty of time to get their offenses humming by the time they meet on the field November 7th. It should be a great one that will impact not just the ACC race, but the CFP as well.

2021 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Desmond Watson

This is a prospect player profile for defensive tackle Desmond Watson of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2021.

Name: Desmond Watson

Position: Defensive Tackle

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 380 lbs

Hometown: Seffner, Fla.

High School: Armwood High School

Twitter: @DesmondWatson12

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

Successful in landing four-star running back/wide receiver Charles Montgomery’s commitment on May 24, the Florida Gators landed another Armwood High School Hawk, located in Seffner, about 130 miles south of Gainesville, in three-star Desmond Watson on July 30.

A massive defensive tackle at 6-foot-5 and 380 pounds, he is the No. 21 player at his position and a top-55 player in the state, per the 247Sports Composite.

The whirlwind life of a Power Five student-athlete is not unfamiliar to Watson, as his half-brother, Darrian McNeal, a three-star prospect in the 2017 class, played one season for then-head coach Willie Taggart’s Oregon Ducks, catching two passes for 10 yards (five avg.) and adding three rushing attempts for 21 yards (seven avg.).

Unfortunately, McNeal’s athletic career took a dark turn, as he left the Ducks in the spring of 2018 and was arrested and charged with first-degree theft and second-degree robbery in June 2020, following an incident at a Eugene apartment.

As for Watson, he originally picked up his Florida offer on January 17, 2019, and he attended two Junior Days in an approximately five-week span from February 1-to-March 7, 2020. Primarily recruited by defensive line coach David Turner and cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray, he chose the Gators over the Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida Atlantic Owls, South Florida Bulls, West Virginia Mountaineers and 16 reported others.

Andrew Ivins, a Miami Hurricanes insider for 247Sports, highlights Watson’s quick hands and effectiveness against double teams as some of his strengths and points to his weight as a possible concern.

Overall, he is the fourteenth-highest rated of the program’s 24 commits in the upcoming cycle and the eighth-highest on the defensive side of the football. Turner has picked up pledges from three defensive linemen in the class, with Fort Lauderdale’s Tyreak Sapp and Sumter, South Carolina’s Justus Boone, both four-stars, joining Watson.

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Rivals ranks Wisconsin outside of the five best coaching jobs in the Big Ten

Four days ago Rivals’ Dan McDonald listed, in order, the best men’s basketball head coaching jobs in the Big Ten Conference…

Four days ago Rivals’ Dan McDonald listed, in order, the best men’s basketball head coaching jobs in the Big Ten Conference.

His top-5 are Indiana at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Michigan at No. 3, Michigan State at No. 4 and Maryland at No. 5.

Then, coming in at No. 6 is the Wisconsin basketball program.

Here’s what he had to say about the Badgers’ coaching job:

“Making calls to different college coaches and scouts in preparing this list, the one response that kept coming up was, “You know what’s a really underrated job? Wisconsin.” It’s hard to disagree. Badgers fans love their team, they always win and the state produces some pretty good players that like to stay home. Plus, as a college town, Madison gets rave reviews.”

Though Greg Gard and company recently lost out on in-state four-star 2021 small forward James Graham to the Maryland Terrapins, McDonald is spot on here about the program, its winning history, its ability to keep players in-state and the overwhelming fan support year-after-year.

Maybe the program isn’t a blue blood national title contender every year (though they may be this season), but in arguably the nation’s best overall basketball conference the No. 6 slot seems right for the program.

2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Jeremy Crawshaw

This is a prospect player profile for punter Jeremy Crawshaw of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Jeremy Crawshaw

Position: Punter

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 190 lbs

Hometown: Sydney, Australia

High School: ProKick Australia

Twitter: @jeremy_crawshaw

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐

Overview:

For the first time since the 2012 season, the Florida Gators’ roster will not feature one of the Townsend brothers.

The older brother, Johnny, exhausted his eligibility in 2017, finishing as the program’s all-time leading punter with 11,090 yards on 240 punts (46.2 avg.). The younger Townsend, Tommy, joined the Gators in 2016 after spending his freshman year with another Southeastern Conference (SEC) East Division school, the Tennessee Volunteers, then-coached by Butch Jones.

Tommy was required to sit out his first season on-campus in accordance with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer guidelines and redshirted in 2017, but handled the punting duties each of the last two years, totaling 4,162 yards on 93 punts (44.8 avg.).

To fill the void left by Townsend’s departure, Florida is expected to utilize redshirt senior Jacob Finn, a Jacksonville native, this fall, but Australian Jeremy Crawshaw, a member of the 2020 class, will compete for the job, too.

Presented annually to college football’s most outstanding punter and first gifted in 2000, the Ray Guy Award has seen five of Crawshaw’s countrymen capture the honors, the Memphis Tigers’ Tom Hornsey in 2013, Tom Hackett of the Utah Utes in 2014-15, Mitch Wishnowsky, another Ute, in 2016, Michael Dickson of the Texas Longhorns in 2017, and the Kentucky Wildcats’ Max Duffy in 2019.

The long-term hope in Gainesville is Crawshaw can add another name to this list.

Listed at 6-foot-3-inches and 190 pounds, the Australian took his official visit to campus on September 20, 2019 and committed three days later. Interestingly, he holds the distinction of being the earliest enrollee in program history, faxing his Letter of Intent (LOI) to the school’s compliance office on Tuesday, December 17, 2019.

How is this possible with last winter’s Early Signing Period not beginning until December 18? Crawshaw’s hometown is 14 hours ahead of Gainesville, meaning it was Wednesday there.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Jonathan Odom

This is a prospect player profile for tight end Jonathan Odom of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Jonathan Odom

Position: Tight End

Height: 6’5″

Weight: 250 lbs

Hometown: Tampa, Fla.

High School: Jesuit High School

Twitter: @Odom_87

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

Jonathan Odom is a three-star tight end from Jesuit High School in Tampa. He was the No. 32 overall tight end in the 2020 recruiting class and the No. 768 player in the nation.

The son of former UF offensive lineman Jason Odom, who was a two-time First Team All-SEC selection and a one-time All-American who played four seasons in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jonathan committed to play for coach Dan Mullen back in May 2019 despite offers from other SEC powerhouses like Alabama and LSU.

He signed with Florida during the early signing period in December, and he enrolled at UF in June.

At 6-foot-5, 250-pounds, Odom possesses ideal size for a tight end. He has demonstrated blocking ability throughout his high school career, but the bulk of his contributions at the position came in the passing game. His junior season in 2018, he had 20 catches for 275 yards and nine touchdowns.

With returning tight end Kyle Pitts poised for a breakout season this year and players like Kemore Gamble and Keon Zipperer still on the roster, it’s likely that Odom will redshirt in 2020 while possibly seeing action on special teams or in reserve situations.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Fenley Graham

This is a prospect player profile for cornerback Fenley Graham of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Fenley Graham

Position: Cornerback

Height: 5’8.5″

Weight: 171 lbs

Hometown: Lakeland, Fla.

High School: Lakeland High School

Twitter: @FenleyG11

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

Fenley Graham is a three-star recruit from Lakeland High School, according to the 247Sports Composite. The No. 474 player nationally and the No. 34 cornerback, Graham received an offer from the Gators in December of 2018 before he eventually committed the following June. He also had offers from Miami, West Virginia and more.

He signed with Florida during the early signing period in December, and he enrolled on campus on July 2.

Though he’s undersized for a corner at 5-foot-8.5, he makes up for it with tremendous athleticism and solid ball skills. His speed makes him a threat to return an interception to the house, and he could even see some time as a kick returner in Gainesville.

Graham finds himself a bit overshadowed as the fifth-highest rated corner in coach Dan Mullen’s 2020 recruiting class, but his athleticism should help him see the field in some capacity sooner rather than later.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Richard Leonard

This is a prospect player profile for offensive guard Richard Leonard of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Richard Leonard

Position: Offensive Lineman

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 320 lbs

Hometown: Cocoa, Fla.

High School: Cocoa High School

Twitter: @trey4six

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

A product of Cocoa High School, Leonard possesses great size for the guard position at 6-foot-2 and 320 pounds.

He is more than simply a big body, however, as he showcased his footwork and athleticism by also playing for the Tigers’ baseball team.

Like in classmate Mordecai McDaniel’s case, Leonard originally committed to a different Southeastern Conference (SEC) East Division program. While the former first pledged to Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee Volunteers, the latter chose Mark Stoops’ Kentucky Wildcats.

Recruited by co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw, Leonard committed to the Lexington-based program on October 21, 2018. Kentucky had the advantage of connecting with the three-star guard early, as they were just the second Power Five school to extend him an offer, behind only the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, then-still coached by Chris Ash.

This verbal bond lasted less than six months, however, as he re-opened his recruitment on April 19, 2019. Slightly more than one month later, on May 29, he chose to pursue life in Gainesville, committing to co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach John Hevesy and running backs coach Greg Knox.

Signing his National Letter of Intent (LOI) during the Early Signing Period on December 18, Leonard enrolled the same day and participated in practices leading up to the Gators’ Capital One Orange Bowl victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

The in-state prospect figures to compete for playing time at left guard at the collegiate level. Entering the 2020 season, redshirt sophomores Richard Gouraige and Griffin McDowell project to appear above him on the depth chart.

Overall, Leonard is the 20th-highest of Florida’s 21 enrollees in the cycle, slotting in above two-star Australian punter Jeremy Crawshaw.

The 247Sports Composite ranked Leonard as the No. 768 player nationally, a top-50 guard in the class, and the No. 101 player in the Sunshine State.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Mordecai McDaniel

This is a prospect player profile for safety Mordecai McDaniel of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Mordecai McDaniel

Position: Safety

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 195 lbs

Hometown: Washington, D.C.

High School: St. John’s College High School

Twitter: @HunnitBandCai

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

A four-star product of St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., which was established in 1851, McDaniel originally committed to a different Southeastern Conference (SEC) East Division program, Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee Volunteers.

Courted by defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley and defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, he pledged to the Knoxville-based outfit on August 21, 2019. Slightly less than four months later, on December 13, he flipped to the Gators, thanks, in large part, to the efforts of cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray and safeties coach Ron English.

Signing his National Letter of Intent (LOI) just five days after flipping, McDaniel’s speed jumps off the screen while watching his film. Also a member of the track and field team during his days as a St. John’s Cadet in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), he won the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) 55-meter dash with a blazing time of 6.54 seconds.

McDaniel played both cornerback and safety during his prep career, and is listed as a cornerback on 247Sports, but many around Florida’s program project him to focus on the safety position in Gainesville.

With Shawn Davis and Brad Stewart, both seniors, projected to start at the safety positions for defensive coordinator Todd Grantham in 2020 and two more seniors, Quincy Lenton and Donovan Stiner, listed on the two-deep depth chart, there appears to be a path to significant playing time for McDaniel beginning in 2021.

As a true freshman, it is likely we will see him contribute on special teams.

Overall, McDaniel is the thirteenth-highest rated of the Gators’ 21 enrollees in the 2020 cycle and the ninth-highest on the defensive side of the football.

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