Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney ranks the 10 biggest recent pledges and another busy stretch in the recruiting world.
RUMOR MILL: Plenty of buzz over the holiday weekend
TARVOS ALFORD TO OHIO STATE
Miami, Tennessee, Florida State and UCF were also somewhat involved in Alford’s recruitment but Ohio State was considered the front-runner for a long time and he finally picked the Buckeyes in recent days.
This defensive class for Ohio State especially in the secondary is off the charts and then adding Alford and three-star linebacker Eli Lee is a good start with the Buckeyes leading for other elite linebackers in the class.
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TORY BLAYLOCK TO OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma is getting a big dose of speed with the commitment of Blaylock, who had Texas A&M, Oregon, Texas and many others involved in his recruitment. His father, Derrick, played in the NFL and the four-star all-purpose back from Humble (Texas) Atascocita has the ability to run between the tackles but is best when he gets to the outside in space and makes people miss.
Blaylock shares carries in Atascocita’s backfield but he’s a highly-skilled player with a great pedigree so Oklahoma adding more speed is music to the Sooners’ ears.
*****
AKYLIN DEAR TO OLE MISS
The speedy and elusive four-star running back from Quitman, Miss., visited all over the Southeast in recent months but decided to stay home and commit to Ole Miss over the weekend. Dear should be a perfect fit in coach Lane Kiffin’s offense which has relied heavily on the running game in recent years as both sides benefit. Dear should get the ball to make things happen and Kiffin has another massive weapon to make things run smoothly.
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ANDRE FULLER JR. TO GEORGIA TECH
Georgia Tech is not going to beat Georgia or other SEC powers that come into Atlanta for some top prospects so the Yellow Jackets have to be smart, target some under-recruited prospects and then landing their commitments.
That’s exactly what happened with the four-star defensive end from Loganville (Ga.) Grayson as Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt were Fuller’s two favorites but many SEC programs will rue their decisions not to offer because Fuller is really talented and productive.
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DE’ZIE JONES TO OHIO STATE
It was an incredibly busy weekend for Ohio State especially on the defensive side of the ball and landing Jones was a big boost for the receiving corps – as if the Buckeyes needed more help at that position.
Ohio State has all kinds of receivers and playmakers all over the field as Jones should be used in the slot after he averaged more than 16 yards per catch. Jones is the first wide receiver in Ohio State’s class but he almost definitely won’t be the last.
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JACKSON KOLLOCK TO MINNESOTA
An early commitment to Washington did not work out once that old coaching staff left for Alabama and Kollock didn’t feel his skill set worked with the staff that came over from Arizona and so he reopened his recruitment in mid-January. Since that time, Oregon State, Minnesota, Colorado, Colorado State and others got involved and it’s surprising even bigger programs didn’t get in the mix because the Laguna Beach, Calif., four-star quarterback can play.
That’s why it was so big for Kollock to pick the Golden Gophers in recent days as he could provide a big spark to Minnesota’s offense.
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LONDON MERRITT TO OHIO STATE
Once Merritt got to spend an extended period of time with position coach Larry Johnson during his visit to Ohio State, the Buckeyes were going to be nearly impossible to beat in his recruitment.
That came to fruition late last week when the Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star defensive end who can use his power off the edge but can also play in space, picked Ohio State over Alabama, USC and others.
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ANTHONY SACCA TO NOTRE DAME
The Penn State legacy did not have the Nittany Lions among his top list heading into his decision as Alabama, Ohio State, Duke, Wisconsin and Notre Dame were the front-runners. In a twist of fate, it was his father, Tony, having a relationship with Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden back at Penn State that helped Sacca pick Notre Dame.
His relationship with the whole staff, the linebacker tradition in South Bend and the academics were all big for the Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s standout.
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ETHAN UTLEY TO TENNESSEE
Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan and Syracuse were the five favorites for the four-star defensive end from Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth but the Vols were always going to be tough to beat. The coaching staff led by coach Josh Heupel and position coach Rodney Garner did a great job recruiting Utley, got his mom locked in and then Utley picked the Volunteers in late March.
The four-star definitely has power coming off the edge and he mixes that with explosive speed to become problematic for offensive linemen.
*****
RILEY WORMLEY TO USC
As of just a few weeks ago, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and TCU were the three programs expected to get official visits and then Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas were three others to watch. USC was not mentioned all that much in Wormley’s recruitment but after TCU position coach Anthony Jones Jr. came over to the Trojans recently,
USC started to become a major player. The high three-star committed at the end of the month but teams in his region won’t back off the Southlake (Texas) Carroll recruit.
