Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove is joined by Gabe DeArmond of PowerMizzou.com, Zack Carpenter of InsideNebraska.com and Tyler James of InsideNDSports.com as they tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Braydon Lee is locked in with South Carolina
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1. Ryan Wingo will move up his announcement and commit to Missouri.
Cosgrove’s take: FACT. I have said all along that if Wingo were to move up his originally planned early signing day commitment that it would favor Missouri and that appears to be exactly what is happening here. PowerMizzou.com was able to confirm from Wingo’s father that an announcement would be coming soon, and that can likely only mean one thing – a commitment to Missouri. I fully expect the five-star to announce his commitment to the Tigers in the coming weeks.
DeArmond’s take: FACT. Wingo’s father told us an announcement is “coming soon.” The only real reason to move off of his original Dec. 20 date would be to commit to Missouri and potentially capitalize on NIL opportunities available to in-state players. It will be a pretty major surprise if Wingo isn’t Missouri’s second five-star commitment of the class by the time the Tigers play at Georgia on Nov 4.
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2. Nebraska true freshman wide receiver Malachi Coleman will score a touchdown in his first career start against Northwestern on Saturday.
Cosgrove’s take: FACT. Malachi Coleman was one of the freakiest athletes in the 2023 class and showed a ton of promise during his first significant action of the season against Illinois recently. Coleman notched his first reception, blocked like an absolute beast and appeared to be a threat to take the top off at any point during Nebraska‘s game against the Illini. With him taking over a role in the starting lineup, I fully expect Coleman to take the next step in his development and put his freakish ability on display by scoring a touchdown against an overmatched Northwestern secondary on Saturday.
Carpenter’s take: FACT. Coleman was the highest-ranked signee in the Huskers’ 2023 class, one of their highest ever in the modern recruiting era. Throughout his recruitment he was labeled as arguably the Huskers’ most important in-state recruit of the last decade. Matt Rhule then won his signing day commitment over Deion Sanders and Colorado. Then, the Huskers’ receiver room continued to get depleted in fall camp and throughout the start of the season. Because of all those factors lining up, fans (and media, I’ll admit) have been anxiously wondering if and when Coleman would start getting more playing time this season.
He eventually got that opportunity two weeks ago against Illinois after the Huskers’ No. 1 receiver, Marcus Washington, suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury. Coleman, who had played just 18 snaps across his first four games, answered the call with some impressive effort and physicality as a run blocker. He also showed improved route running and eventually snagged his first career catch while playing 57 snaps. The true freshman looked good in his first experience of significant playing time, and he has now earned his first career start against Northwestern. It will all culminate in his first career touchdown reception. Some extra boldness: It will come on the Huskers’ first offensive drive of the game.
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3. Notre Dame is a legit threat to flip four-star Nebraska tight end commit Carter Nelson.
Cosgrove’s take: FICTION. I’m not ready to count the Irish out of Nelson’s recruitment, especially when you consider that he was on hand for Notre Dame‘s epic win over USC, and the Irish are notorious for producing NFL talent at the position. Throw in the Huskers’ recent struggles on the field and it would be foolish for Nelson to not at least hear out what Marcus Freeman and his staff have to offer. In the end, however, I see the local talent staying home to play for the Huskers in the college. Matt Rhule‘s reputation for rebuilding broken programs, the chance to stay and be a hometown hero and the comments Nelson’s dad made to Rivals recruiting director Adam Gorney recently all lead to Lincoln as his destination.
James’ take: FACT. Nelson was never expected to flip his commitment to Notre Dame immediately following his return to campus on Saturday. So, it’s no surprise that Nelson remains committed to Nebraska. But framing Nelson’s visit as simply taking advantage of an opportunity to see a big game discredits the real relationships that Nelson has with Notre Dame’s staff and commits. It’s evident that Nelson values those, and Notre Dame hopes he values everything else the program and university has to offer. A lot can happen in the next two months before the Early Signing Period. As long as Nelson is openly communicating with the Irish the flip opportunity remains.
