Just a few thoughts on our 2020 class and recruiting in general.
Defense
Overall. When we hired Pruitt in 2017, I didn't know if he would succeed or not, but I thought, at a bare minimum, we'd have an elite defense within 3-4 years. We're on track for just that. We've seen dramatic improvement in the D already moving from 71st in defensive efficiency in 2017 up to 36th this season. This class helps continue that improvement with several big time players.
Front 7. I'd normally divide this between the D-line and LBs, but we have large number of recruits that might take awhile to settle in on a position. That said, in the front 7, we landed blue chips Omari Thomas, Tyler Baron, Dominic Bailey, Bryan Eason, Martavius French, and Morven Joseph. as well as Tamarion McDonald, and Reginald Perry. Also potentially add a few others such as Len'Neth Whitehead, who will start out as a RB, but who could conceivably shift to LB. That's quite a haul and should help fix some of our depth issues in the front 7, on top of being a building block for a potentially elite D. Still some concerns about lack of pass rushers, however, but Joseph was a great add on that end.
Secondary. We landed blue chips Keshawn Lawrence and Doneiko Slaughter. Our needs in the secondary weren't quite as great as in the front 7, but these are two promising recruits.
Offense
QBs. You never know about QBs until you see them on the field, but landing Harrison Bailey is huge! We also landed an underrated (IMO) prospect with Jimmy Holiday. Holiday is officially listed as a 3-star dual threat QB, but could also play another position (such as WR).
RBs. This is an interesting RB haul. We landed 3 different RBs in Tee Hodge, Jamari Small, and Len'Neth Whitehead. Difficult to say which of those will work out at RB and which will switch positions. I personally feel like Tee Hodge is the most underrated player in our class.
WRs. I keep mentioning players in contention for "most underrated" in this class, but there's another one in Jalin Hyatt. He was rated as a 3-star for the longest time before being upgraded, but he was the best WR in the state of South Carolina. I think Hyatt is one of the most promising WRs in the country. We also landed Jimmy Calloway, a 4-star athlete who likely ends up at WR. Holiday, the dual threat QB could also conceivably end up here. And then finally, we're still in contention for elite TE prospect Darnell Washington, but Georgia is considered the favorite to land him by the national media. Still, we have a decent shot.
O-line. OL seems like the biggest weakness from this class. Albeit, we landed the #1 OL class in the country last year, so it was going to be difficult to repeat that performance. Nevertheless, we landed blue chip Cooper Mays, 3-star James Robinson, and a very good prospect in Javontez Spraggins, who is another player in contention for "most underrated player" in our class. It would've been nice to land another blue chip OL, but between this class and the prior one, we're still in very good shape for the future at OL.
Overall. We've added some good pieces here as well. I'm more concerned that we might still be missing some on offense than defense, but this is a good haul that could turn into a "great haul" if we land Washington.
Other Thoughts
QB competition 2020. Unless things change in the next month or so, we'll technically have 6 viable QBs on our roster in 2020, compared to 3 in 2019. I use the word "viable" a bit loosely, but Hill (the Maryland transfer) is technically a walk-on, so I couldn't say "scholarship". I still view JG as the favorite in 2020, but things could get pretty crazy next season or 2021. I do think Harrison Bailey is the early favorite to be starter in 2021, but I'm not ruling anyone out.
RB competition in 2020. We suddenly went from 3 viable RBs on our roster in 2019 to 7 in 2020 (8 if you count Quavaris Crouch!). Not sure how this is going to shake out. Don't forget we get Carlin Fils-Aime back next year, as well, on top of returning Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, and Eric Gray. That said, we lose at least 3 of those RBs in 2021, so the logjam may only last a season.
SEC
7 SEC Teams in Rivals Top 9. This is a crazy stat. This is why the SEC has multiple national title contenders every year. No other conference is in the same ballpark right now.
Kentucky. Anyone who doesn't think Stoops has done a great job there is just wrong. Top 20 class at friggin' Kentucky! I consider Kentucky the 2nd toughest SEC job and Stoops has done pretty well. Imagine what he could do at a real program. While Norvell was great at Memphis, I still think Stoops would've been the better fit at Florida State.
South Carolina. Managed to land a top 5 DE (Jordan Burch) away from Clemson. Muschamp may be a crap coach, but he knows how to recruit.
The have nots. Huge gap between the top and the bottom of the SEC this year. You have 7 SEC teams in the top 10 in Rivals and then South Carolina, Miss State, and Kentucky hanging out not that far behind. Then you have a giant gulf with Vandy at #50, Mizzou at #80, and Arkansas at #88. Albeit, the latter two programs had a coaching change and they'll probably move up over the next few weeks, but it's very tough to recruit to all 3 of those programs.
Ole Miss. Also a weaker class (#38) due to the coaching change, but I don't expect that to last long. Kiffin will make Ole Miss competitive in recruiting again. Question is, has he figured out the coaching part? He did well enough at "The FAU", but he was mediocre at USC. Has he improved as a head coach since then?
NCAA
USC. How far the mighty have fallen! The biggest recruiting story in the country may be the lack of recruiting at USC. They are now ranked dead last in the Pac-12 by 247 and #78 overall behind recruiting hotbeds like Rutgers, Western Michigan, North Texas, Toledo, and Bowling Green. This is a testament to the idea that you can't half-ass things in college football. USC has spent the past 2 offseasons debating whether to fire Helton. The result is that no top-tier recruits want to go to USC with the uncertainty surrounding the program. It's easy to blame Helton here, but I actually think the USC Athletic Department deserves more of the blame. Helton was an elite recruiter before all the uncertainty. You either have to commit to Helton or fire him. You can't take the "middle path"; otherwise the firing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
UCLA. Meanwhile, I'll have to admit I've been wrong about Chip Kelly's recruiting as he's suddenly in the top 30. Not elite level, but this program was left for dead a few months ago, and now seems to be beating the crap out of its cross-town rival in recruiting.
Clemson. On a whole 'nother level than everyone else this year in recruiting. They landed 6 of the top 30 in 247's ratings. If Muschamp hadn't pulled a major coup with Jordan Burch, it would've been 7.
Nebraska. #20 in 247 right now and #4 in the Big 10. Tough to recruit to Lincoln, but Frost is doing a good job. Only question is when will the results follow? I don't think Nebraska will ever be the juggernaut it once was, but they have to win the Big 10 West on a regular basis.
North Carolina. In the top 20 recruiting under Mack Brown. That's impressive! Part of me thinks UNC made a major mistake passing on Scott Satterfield (UNC was his dream job), but Mack Brown is doing well in many areas, so we'll have to wait and see.
That's it. Feel free to share your all's thoughts.
