Tuesdays with Gorney: Buying and selling recruiting rumors
There are so many rumors this time of year as spring games and visits consume the recruiting landscape. Here is chatter on 10 topics that Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing and whether he buys the rumor or not in this week’s Tuesdays with Gorney.
RUMOR: USC and Nebraska are fading for five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola.
NOT BUYING IT. There is no doubt that Georgia is a major contender for the five-star quarterback and if I had to pick today I’d go with the Bulldogs. But Raiola still likes a whole lot about the Trojans and the Huskers in his recruitment.
Having coach Lincoln Riley and now Kliff Kingsbury on staff at USC, plus he’s super familiar with the area since he trains in Southern California and all the success Riley has had with quarterbacks is a huge draw.
The plan Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has in place and the idea of bringing back his father’s alma mater to national relevancy is playing a big role.
I’d pick Georgia right now and the five-star could end up in Athens but I wouldn’t count out the other two yet.
MORE: Dylan Raiola’s father, Dominic, joins Gorney’s podcast
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RUMOR:
There’s a good chance five-star WR Jeremiah Smith flips to Georgia.
NOT BUYING IT. I was just talking to a source about this over the weekend and the sense I got was that something drastic would have to happen for the five-star receiver from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna to flip from Ohio State.
The scenarios laid out were coach Ryan Day getting fired if he loses to Michigan again (which would be an absurdity based on his success there), a surprisingly bad season or position coach Brian Hartline leaving for a head coaching job. The third one seems most likely so it’s something to watch but one other to watch would be if Raiola ends up at Georgia, would Smith be intrigued enough to flip? I’m told no, as it stands now.
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RUMOR: Florida is starting to emerge more for five-star DE Colin Simmons.
NOT BUYING IT – YET. This still feels like a battle between LSU and Texas with a recent visit to Texas A&M also going very well and now the Aggies could become a real contender in his recruitment. The Duncanville, Texas, star defensive end is also looking at Alabama and Georgia. He recently took a visit to Florida and spent a lot of time with Florida commits DJ Lagway and Xavier Filsaime, who are also from Texas.
I asked a source about Simmons and Florida, and there were some positive vibes coming out of the visit but not enough to convince me once the post-visit high wears off that he ends up in Gainesville yet.
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RUMOR: Miami is becoming a real player for five-star DT Justin Scott.
NOT BUYING IT – YET. Did Scott love his Miami visit? Absolutely. Did he spend a lot of time around Miami’s excellent staff and a ton of recruits? Yes. But this has been Notre Dame’s recruitment to lose and I’ve heard numerous times that his family would love it if he stayed closer to home as the Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius standout works through his recruitment.
If there’s one major threat to the Irish, it would be Georgia at this point. Everything about the Miami visit went well and the Hurricanes are doing everything to steal the five-star defensive lineman but I’m not yet convinced it will happen.
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RUMOR: Alabama or Ohio State could flip five-star Georgia pledge Peyton Woodyard.
NOT BUYING IT. When I talked to someone close to Woodyard about these “surprise” visits to Ohio State and Alabama the word I got was that the five-star had never seen Ohio State practice and that Woodyard wanted to get out and see the Buckeyes in action. He also wanted to get down to Alabama for the same purpose since those schools were involved in his recruitment for such a long time.
But after seeing Ohio State and Alabama, Woodyard was back in Georgia for its spring game this past weekend and what I’ve heard is that it’s only reinforced his thinking that the Dawgs are the right spot for him. Ohio State still feels like the main contender if a flip happens but I’d be surprised if it did now.
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RUMOR: Five-star WR Joshisa Trader wants to join Smith in Ohio State’s recruiting class.
BUYING IT. The other five-star receiver at Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna is Trader and he was back at Ohio State over the weekend. If it was completely up to him then my guess is he would play for the Buckeyes. Trader is a really interesting prospect because there’s an argument to make that he’s an even better defensive back – and he’s a five-star receiver already.
Miami would be the team to watch and the Hurricanes are recruiting him very hard but Trader did make it…
Read More: Tuesdays with Gorney: Buying and selling recruiting rumors