Welcome to The Crootletter (sign up to get this in your inbox every morning!). I'm Bud Elliott, SB Nation's National Recruiting Analyst, and in this space I'll be sharing news, rumors and musings on the world of college football recruiting.
Arizona landed a big time athlete in Greg Johnson, a four-star out of Los Angeles (Calif.) Hawkins High School. Gabe Encinas of Arizona Desert Swarm writes the following about Johnson:
Johnson could have picked virtually any school he wanted to, holding offers to Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon and USC, among others. He was considered to be a favorite for USC, but that doesn't seem to be the case any longer.
New safeties coach Donté Williams led on his recruitment and this seems to be the first of many big gets for this new coaching staff. From a multitude of recruits that I've spoken to, they've had nothing but great things to say about Coach Williams.
In yet another example of why early recruiting rankings are woefully incomplete -- because schools have not even come close to finalizing their recruiting boards and are still actively shooting out offers -- I present Montaric Brown of Ashdown, Ark., who has added offers from giants Alabama and LSU in the last week.
Brown's highlights show an instinctive, physical safety with good range whose listed size (6'1, 180) is probably accurate. Yet Brown does not have a profile yet on Rivals and ESPN, and is not rated on 247Sports or Scout. He looks like a four-star prospect to me just based on his Hudl.
I think most of the early four- and five-star ratings given out are well deserved, but realize that more will be added in the coming months. The lists are far from complete.
Ohio State landed a talented linebacker from Ann Arbor who had interest from Michigan and Notre Dame.
This read by Bill Connelly on college football relegation was pretty fun.
Previously
If you're a recent signup or missed a day, that's okay. I link my previous Crootletters in this section.
Colleges do care about combine-style measurements just like NFL teams.
What happens during a "junior day?" I broke down this popular term.
Steven Godfrey and I discussed the mechanics and timing of negative recruiting.
I wrote 3,000 words on the top performers from Nike's The Opening Regional in Orlando. Here's offense and defense.
I wrote about how roster balance in recruitingcan help with player development at other positions.
Which states kept top talent home the most? Plus, observations about in-state recruiting across the Southeast.