The Crootletter is your source for recruiting scoop, trends, and analysis.
Finally, commitments are popping again! After a very slow September, October is heating up, with some talented players coming off the board.
On Thursday, Georgia beat out Alabama for the talented Adam Anderson. The outside linebacker doesn’t say much, but he lets his play do the talking. Anderson is a 6’4, 215-pound beast with the frame to eventually be 240 or more. Georgia now has the nation’s No. 1 QB in Justin Fields, No. 1 RB in Zamir White, No. 2 OLB in Anderson, and No. 6 defensive end in Azeez Ojulari. Georgia has the No. 2 class in the SEC, second to the Florida Gators.
Gators get some beef
Speaking of the Gators, Florida got some much-needed help along the offensive line with the commitment of Richard Gouraige. The four-star Tampa Cambridge School prospect is 6’5, 270, and oozes potential. Gouraige is very athletic, and if he can maintain his athleticism while adding weight, he could be a star. Florida beat out Clemson for his commitment.
When Brad Davis was brought in as the newest Florida Gators offensive line coach in the spring, it was thought he would give the program’s recruiting on the line a shot in the arm after the hit-and-miss efforts of outgoing offensive line coach Mike Summers.
Less than a year into Davis’s tenure, that has happened — and offensive lineman Richard Gouraige committing to the Gators on Friday afternoon is the latest evidence.
Michigan put some pro in its pro-style offense
On Friday, Michigan landed four-star tight end Mustapha Muhammad, out of Texas. Muhammad is a versatile tight end, big enough at 235 pounds to line up with his hand in the dirt, but athletic enough to run routes.
Here’s Maize-N-Brew on Muhammad.
Muhammad is the 15th player to commit to Michigan’s 2018 class and is the second-highest rated player right behind OG Emil Ekiyor, according to 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. He is also the second tight end to commit to the Wolverines’ 2018 class, as they already drew a commitment from 3-star tight end Luke Schoonmaker back in July.
A perfect fit for Stanford’s defense
Stanford had a great weekend, adding Thomas Booker, a star defensive end prospect. Booker is from Baltimore’s Gilman School, and is perfect for Stanford’s defense. Stanford asks its ends to play a lot of five-technique, and players who have the length, smarts, and athleticism to do it are not easy to find.
Mountaineers get an excellent lineman
West Virginia landed Blaine Scott, one of the top-20 offensive guards nationally.
The West Virginia Mountaineers have a little bit of a commitment streak going, after a second big time recruit committed to the program. Blaine Scott, an offensive lineman from Portsmouth, OH, announced his commitment to the Mountaineers this evening on Twitter. Scott has been a West Virginia lean since he decommitted from Ole Miss back in the summer, but finally pulled the trigger and made it official today.
Notre Dame commit Paul Moala is underrated
Several of the people I really trust in the recruiting industry lit up this weekend when Paul Moala committed to the Irish. The safety is just a three-star right now, but the Mishawaka (IN) product is having a great senior season. Moala makes plays all over the field, and has a strong build at 6’0, 200.
He joins Derrik Allen as the other safety in this class, but the Irish are still in hot pursuit of Julius Irvin from California as well. The Irish also added Navy safety transfer, Alohi Gilman during the summer, and he will have 3 years of eligibility remaining starting in 2018.
Empty Calories
- Butch Jones absolutely has to win the Kentucky game to have any shot of keeping his job. I don’t think Jones has any real shot of keeping his job, because I expect Tennessee’s recruiting class to crater.
- Here were the impact scores of Week 8.
- Week 9 has a lot of good games and interesting odds.
- Awesome piece by Steven Godfrey on Penn State’s quest to run through the slate of Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State in consecutive weeks.
- I never miss a chance to read Spencer Hall’s “The Top Whatever”
- Bill Connelly on how good Notre Dame is (potentially really good). USC’s defensive line was decimated, but Notre Dame still ran it over.
- Jason Kirk and I projected the playoff if it happened this week.
- Jason Kirk’s bowl projections are a must-read. He puts a lot of time into these.
- PAPN!
- Kansas set a record for bad offense on national TV. That is not good for recruiting. Poor Kansas.
- Richard Johnson broke down UCF’s offense. Read this, Scott Frost is a hot coaching candidate.
- Former 5-star QB Shea Patterson is done for the season.