SECret visitors
Recruits were not always where they were supposed to be Saturday, as several of the top prospects in the country ended up at rival schools. And of course, they took place in SEC country.
-Chris Jones takes the cake for the most surprising visit of the weekend. After saying that he would not visit Ole Miss, the Mississippi State commitment indeed did visit the Rebels on Friday. Then, the five-star went and visited Mississippi State in Starkville, took off, and told reporters that he was headed back to his home in Houston, Miss. But that didn't happen, at least not initially, as he headed back to Ole Miss with his parents for one final visit late Sunday night.
As of 11 a.m. Sunday, I am still projecting Jones to head to Mississippi State, but this is truly a 50/50 proposition and could soon change.
Meanwhile, five-star linebacker Reuben Foster bolted from his Auburn official visit and ended up in Tuscaloosa! This story is all sorts of crazy and you need to read it.
Alabama could end up with 8 five-star and 15 four-star recruits. If your buddy does that in the NCAA video game, you hit the reset button.
— SB Nation Recruiting (@SBNRecruiting) February 3, 2013
News that made us change predictions
Since the release of our National Signing Day 2013 recruiting predictions, we've already had to change 6 of the 60, while another three have gone the way we thought.
Are we exceptionally inaccurate? I don't think so. Services like Rivals, Scout, 247 and ESPN are changing at a similar rate.
This merely illustrates the craziness that is the final few days of recruiting.
In order, here are the updates from the roughly 56 hours since the release.
Update 2/1 7:45 a.m. -- Multiple Miami outlets are now reporting that Kirkland will not be a Miami Hurricane. Given that, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Florida State are the strongest contenders. I'll go with the in-state school for now and choose the Seminoles.
Miami attempted to fix the PR damage done by arranging a meeting Saturday, but Kirkland did not commit to the Hurricanes, and will still decide between Florida State and Arkansas.
Update 2/1 10:45 a.m. -- In a shocking turn of events, I am now projecting Tunsil to land at Ole Miss.
This is one of the most shocking stories of the 2013 recruiting cycle.
Update 2/1 4:45 -- With Myles Jack cancelling his visits to Georgia and Florida State, I think Cameron Judge gets squeezed and Arizona State will be all too happy to take him.
There are just too many linebackers in UCLA's class for one to not get squeezed. Judge makes the most sense, and Arizona State is very much in play.
Update 2/1 4:45 p.m. -- Jack has cancelled visits to Florida State and Georgia, and I'll project him to stick with UCLA over Washington.
Jack is a very talented linebacker recruit originally from the South.
Update 2/2 11:45 a.m. -- Multiple reports have Powell heading to USC. Some say that Florida is not willing to wait for his decision.
Powell was very angry this morning. From the Florida side, the news suggests that the Gators are expecting a very good National Signing Day.
Them = Florida Gators? 4-star LB Quinton Powell RT @qpowe17: Did that jus happen??? Cant trust nobody.. I hate them now straight up
— SB Nation Recruiting (@SBNRecruiting) February 2, 2013
Update 2/2 1:15 p.m. -- Based on conversations with multiple sources, I am now of the opinion that Matthew Thomas is most likely to sign with Florida State.
This change in prediction was independent of the Denver Kirkland news.
Update 2/2 5:00 p.m. -- Multiple sources are now indicating that A'Shawn Robinson is leaning heavily to the Crimson Tide. It's enough to change our prediction.
This is huge news for both the Texas and Alabama programs.
Update 2/2 9:35 p.m. -- Jordan Wilkins did indeed commit to Ole Miss.
Wilkins is a solid pickup for Ole Miss, and is a good replacement for Peyton Barber, who seems likely to switch his commitment to the Auburn Tigers, where he visited this weekend.
Update 2/3 12:20 a.m. --Given that Foster left his official visit to Auburn and bolted for Tuscaloosa, I am now changing my prediction for him to Alabama.
How can I not change the prediction after that?
Upcoming Announcements
Five-star linebacker Reuben Foster and five-star running back Alex Collins will both announce Monday night on Fox Sports South.
The Quiet & Dead Periods
Recruiting is now in the quiet period and will soon enter the dead period. Hit the links to discover what those terms mean.