College football's coaching carousel always creates chaos on the recruiting trail given the timing and impact coaches make on recruits.
This year has been no different with Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma for USC, Florida firing Dan Mullen and LSU announcing in October that Ed Orgeron will not return after this season.
The departures have left holes at some schools, and in USC's case, has created some instant excitement from prospects.
Here is a look at where some of the higher-profile schools stand in recruiting with new hires and departures within their respective programs.
USC
Previous coach: Clay Helton (fired Sept. 13)
New coach: Lincoln Riley (hired Nov. 28)
Riley's hiring is very likely the best outcome the Trojans could have hoped for after firing Helton. Riley made it to the College Football Playoff four times at Oklahoma and has been recruiting at a high level for the Sooners.
The obvious area of expertise for Riley has been on the offensive side, specifically at quarterback. USC has seen some of the top quarterback prospects leave California. Bryce Young flipped from USC to Alabama, JT Daniels signed with USC but then transferred to Georgia and Matt Corral left for Ole Miss.
It hasn't just been quarterback, either, as some of the top recruits overall have been leaving the state. Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, the No. 1 recruit in 2019, signed with Oregon. The Trojans signed only 30 of 143 ESPN 300 prospects from California over the past five recruiting classes.
That is a problem that Riley can help with almost immediately. ESPN 300 running back Raleek Brown, the second-best recruit in California in the 2022 class, committed to Oklahoma but told ESPN that Riley going to USC "changes everything."
"It's exciting news for everybody," Brown said. "He's a great head coach, you could just tell what he was doing at Oklahoma. So, this is a big step for USC and I think he's going to bring it back to what it was, packed stadiums and all that."
That excitement has been lacking for in-state prospects as of late, and people around the California recruiting landscape believe Riley can bring that back.
"As fresh as it is, I don't think my phone has stopped since the announcement, whether it's kids, coaches, parents," said Chris Flores, the COO of the training facility STARS who works with some of California's top recruits. "So the excitement is definitely there and what he has done at Oklahoma has been pretty special, especially on the offensive side of the ball. You talk about the 2023 class, most of those guys being offensive players, and I think the impact is going to be huge."
ESPN Jr. 300 quarterback Malachi Nelson and two of his Los Alamitos High School teammates, wide receivers Makai Lemon and DeAndre Moore Jr., all rank among the top 25 prospects overall in the 2023 class, and all work with Flores. Nelson, the No. 3 overall prospect in the class, had been committed to Riley and the Sooners since July. He decommitted from Oklahoma on Sunday, and Riley has already been in contact with Nelson about joining him at USC.
"I think Malachi is going to have a conversation with Lincoln, do it the right way, like we've always talked about, and then make the best decision for him and his family," Flores said. "And obviously, going to make sure that his conversation with Lincoln, it involves what's the process, what steps, what it looks like and all those details. But Lincoln's done a good job with his quarterbacks, and I don't think that's going to change."
USC currently has only seven total commitments in the 2022 class, but with Riley coming in now, that number is going to change before the early signing period starts on Dec. 15.
He might not have enough time to turn USC into a top-end class this cycle, but he has already built up enough excitement and talk through the in-state recruits that he should be able to hit the ground running for future classes.
"I don't think it'll be difficult, because I think everybody in California is dying for USC or UCLA, or any of them, to come back to what we remember them being, and I think the excitement and the energy is going to help him," Flores said.
Oklahoma
Previous coach: Lincoln Riley (left for USC on Nov. 28)
New coach: TBD
Riley's departure puts the Sooners in a tough spot. Having a little over two weeks until the early signing period doesn't leave much time for Oklahoma to find a new replacement for Riley if the program wants to salvage this recruiting class.
There are currently 11 ESPN 300 commitments in the class and 18 total commits. The class is led by five-star prospect Gabe Brownlow-Dindy, the No. 2 defensive tackle. Brownlow-Dindy committed to Oklahoma in October over Texas A&M.
The Aggies are likely going to keep recruiting him to try to pull him away from the Sooners, but Brownlow-Dindy hasn't said what he plans to do just yet. It is possible Brown will follow Riley, which would be a big loss for the Sooners.
The coaches had already gotten a head start in the 2023 class, which will be impacted by this move as well. The Sooners lost three commitments from the 2023 class with five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, ESPN Jr. 300 wide receiver Brandon Inniss (ranked No. 29 overall) and running back Treyaun Webb (No. 152 overall). It doesn't seem out of the question that some commits could waver in their decisions.
Riley has been the key to Oklahoma's recruiting success over the past few classes. Oklahoma finished with the No. 13 class in 2021, the No. 10 class in 2020 and the No. 4 class in 2019. The Sooners currently have the fourth-ranked class in 2022.
Quarterback recruiting has been Riley's specialty, landing Caleb Williams in the 2021 cycle and Nelson in 2023. It will be difficult for Oklahoma to replicate what Riley has done on the recruiting trail and in developing an offense the way he has.
How this truly impacts Oklahoma, though, won't be known until the Sooners name a new coach.
Florida
Previous coach: Dan Mullen (fired Nov. 21)
New coach: Billy Napier (hired Nov. 28)
The Gators currently have the No. 23 class in the 2022 cycle, which is No. 8 of 14 teams in the SEC. It's not typical to see Florida ranked this low this late in the process.
Mullen and his staff had lost momentum with only six ESPN 300 commitments and 12 total commits. What has been interesting with Florida's recruiting is the lack of success in-state with the top-end prospects.
In the 2021 class, Florida signed only one of the top 10 recruits in the state (cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.). Florida signed only three of the top 30 in-state recruits in 2021, and six of the top 45.
The last time Florida signed the No. 1 in-state recruit was 2013, when it landed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III. That needs to change with the new staff, especially as Florida State and Miami have been down recently.
More schools nationally are coming into the state to recruit, but there's no reason why Florida shouldn't be able to compete with those schools to try to keep the top prospects home. Napier was hired as the new coach on Sunday after going 39-12 in four years with Louisiana.
Napier had turned down other opportunities in the past, but it won't be a hire that makes an immediate splash in recruiting given Louisiana wasn't ranked in the 2021 class and finished ranked No. 72 in 2020. That won't matter, though, if Napier builds the program the way he wants, organizes the staff internally to get on the same page and moves Florida in the right direction.
Napier might not be able to build momentum in this class given the timing, but his most recent coaching job -- taking Louisiana from 7-7 in 2018 to a 10-1 record in 2020 and an 11-1 record in 2021 -- should give Florida fans hope that he can do the same for the Gators.
LSU
Previous coach: Ed Orgeron (announced he won't return next season on Oct. 17)
New coach: TBD
The Tigers are still without a head coach after Riley chose USC, and Jimbo Fisher has repeatedly said he would be dumb to leave Texas A&M.
It's obvious to say this isn't ideal, but it's starting to get to the point where LSU's options are limited. The situation is starting to wear on recruits as well, as LSU lost a commitment on Sunday from No. 204-ranked TreVonte' Citizen, a running back from Louisiana who had been committed to LSU since July.
ESPN 300 quarterback Walker Howard has taken a visit to Notre Dame, but he was also back at LSU for Saturday's game against Texas A&M. Howard is one of the top quarterbacks in the class, and without a permanent coach at LSU, he is left to figure out whether he should stay committed, flip or wait to sign after Dec. 15.
As it stands, LSU has eight ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 class, led by offensive tackle Will Campbell, ranked No. 17 overall. Of the eight ESPN 300 recruits, five are from Louisiana, including Campbell and Howard.
LSU has built some equity with in-state recruits, but without answers as to who the coach is, it could make it difficult for the top recruits to stay committed. In addition to Citizen, LSU has already seen nine other decommitments throughout this entire process.
The class is ranked No. 12 overall, which isn't terrible, but it has steadily fallen in the rankings. On top of leaving the recruits in limbo, without a head coach, there is little to no momentum for uncommitted prospects to jump on board.
"impact" - Google News
November 29, 2021 at 08:50PM
https://ift.tt/3xxj6Tw
How Lincoln Riley to USC and college football's coaching carousel impact recruiting - ESPN
"impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RIFll8
https://ift.tt/3fk35XJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "How Lincoln Riley to USC and college football's coaching carousel impact recruiting - ESPN"
Post a Comment