Ignont now basically a top100 player overall on 247 after really showing out as a LB and off the edge in AL-MS game. Cam Akers up #3 overall and #1 RB ahead of Najee. Jordan Murphy now a top 200 overall player after showing out as well as any WR at the AL-MS game. So let's recap where we stand as it is not as bad as many have feared...
#1 overall player in nation on ESPN (top OL recruit in ESPN history) - Trey Smith
the #5 RB in the country (and top 55 overall on 247 on verge of 5star status) - Ty Chandler
Composite #63 player in the country and #7 Safety (who may well become elite LB) - Maleik Gray
#88 overall and #7 DT in the nation (#1 in East) per Scout and a freak athlete at DT - Eric Crosby
#101 overall and the #3 ILB overall on 247 who they are raving about this week - Will Ignont
#166 overall on rivals and a WR who had HUGE stats this year and can play right away - Jordan Murphy
top 200 overall and the 5th best CB in the South per Scout - Cheyenne Labruzza
Top 300 overall (rivals, espn) and #14 WDE in nation who can also play TE - Latrell Bumphus
Rivals 4star DB from LA - Terrell Bailey
Top 250 overall (247) LB from FL - Shannon Reid
Rivals 4star (#2 player in state of WV) OL who has athleticism like Coleman Thomas - Riley Locklear
Under-rated DB who is showing out at East-West TN game this week - Theo Jackson
Top 350 overall (247) DE who is one of the fastest guys in the state of GA and could be elite edge rusher one day - Marquez Bembry
Potentially one of the best sleepers in the entire class...who Barton Simmons said has NFL first-round upside at tackle and who ran agility drills at the Mich camp with skill players despite being 6-6 and 285 with Simmons saying he's "in a totally different league than offensive and defensive linemen athletically." -K'Rojhn Calbert
A great athlete at LB (who CoopersVols claims that Thig told to his face was a 5star type LB talent, although he's well under-rated so far) - Solon Page
Some other potential talent (Jones, Fant, Shamburger, etc.)...and some more spots set to open with a bit more processing in the weeks to come
To top it off, we're a legit contender to land the #1 RB in the nation and who many consider the single best player in the country (and the best out of MS since Marcus Dupree) in Cam Akers. Despite some feeling otherwise, many think he will not choose Ole Miss despite how much he values being a 'Sip boy (when's the last time they had a big-time RB, and both coordinators were just axed, with the NCAA stuff ongoing). Going to LSU would mean playing Ole Miss every year (and they don't have an OC). Ohio State is too cold and too far away (2nd hand poster info from someone talking with his dad). He's visited FSU a lot as well as TN a lot. He could be a day one starter at either school and he loves Jimbo. Momentum has shifted to TN after Butch's in-home per the rivals and 247 guys (but no one is picking TN yet). Coach G being a 'Sip boy from his hometown is the ace in the hole here. He took a long unofficial here already. Does he stay an EE? Does he push it back and then take his last OV to TN in January. Lot to watch out for. Who will be the first big-time recruiting guru to go so far as to predict Akers to TN?
We're going to add a good DL (kid like Butler or Johnson) and a very, very good DB in Corker (Scout podcast was raving about his instincts and playmaking ability yesterday, saying he's too under-recruited). Corker is top 300 overall on both ESPN and Scout and one of the top 10 DBs in the South. The Juco DB is a player and it is coming down to us & USC (remember they stole Jamarcus King from us last year as a juco DB, the same player who came in to really make the big plays and INTs that won the game for them this year against us...while we got Henderson who may be a bust...I hope they don't win out on another Juco DB). This Texas QB reminds me of Manziel with less fanfare (sick athlete, kind of slings side-arm, big playmaker). And we may well add a top 200 WR in a kid like Jaylen Harris.
Bottom-line...this class has potential to be a good one. Is it as good as years past? No. But if we land Akers (and have a headlining group of Smith, Akers, Chandler, Gray, Murphy, Ignont, Crosby, and a bunch of other talented kids)...it could be a sleeper class that too many were hating on early.
#1 overall player in nation on ESPN (top OL recruit in ESPN history) - Trey Smith
the #5 RB in the country (and top 55 overall on 247 on verge of 5star status) - Ty Chandler
Composite #63 player in the country and #7 Safety (who may well become elite LB) - Maleik Gray
#88 overall and #7 DT in the nation (#1 in East) per Scout and a freak athlete at DT - Eric Crosby
#101 overall and the #3 ILB overall on 247 who they are raving about this week - Will Ignont
#166 overall on rivals and a WR who had HUGE stats this year and can play right away - Jordan Murphy
top 200 overall and the 5th best CB in the South per Scout - Cheyenne Labruzza
Top 300 overall (rivals, espn) and #14 WDE in nation who can also play TE - Latrell Bumphus
Rivals 4star DB from LA - Terrell Bailey
Top 250 overall (247) LB from FL - Shannon Reid
Rivals 4star (#2 player in state of WV) OL who has athleticism like Coleman Thomas - Riley Locklear
Under-rated DB who is showing out at East-West TN game this week - Theo Jackson
Top 350 overall (247) DE who is one of the fastest guys in the state of GA and could be elite edge rusher one day - Marquez Bembry
Potentially one of the best sleepers in the entire class...who Barton Simmons said has NFL first-round upside at tackle and who ran agility drills at the Mich camp with skill players despite being 6-6 and 285 with Simmons saying he's "in a totally different league than offensive and defensive linemen athletically." -K'Rojhn Calbert
A great athlete at LB (who CoopersVols claims that Thig told to his face was a 5star type LB talent, although he's well under-rated so far) - Solon Page
Some other potential talent (Jones, Fant, Shamburger, etc.)...and some more spots set to open with a bit more processing in the weeks to come
To top it off, we're a legit contender to land the #1 RB in the nation and who many consider the single best player in the country (and the best out of MS since Marcus Dupree) in Cam Akers. Despite some feeling otherwise, many think he will not choose Ole Miss despite how much he values being a 'Sip boy (when's the last time they had a big-time RB, and both coordinators were just axed, with the NCAA stuff ongoing). Going to LSU would mean playing Ole Miss every year (and they don't have an OC). Ohio State is too cold and too far away (2nd hand poster info from someone talking with his dad). He's visited FSU a lot as well as TN a lot. He could be a day one starter at either school and he loves Jimbo. Momentum has shifted to TN after Butch's in-home per the rivals and 247 guys (but no one is picking TN yet). Coach G being a 'Sip boy from his hometown is the ace in the hole here. He took a long unofficial here already. Does he stay an EE? Does he push it back and then take his last OV to TN in January. Lot to watch out for. Who will be the first big-time recruiting guru to go so far as to predict Akers to TN?
We're going to add a good DL (kid like Butler or Johnson) and a very, very good DB in Corker (Scout podcast was raving about his instincts and playmaking ability yesterday, saying he's too under-recruited). Corker is top 300 overall on both ESPN and Scout and one of the top 10 DBs in the South. The Juco DB is a player and it is coming down to us & USC (remember they stole Jamarcus King from us last year as a juco DB, the same player who came in to really make the big plays and INTs that won the game for them this year against us...while we got Henderson who may be a bust...I hope they don't win out on another Juco DB). This Texas QB reminds me of Manziel with less fanfare (sick athlete, kind of slings side-arm, big playmaker). And we may well add a top 200 WR in a kid like Jaylen Harris.
Bottom-line...this class has potential to be a good one. Is it as good as years past? No. But if we land Akers (and have a headlining group of Smith, Akers, Chandler, Gray, Murphy, Ignont, Crosby, and a bunch of other talented kids)...it could be a sleeper class that too many were hating on early.
