This is a fascinating article on a developing trend with recruiting the class of 2020. Bottom line, elite talent is concentrating around just a handful of programs.
Of the presently committed 18 five-star prospects, 13 of those players are pledged to just five teams: Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and LSU. Expand those numbers out, and 21 of the 34 top-50 prospects who are committed and 35 of the 70 committed players in the top 100 of the 247Sports Composite are committed to those programs.
“There definitely is an arms race between Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, those type of schools,” Georgia quarterback commit Carson Beck told 247Sports. “All the top talent is going to get truly split between those schools unless one school comes together and form that No. 1 class that’s just unreal.”
These kids want to get to the NFL, but they want something else along the way.
Still, the majority of five-star prospects 247Sports spoke to said the opportunity to win in college is critical. As an extension, a select few programs are in the running for the large majority of elite recruits. There’s a reason Alabama’s held the No. 1 overall class in eight of the last nine years.
“Ultimately, I feel like Georgia going to be there. Alabama is going to be there. Ohio State is going to be there. Clemson is going to be there,” Fleming said. “I feel like it’s those four. It’s those four schools that are really in the running year in and year out.
“If you want a national championship and want to be a contender, you’ve got to be at one of those schools.”
I can’t believe nobody in that article talks about Dan Mullen’s coaching.
Get The Picture 
It’s crazy that kids have bought in so heavily to what Smart’s selling if that view of Georgia as one of the handful of elites is common.
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It’s not so hard to believe now. They have much shorter attention spans (and so did I at that age). A rising high school senior thinks back to early high school and they saw Georgia winning the Rose Bowl and nearly beating Bama. Same last year with Bama. To them, that’s a long time ago.
But Kirby flipping the script with the 2017 class is impressive. He didn’t have far to go, but obviously made that push and then took advantage of it by winning on the field. Let’s hope it continues (the winning) this season.
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Maybe it’s because I was obsessed with football history, largely thanks to Clean Old-Fashioned Hate, when I was about 12, but I had much more of a longview of college football as a teenager.
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Well, yeah…I can see that as well. I was raised on COFH and knew about Theron Sapp, Wally Butts, etc. I was a sports nerd.
Maybe I just don’t know WTF I’m talking about. I agree with you except when I disagree with you…sometimes at the same time.
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HA I think you’re probably right about most kids. I just hadn’t thought much about it really, since I was a sports nerd.
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That & brand new shinny toys….Kirby has also worked his ass off.
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Georgia is the favorite for two of the five stars ( 3, depending on who you believe) remaining. And they expect a 4 star to get his 5th star – it very well could be another class with at least 5-5stars leading the way.
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Tee Hee.
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This was bound to happen with a 4 team playoff. There are only a few that have a chance to get in and, because of that, they are the schools that will dominate recruiting–because they’re one of the few with a legitimate shot at a title. And it build upon itself from there.
What’s odd is that Oklahoma hasn’t cracked this group in recruits’ minds. Just goes to show what an afterthought the Big 12 has become. An improving Texas may change that.
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Oklahoma would be in this group if they could recruit as well on defense as they do on offense.
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Wilftong had me right up until he mentioned tennessee as one of the possible break through programs to become one of the recruiting giants. I simply don’t believe they can recruit enough out of state kids to become that strong.
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The elite programs recruit nationally now and elite recruits are willing to go across the country to play more than ever (or so it seems). UT can poach from Georgia just like Clemson.
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I think the unseen fly-in-the-ointment for UT is the sustained success of Clemson. When beating the local’ish bushes, they’re both canvassing the same areas from the same vantage point as an out-of-state suitor. Uphill battle for the Vols.
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That was very interesting coming from the recruits themselves. It goes to show recruiting is all about what you’ve done the past 3 years or so. Anything older was before their time. Then you have the early signing period right in the middle of the playoffs and all the recruits watching.
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Oklahoma and Texas would seem to either be in that mix, or just below it. Maybe their O line recruiting is the step below part.
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I’ll be back in a few minutes
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Take your time to savor the moment.
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