Fact or Fiction: Jahkeem Stewart will end up at LSU
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is joined by national recruiting analyst Marshall Levenson along with Dale Dowden of VolReport.com and Jed May of UGASports.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
1. Tennessee should start feeling really comfortable that it leads for five-star OL David Sanders.
Gorney’s take: FACT. A couple weeks ago, the feeling was that David Sanders’ recruitment could come down to a coin flip between Ohio State and Tennessee and even still the Buckeyes’ coaching staff might feel like they have a pretty decent shot. But this looks to be trending heavily in Tennessee’s direction in the final days before a decision. Nebraska impressed him but seems like a real long shot. Georgia has slipped in this one. Ohio State and Tennessee seem like the real contenders but there has been a ton of Vols smoke here and I believe it.
Dowden’s take: FACT. Tennessee has been in hot pursuit for the nation’s No. 1 offensive tackle trying to close the gap between themselves and the believed leader at one time, Ohio State. Sanders has visited Tennessee this calendar year more than any other program, including two visits in the spring, and a late July visit that followed his official visit.
Sanders told Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman earlier this year that it was accurate that the Vols were the team he was most excited about coming out of January. I believe that to be the truth, and following that began a stretch of many visits to Rocky Top. Will the Vols land the No. 2 overall prospect? That remains to be seen, but they should feel very good about where they have positioned themselves as the decision date is quickly approaching.
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2. Justus Terry waiting to make his decision until closer to the early signing period is bad news for Georgia.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I still fully expect Georgia eventually lands Justus Terry after earlier commitments to the Bulldogs and to USC but the longer this goes the longer Alabama especially along with Florida State have a chance with the Manchester, Ga., five-star standout. The rumor in recent weeks was that the Crimson Tide commits are making a concerted effort to land Terry and if he was so sure about flipping back to Georgia, why hasn’t he just done it already? I still think the Dawgs look best here but if this drags all the way through the fall – and Alabama goes undefeated or something really special – it could make things way too close for comfort.
May’s take: FICTION. Kirby Smart would of course prefer that Terry be committed rather than not. Still, this is a recruitment that will be contested until Signing Day either way. Georgia has hammered home the “marathon” message to Terry all year and that is continuing now. He should be expected at multiple Bulldog games this season, starting with the season opener against Clemson. Even though it’s going to take a bit longer than some might like, we still fully expect Terry to be a Bulldog come December.
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3. LSU almost always gets the No. 1 prospect in the state. Jahkeem Stewart will also end up in Baton Rouge.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Jahkeem Stewart is going to do things his way and on his timeline and he’s been afforded that opportunity because he’s a phenomenal defensive end where every program in the country wants him badly. USC, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and others are in the mix here and Stewart has said on numerous occasions that he’s definitely not hesitant to leave the state. I believe it. But a recent visit back to Baton Rouge could have helped the Tigers and history is so strongly on their side that until something else happens, I’m still going to think LSU has the best shot here.
Levenson’s take: FACT. While right now most would say the out-of-state programs, USC, Ohio State and even Oregon, are the ones with the most momentum, I do tend to always feel the top Louisiana prospects will end up staying home. It is almost a situation of ‘I’ll believe otherwise when I see it’ in regards to them leaving the state. Only once since 2012 has the top prospect in the state gone anywhere other than LSU and that was Arch Manning. I do feel USC has a real standing in his recruitment as does Ohio State due to coaching and legitimate, strong relationships. We also know Oregon can likely outbid anybody if the Ducks choose to. But at the end of the day, I still feel it’s LSU’s to lose. Louisiana has one of the strongest cultures of any state in the country when it comes to representing your state in college and even in the NFL.
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