Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney along with national recruiting analysts Adam Friedman and John Garcia Jr., and Jefferson Powell from DeathValleyInsider.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
1.
Alvin Henderson’s commitment to Penn State is the biggest surprise pledge so far in the 2025 class.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Justus Terry to USC was definitely a massive surprise but Alvin Henderson was so focused on Auburn and Florida State that a late visit to Penn State seemed like an afterthought and not really going to happen. The high four-star running back from Elba, Ala., is close with his mom, Auburn was the early leader and it looked like the Tigers or the Seminoles were definitely going to get him. Sure, he talked highly of how Penn State uses Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and he has a strong relationship with position coach Ja’Juan Seider but it just seemed like the Nittany Lions were way far behind in his recruitment.
Garcia’s take: FICTION. While absolutely a stunner relative to the Auburn and Florida State buzz coming in, it didn’t have the wake-up-to-the-news shocker that Justus Terry to USC did a few weekends back. The fact that he made it a flip, overnight while visiting a program not considered a top threat won’t be easy to unseat as this cycle rolls on. To Penn State’s credit, though, it absolutely came from behind to win the Henderson recruitment. The timing and logistics of the weekend visit deserve due for the Nittany Lion coaching staff, even as Auburn was heavily involved in the hours leading into the decision. Should PSU sign Henderson, then the impact of the spring close will still play among the most unexpected of the cycle.
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2.There is another five-star quarterback in the 2025 class.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. There definitely could be another five-star that emerges with Texas commit KJ Lacey, Ohio State pledge Tavien St. Clair, Tennessee commit George MacIntyre or Notre Dame pledge Deuce Knight among others but I’m not entirely sold. USC commit Julian Lewis and LSU pledge Bryce Underwood unquestionably lead the way and they can battle it out for who’s No. 1 but I’m not sure I’ve seen another five-star performance yet. Lacey might be the closest and he’s definitely intriguing – and there should probably be more than two in each recruiting class – but the debate will continue.
Friedman’s take: FACT. There are a few quarterbacks who could end up in the five-star discussion before the end of this rankings cycle. Three players I’m keeping an eye on right now are KJ Lacey, Tavien St. Clair and Tramell Jones. Lacey has been on the cusp of earning his fifth star for a while and it’s going to be interesting to see what his resume looks like after the spring camp season. St. Clair has really stood out to me throughout the process. His film from this past season is really impressive and he has gotten off to a good start during the camp season. Jones has been very consistent throughout the rankings process there could be even more discussion about him as a potential five-star once we’ve seen more of him.
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3. With Dakorien Moore visiting Texas and Ohio State, LSU should be worried about his commitment.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Watchful? Yes. Concerned? Not yet. Texas is not going to give up on the five-star receiver until signing day and Ohio State could be a new one to watch especially since the Buckeyes have recruited receivers so well and position coach Brian Hartline is one of the best in the business, but Dakorien Moore has seemed very locked in with LSU. The Tigers have some incredible receiver tradition as well, Moore really wants to play with Bryce Underwood and so while others are coming hard, LSU still looks very strong here.
Powell’s take: FICTION. I don’t think it’s time to hit the panic button just yet, but there’s obviously cause for concern when any of your committed prospects are taking visits elsewhere. Texas is the bigger threat to his commitment to LSU, but I haven’t seen any reason to expect a change in commitment anytime soon.
It’s a situation to monitor, but Moore loves the idea of coming in with Bryce Underwood and putting together one of the top classes in the country. Not to mention he remains active on the LSU social channels and continues to recruit the top prospects to Baton Rouge. If you’re LSU, until you see a change in that behavior I don’t think it’s time to worry just yet.
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