Rivals . National Recruitment Director Adam G palm and national recruitment analysts Clint Cosgrove and Nick Harris with Brandon Howard are from TideIllustrated.com address three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is TRUTH or AFFECT.
1. If a player enters the NFL Draft and is not selected, he will be able to return to school.
Lawyers do: REALITY. If there is an important order and a thorough process behind it then yes, if a player claims to be in the NFL Draft and is not selected then he will be able to go back to school. I want what’s best for the players and the coach, the staff and the school can figure out the rest. It won’t wreak havoc on a lot of programs because they – and the players – have a clear understanding of where/if they will be drafted, and players won’t want to jump to drafts hoping to get drafted, then get rejected and have to back to school. But what if a player makes a bad decision and claims to be in the draft only to not be selected and he is still eligible? Well, of course he will be able to come back.
Cosgrove’s takes: FICTION. I’m not opposed to college football adopting the same rules as the NBA, where players have the opportunity to explore their draft potential. My recommendation is to allow draft eligible players a limited amount of time to claim early entry. They’ll then attend pre-draft practice sessions, where an NFL committee will give scores and draft placement.
These players will then be given a timeline for withdrawal. If they continue with the draft after this process and are not drafted, they will lose all remaining college status as a result. Without such requirements, countless players would enter the annual draft knowing they could automatically go back to playing in college when they weren’t selected. This would wreak havoc on college football roster management, waste NFL resources, and ultimately hurt the overall college recruiting process.
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2. Florida and others have fled but Alabama should still feel confident in landing Kelby Collins.
Lawyers do: REALITY. Kelby Collins was very interested in Florida with another good visit for Friday Night Lights and beyond South Carolina and others attracted him but I would be surprised if he didn’t choose Alabama. Crimson Tide is looking to supplement this recruiting class with defensive quarterbacks, and he comes from a family full of Alabama fans. This is one of those situations where Collins is legitimately interested in other shows but when the time comes, Alabama should be the choice.
Howard’s takes: REALITY. Florida made a run at Kelby Collins, especially after Derrick LeBlanc chose Sooners. Collins has done an outstanding job in keeping things close to the vest as a potential Rivals250 customer holds more than 30 offers for consideration. Collins will make a huge splash for Gator if they can beat shows like Alabama and Georgia for his words. Like today, I’ll go with Alabama. Tide has a lot of momentum on the trail, and Collins seems poised to add to it.
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3. Arch Manning will hold the #1 spot in the newly released 2023 rankings.
Lawyers do: REALITY. Believe me, I don’t like it at all Arch Manning did not participate in any national 7v7 tournament or in any national quarterback tournament. Apple vs Apple vs Malachi Nelson, Nico Iamaleava, Dante Moore (everyone who did those events) and others would be great. But it also doesn’t diminish Manning’s ability and his long-predicted long-term selection as an NFL Draft pick in the first round. The remaining question becomes: If not Manning, then who? I’m not entirely sure that there’s an obvious 1 not being moved up because Manning is holding that position.
Harris’ takes: FICTION. The summer was used as an opportunity to demonstrate to the top prospects, and there have been many midfielders and others who have been able to succeed alongside some of the top players in the country. While we were well aware of Manning’s skill set and potential, there were still questions in my mind that needed to be answered. So I consider him a top five at the moment but not a top prospect overall.
