Recruiting Fact or Fiction: Marquise Lightfoot to UM, Zabien Brown, Oregon's Footprint

In today’s Fact or Fiction — Recruiting Edition — I look at three big recent topics from the recruiting trail and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.

1. Marquise Lightfoot to Miami is a flex for Mario Cristobal.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Lightfoot hails from Illinois and had all the Midwest offers you’d expect, but the 4-star decided to head south to play for Cristobal and the Hurricanes. It’s a flex, and I’ll tell you why. Not only is the distance from home impressive, and the recruiting win over Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia, but it shows that Cristobal can focus his efforts on anyone in any state and have a chance to win. While he shot his shot on DT Justin Scott and lost to the Buckeyes, he won this Illinois battle. And if he goes 1 for 2 in the Midwest when he focuses on players, and he doesn’t recruit there that often, he will supplement his elite classes with spot recruits from all over.

Oct 15, 2022; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal walks on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Lane Stadium.

2. Alabama has the edge for Zabien Brown.

Farrell’s take: FICTION

Alabama seems to have some traction heading into his decision this weekend, although it wouldn’t be a shock if he picked USC. The Trojans have done a great job with him and have ties to his high school (Mater Dei), and while Nick Saban‘s record with defensive backs is a tough thing to beat, I think he stays close to home and picks USC.

2024 four-star cornerback Zabien Brown from Santa Ana, CA (Mater Dei)

3. Oregon is a national recruiting powerhouse.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Remember when people were questioning Dan Lanning when 5-star QB Dante Moore decommitted late in the 2023 cycle? Since then, he’s done the following — stole a QB from Texas away from Baylor, closed on numerous four stars from California and Texas, and has dipped into Maryland, DC, Alabama, Missouri, and Oklahoma for elite players. Lanning has shown he can recruit anywhere and has moved into the top five in my book of “new recruiters” who are changing the landscape of college football. The others? Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame, Josh Heupel at Tennessee, Shane Beamer at South Carolina, and Mike Norvell at Florida State.