The hire of Kliff Kingsbury at USC as the QBs coach might not be a big deal to many. After all, Kingsbury is coming off a failed stint with the Arizona Cardinals where he tied himself to QB Kyler Murray and went 28-37. But let’s not forget what got him that job — his work with QBs. He was the OC for Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M, the head coach for Pat Mahomes at Texas Tech, and he’s become a bit of a QB Whisperer. Heck, the failure with Murray had as much if not more to do with the QB’s petulance and immaturity than anything else. This hire bodes well in the race for Dylan Raiola and could keep the favor in the USC corner. Georgia has a chance obviously with an upcoming official while Nebraska clings to his family legacy but this hire is a big deal. Between Lincoln Riley and Kingsbury, you have a ton of Heismans and NFL superstars and that’s hard to beat.
— This could be brewing as a battle between the teacher and student for 5 star Georgia ATH KJ Bolden. His visit to Alabama instead of Auburn indicates a lot, and he loved spending time with Nick Saban. Ohio State is in there with some family ties up north but I see this shaking out as UGA trying to keep him and Alabama trying to steal him out of state. Auburn is still in the mix as is Florida State and others are trying to make waves but watch out for this Nick Saban vs. Kirby Smart battle.
— 5-star Colin Simmons was the subject of a recent Fact or Fiction of mine where I said he could be headed out of state as LSU, Georgia, and Alabama are all pressing hard with the Tigers having a big edge. But hold on. Texas A&M just wowed him on a visit and Texas has turned up the heat and are still in this. He’s impressionable at times and loves every visit as well as the attention but I feel A&M has especially moved up his list.
— Oregon pulled a nice upset on Texas S Aaron Flowers as I expected USC to win out. This is once again a muscle flex of head coach Dan Lanning who kind of relishes in the role of underdog having pulled recruiting upsets last cycle on players like Austin Novosod, Matayo Uiagalelei, and others. USC was the choice until a conversation with the Oregon staff two days before his announcement. Lanning and company close up there with the elite.
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— RB Quinton Martin committed to Penn State earlier than expected. Why? Terry Smith is a great WPIAL recruiter and the recent RB tradition of Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders and now Nick Singleton is too much to pass on. Pitt and Ohio State as well as Notre Dame and others all hoped to stay in this one but fell short.
— As the QB dominos in the 2024 class continue to fall, Maryland QB Michael Van Buren should pick Penn State sooner than later. He wants to take officials and likes Maryland, Oklahoma, and others but I doubt he makes it past May without committing.
— Speedy Texas WR Bryant Wesco had a great recent visit to TCU and likes Clemson, LSU, and others. But this is still Oklahoma’s to lose. His sister is at OU on the soccer team, he likes the recent WR tradition and NFL preparation there with CeeDee Lamb, Sterling Shepard, Hollywood Brown, and 2023 draftee Marvin Mims, and he wants to be an instant impact guy. TCU is probably running second here with LSU next but you can never count out Dabo Swinney if he gets him on another visit. He visited Clemson in March. But this likely comes down to OU and TCU.
