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. Brandyn Hillman is a crushing loss for Notre Dame.
Farrell’s take: FICTION
It never helps to have a player sign and then want out of his NLI immediately, but welcome to the new world of college football. Word on the street is that this is an academic issue so not much ND can do. Hillman is a versatile player and good athlete and he will push for early playing time as a defensive back some are saying the losses of Peyton Bowen and now Hillman are crushing. Nah. Notre Dame will double down at DB in 2024 and already have two solid commitments. They also have Adon Shuler, Christian Gray, Ben Minich, and Micah Bell in that 2023 class. The Irish will be just fine.
2. UGA can flip WR Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State.
Farrell’s take: FICTION
UGA wants the 5-star from South Florida badly. But so does everyone else, including Miami and Florida State. The problem? He’s committed to Ohio State, a team that develops WRs for the NFL Draft as well as anyone perhaps but Alabama, and has Brian Hartline as their OC and WR guru, and he’s one of the best recruiters in the game. I’ve been told Smith locked into Ohio State for all the obvious reasons and won’t be flipping.
3. QB Madden Iamaleava will follow his brother to Tennessee.
Farrell’s take: FACT
It’s dumb to predict a 2025 QB right? Nope. It’s never too early, as QBs are recruited a full cycle ahead, and Nico Iamaleava’s little brother is starting to emerge as a standout and has that early Vols offer. Josh Heupel has been aggressive when it comes to the little brother, and while he’ll look at west coast schools (especially Washington and that offense), I think he lands in Knoxville.
2025 QB MADDEN IAMALEAVA looking smooth in warmups ?
Tennessee, San Diego State and Georgia Tech in the mix@MaddenIamaleava | @adamgorney | @RivalsCorey pic.twitter.com/XL7QekF34H
— Rivals (@Rivals) March 5, 2023
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