Counter Intel is the smart Ohio State fan's look at recruiting action taking place within the Big Ten and top national programs.
Hafley Beats Michigan Yet Again
The Jeff Hafley train continues to roll right along in Chestnut Hill. Ohio State's former defensive coordinator spent his Saturday afternoon taking down Duke in what was his head coaching debut. Right around the time the game kicked off, he also got some excellent news on the trail when the Eagles officially flipped a three-star 2021 Michigan commitment.
COMMITTED Thank you to everyone for your support @CoachVoulgaris @CoachJeffHafley @JoeSuIlivan @BCFootball pic.twitter.com/Tcwgkt8jB7
— Casey Phinney (@caseyphinney) September 19, 2020
Casey Phinney made his Wolverine pledge back in April, but his relationship with Hafley has been building over the last few months. At 6-foot-1 and 233 pounds, he's capable of playing linebacker or even more of an H-back/tight end type of role if need be. The Marshfield, Mass. native became commitment No. 21 for a Boston College class that now ranks 39th nationally.
The Eagles may be in line for some more good news when four-star guard Drew Kendall announces his decision. The nation's No. 9 guard prospect is a teammate of Phinney's and many had thought their relationship could potentially help deliver Kendall to Ann Arbor. As things stand, it's looking more and more like the in-state teammates will side with Boston College. Not a bad start to the Hafley Era, and he'll really have a chance to make a splash on Oct. 3 when the Eagles host the No. 11 Tar Heels.
Oregon Not Slowing Down
Last week we looked at Mario Cristobal's hot streak and the Ducks' surge up to the No. 3 spot in the team rankings. Oregon added another four-star pledge this past week and gained some more ground on the Buckeyes at No. 2. In this case, that simply means the Ducks now trail the Bucks by 26 points rather than the 30 or so we were previously looking at.
Maryland safety Daymon David had narrowed things down to Oregon, Michigan, and Boston College before he picked the Ducks last Friday. He's the nation's 17th-best safety and No. 13 prospect in the state of Maryland. Cristobal went a long way to reel in commitment No. 21, and David holds an offer from Oklahoma in addition to a number of Big Ten and ACC programs.
Wiscy Commit Reclassifying to 2021
Paul Chryst's 2021 class got some unexpected good news when in-state safety/linebacker Braelon Allen announced his decision to move things up by a year. Originally a member of the Class of 2022, the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder is one of the state's best players regardless of class. A safety in high school, Allen is primarily bing recruited to play linebacker at the next level.
This is a pretty big deal for the folks in Madison as Allen is a player who's being courted by Notre Dame and several Big Ten powers. I'm of the belief that an offer from Ohio State was going to come eventually (and still may). The Buckeyes were among his top six schools back in July despite having not offered. After moving up a class, Allen is now the sixth-best 2021 commit for Chryst and Co. The Badgers' class ranked No. 3 in the conference and No. 15 nationally.
PSU, Rutgers Stayin' Busy
No one gets overly excited when it comes to special teams additions. But if Jim Tressel taught us anything, it's that punters and kickers are people too. James Franklin's latest pickup is 6-foot-6, 220-pound defensive end specialist Gabe Nwosu, and he's likely to be a preferred walk-on in Happy Valley. Penn State's 2021 recruiting class is sitting at No. 34 in the national rankings and does already include a kicker who's expected to be on scholarship.
A zero-star special teams player who doesn't even have a 247 Sports profile certainly isn't going to get the fanbase all cheery in the midst of the PSU recruiting struggles. Nwosu is a teammate of 2021 PSU quarterback commit Christian Veilleux, and the duo plays at Maryland's Bullis School; the same program that produced Dwayne Haskins.
Back to the bad news. Michigan wasn't the only Big Ten program to lose a commitment last week. Indiana landed three-star Auburndale, Fla. safety Aubrey Burks back in June. He's now made the decision to open things back up. Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, and South Florida appear to be the teams to watch moving forward.
| PROGRAM | SCORE | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | 304.17 | 93.99 |
| 2 | OHIO STATE | 302.10 | 94.61 |
| 3 | OREGON | 276.76 | 91.77 |
| 4 | LSU | 271.75 | 92.43 |
| 5 | CLEMSON | 266.17 | 94.08 |
| 6 | TENNESSEE | 261.65 | 89.83 |
| 7 | FLORIDA | 260.37 | 89.97 |
| 8 | Miami | 256.40 | 89.61 |
| 9 | SOUTHERN CAL | 255.31 | 91.33 |
| 10 | MICHIGAN | 255.04 | 90.00 |
Pair of Decommits in SEC Land
Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs finally appeared in the top-10 last week. That was short-lived as a recent decommitment has dropped Georgia down to No. 11. Four-star defensive end Elijah Jeudy backed off his pledge last Tuesday, and the Philadelphia defender now appears to be trending toward Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies. Meanwhile, Georgia continues to battle LSU and USC for five-star defensive end Korey Foreman.
The Volunteers hold steady at No. 6 in the rankings, but it wasn't the best week for Jeremy Pruitt and Co. The nation's No. 1 JUCO tailback had been a Tennessee commit since April, but Tiyon Evans is now back on the market. Evans is a South Carolina product who's now at Kansas's Hutchinson Community College. His recruitment now seems to be totally open, and Tennessee will still be a contender moving forward.
Quick Rankings Update
We all saw this coming, but now it's official. The latest 247 Rankings update has increased Alabama's score and slightly decreased that of Ohio State. Alabama insiders have long been talking about some "secret film" for four-star defensive end Monkell Goodwine, and sure enough, the Bama commit jumped up just about 100 spots in last week's update. This boost comes after playing just four games as a junior and zero thus far in 2020.
The race to the finish line is going to come down to the Buckeyes' pursuit of guys like Emeka Egbuka and J.T. Tuimoloau. Alabama currently has 21 commits compared to Ohio State's 19. But if the Crimson Tide end up signing 25+, it's going to be tough for Ryan Day and Ohio State to regain the top spot.
There's still a long way to go as we're three months from the early signing period and five months from February's national signing day. Things are likely to slow down a bit on the trail as teams now get into game-preparation mode without any of the usual official visitors in attendance on Saturdays.
