South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Miami, USC have work to do
UCF QB Darriel Mack Jr. drops back to pass during the AAC Championship Game against Memphis.
Some traditional recruiting heavyweights have plenty of work to do in the next several weeks to sign the level of talent they usually attract.
As college football’s early signing period concluded Friday, Southern California was outside the top 20 and Miami wasn’t in the top 30 in composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by
247Sports. That leaves both schools needing to stock up by the Feb. 6 traditional signing date.
“The average star ratings are just not very good at least compared to what we’re used to for those programs,” Rivals director of recruiting Mike Farrell said.
There aren’t many senior prospects left to pursue.
247Sports scouting director Barton Simmons says “roughly 80 percent” of the likely Football Bowl Subdivision recruits signed this week.
But the geographic tilt of those signees gives Southern California reason for optimism.
“There’s a lot of work still to do, typical of the West Coast,” USC coach Clay Helton said. “A lot of the West Coast recruits wait until February to sign.”
Four of the top five California prospects in the
247Sports Composite remain unsigned. Simmons said USC is a leading contender for Bru McCoy and Kyle Ford, two of the top three prospects in California.
“We’re confident (USC will) rise to a certain degree, but in the context of what we expect out of USC — a top-five kind of class — they’ve still got some work to do to get in that type of conversation,” Simmons said. “We might be looking at more of a top-15 class than a top-five class depending on what they’re able to accomplish down the stretch.”
Alabama leads the
247Sports Composite team standings and is followed in order by Southeastern Conference rivals Georgia, Texas A&M and LSU.
Miami remains in the chase for two top uncommitted players in receiver Jadon Haselwood and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Haselwood, ranked sixth in the 247Sports Composite, also is considering Georgia and Oklahoma. Stevenson,
38th in the 247Sports Composite, is deciding between Miami and Georgia.
“If Miami lands those guys, all of a sudden things are looking up,” Simmons said. “But it feels like those guys are trending elsewhere right now.”
Some notable recruiting angles to watch as the early signing period ends and teams turn to February.
MORE FLIPPING: Some top-100 prospects made last-minute switches. Safety Jordan Battle signed with Alabama after verbally committing to Ohio State. After switching his verbal commitment from Michigan to Alabama this month, safety Daxton Hill ended up signing with Michigan after all. Quarterback Sam Howell signed with North Carolina after being verbally committed to Florida State.
“There were more flips than I thought there would be,” Farrell said. “I thought with the early signing period, there would be less last-second flips. In February, it was something we were used to. Last year there weren’t a lot of flips in [the early] signing period, so I thought that would slow down.” OKLAHOMA RECEIVERS: Oklahoma already has a top-10 class that includes two of the nation’s four top receiving prospects according to Rivals in Theo Wease and Trejan Bridges. If the Sooners also sign Haselwood, they’d have three of Rivals’ top four receivers.
SEC SURPRISES: Chad Morris went 2-10 in his debut season as Arkansas’ coach, but he earned plenty more victories on the recruiting trail. Arkansas ranks 20th in the 247Sports team standings. While the Razorbacks are still in the bottom half of the SEC, a
top-20 position is quite impressive considering their recent struggles on the field.
“Arkansas was probably the biggest surprise of the year with the class they put together coming off a 2-10 season,” Farrell said.
Tennessee, which went
5-7, has put together a top-15 class. The Vols signed 17 players on Tuesday and got more good news when running back Eric Gray (171st in the 247Sports Composite) signed Thursday and linebacker Quavaris Crouch
(39th) announced Friday he also plans to sign with the Vols.
The Cubs and RHP Kendall Graveman agreed to a one-year deal worth at least $575,000 with a $3 million club option for 2020. Graveman, 28, was 1-5 with a 7.60 ERA in 341⁄3 innings last season with the A’s before undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. Graveman likely won’t be available to pitch until at least September
BASEBALL: COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
QB Jamie Newman ran for a 1-yard TD with 34 seconds left to cap Wake Forest’s comeback from an 18-point deficit in a
37-34 victory over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. Newman finished with three rushing TDs and threw for another for the Demon Deacons (7-6). For the Tigers (8-6), Tony Pollard scored on a 97-yard kickoff return to tie the NCAA career mark with seven . ... QB Kelvin Hopkins Jr. ran for 170 yards and an Armed Forces Bowl-record five TDs, and Army routed Houston 7014 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Black Knights’ 56point win tied the FBS record for largest margin of victory in a bowl game. They finished 11-2, reaching 11 victories for the first time in program history. Houston (8-5) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Blaine Gabbert threw a 2-yard TD pass to MyCole Pruitt with 4:30 left, and the Titans kept their playoff hopes alive by rallying to beat the Redskins 25-16 in Nashville, Tenn. Gabbert relieved starter Marcus Mariota, who left late in the first half with a stinger. The Titans improved to 9-6. The Redskins (7-8) lost for the fifth time in six games . ... RB Lamar Miller (ankle) will miss the Texans’ game against the Eagles on Sunday . ... The Saints activated WR Ted Ginn Jr., making him eligible to play Sunday against the Steelers. Ginn was placed on IR on Oct. 18 because of a knee injury.
NFL:
Mikaela Shiffrin won a World Cup slalom race in Courchevel, France, equaling a women’s record with her 35th victory in the discipline and 50th win overall. With the win, Shiffrin tied Marlies Schild of Austria with 35 slalom wins on the World Cup circuit. Shiffrin, 23, is also the youngest of the eight skiers, men and women, to win 50 World Cup races across all disciplines . ... Daniel Yule of Switzerland claimed his first World Cup victory when first-run leaders Marcel Hirscher of Austria and Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway straddled gates in the second leg of a night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. Yule, 25, finished 0.34 seconds ahead of Marco Schwarz of Austria and 0.50 ahead of Olympic bronze medalist Michael Matt of Austria.
SKIING:
Jeff Schlupp, Andros Townsend and Luka Milivojevic scored to lead Crystal Palace to a 3-2 win over Manchester City. It was City’s first home loss in 10 English Premier League matches and left the defending champ in second place, four points back of leader Liverpool . ... Jamie Vardy scored the only goal to guide Leicester to a 1-0 victory over Chelsea. It was Chelsea’s first home loss in EPL play . ... In its first match under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United routed host Cardiff 5-1 . ... Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi scored to lift Barcelona to a 2-0 win over visiting Celta Vigo. With the victory, defending La Liga champ Barca maintained its three-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid in the season standings . ... Real Madrid secured its third straight Club World Cup title and fourth overall, beating Al Ain 4-1 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
SOCCER: — Edited from news services