Fact or Fiction: Terrence Lewis will end up with Florida
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
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1. Maryland and Rutgers can make headway in the Big Ten East.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I hate to say it because Maryland and Rutgers are recruiting very well, but it’s still a long climb in that division. The good news? Michigan State could be down a bit as Mel Tucker tries to rebuild. The bad news? Michigan, Penn State and especially Ohio State are constantly re-loading their rosters and the talent gap is still huge.
I like many of the players Greg Schiano is landing, these are quality prospects, and Mike Locksley is hitting some home runs with guys like Rakim Jarrett and now Demeioun Robinson, but it will take years to build the same depth as the big boys in the East.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Maryland has not won 10 games since 2003. The coaching situation there over the last few years has been a mess and in some ways a disgrace with D.J. Durkin in charge. Locksley has a lot to rebuild and he’s done a phenomenal job in recruiting.
Rutgers went 8-32 in four miserable years under Chris Ash and the Scarlet Knights were one of the worst teams in all of college football. Schiano had built Rutgers into a national player during his time there but now faces a new challenge in a tough Big Ten. Will either team win a conference championship? Probably not, but Locksley and Schiano are recruiting better than expected and will pull some upsets in the coming years.
2. Terrence Lewis will end up at Florida
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Last week I said the talented linebacker would end up at Florida but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not because Florida has stopped recruiting him, as some of the rumors say, but I think Lewis wants to get out of the state of Florida to play his college ball. He tweeted the other day that he knows what school he wants to attend and I think it’s an out of state school.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Lewis was committed to Florida for less than three months in early 2019 and sometimes it’s tough to get prospects committed again, but I’m still leaning to the Gators here. Florida might have slowed down on him a little bit but there is a long way to signing day and he’s too talented to pass up.
Lewis’ tweet was interesting because I don’t think he would be locked in with Texas A&M or Nebraska just yet, maybe watch out for Miami here. I’ll lean Florida until I hear otherwise but this one could still go in a lot of directions.
3. Zach Evans is in limbo.
Farrell’s take: FACT. What’s going on with the infamous five-star from the 2020 class? Nothing. Evans can talk to coaches of course, but he can’t take any visits and remains in limbo. His scheduled visit to Florida is not happening now and he should be enrolling someplace in May or June. Will it be Tennessee or will be just show up at Florida and play with the Gators when allowed? This is a weird situation that has obviously gotten a tad more strange.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Is this the strangest recruitment in Rivals’ history? That is a high bar to meet, but this has to take the cake because now Evans cannot even take late visits to figure out what he’s going to do. With the coronavirus pandemic now stopping all campus visits, Evans cannot go to Gainesville and that has to hurt the Gators.
Tennessee and Ole Miss could be in line to land the five-star running back, but I also would not be totally shocked to see a surprise school to get involved and he just goes there at the last minute. There’s no telling what happens in his recruitment.