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Evan Stewart is going to be a major weapon for somebody.Credit: 247Sports
We’ve not only hit the stretch run of the 2021 college football season, but the ’22 recruiting cycle is also hitting do-or-die time for teams around the country.
Five weeks remain before the early signing period begins December 15, and out of the 247Sports Composite top 30, 10 players remain uncommitted. Of course, none of those pledges are binding until pen hits paper, so tons of movement can happen.
But the primary headlines will swirl around those elite players whose recruitments are heating up at the last moment.
A slew of those prospects are defenders, and plenty of teams would love to outfit their rosters with their talents. But where would the best fit for each player be?
This isn’t a prediction of where they’ll land. Instead, it’s which one of the prospects’ reported finalists would be an ideal landing spot for immediate playing time, ability to produce right away and growth potential.
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Credit: 247Sports
At 6’4″, 240 pounds, 5-star edge-rusher Omari Abor is an explosive playmaker who is the perfect size-and-speed combination to be a terrifying sight for quarterbacks in 2022. That’s why he’s the No. 24 recruit in the country.
In August, he listed his five finalists. Unless something changes, he’ll head to Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, LSU or Alabama.
But where would he thrive?
Right now, 50 percent of his 247Sports Crystal Ball projections have him going to Ohio State, and the other 50 percent have him heading to Oklahoma, which didn’t make his final list. Believe it or not, the Buckeyes would be an ideal place for Abor.
Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 33 sacks, and seven Buckeyes have 2.5 or more. Three of them are also defensive tackles, and J.T. Tuimoloau is a versatile player who can play inside or out.
If Abor winds up there, he can team with Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams to provide a formidable force up front for years in Columbus. Is this a rich-get-richer pick? Yes, as a lot of them will be. But Abor would fill a need and get the chance to thrive in the spotlight.
OSU needs his skill set, which is the size and speed to get off the edge and after quarterbacks, considering much of their pressure this year has come from the interior of the defensive line.
He’d be the latest jewel from the Lone Star State mined by head coach Ryan Day.
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Credit: 247Sports
Devon Campbell is an elite force along the offensive front. It looks like the Arlington, Texas, product will head to Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas or USC, and any of them could use him to anchor the front line.
The 6’3″, 310-pound road-grader is the nation’s 12th-rated player and a 5-star prospect. All four of his Crystal Ball projections have him heading to play for head coach Steve Sarkisian in Austin. But he possibly would be better-suited in Norman.
Yes, the Longhorns could use him. They’re next-to-last in the Big 12, having allowed 23 sacks this season. But the Sooners are immediately above them, and the Longhorns have just two seniors in the starting lineup and a bunch of freshmen backing them up.
Oklahoma has three seniors in its starting rotation and more upperclassmen on the second team. With quarterback Caleb Williams holding the keys to a championship in Norman, it’s vital for head coach Lincoln Riley to get him protection. Campbell would go a long way in ensuring that happens.
The cupboard is far from bare at OU. Riley has three 4-star prospects ready to sign in ’22 in Jake Taylor, Jacob Sexton and Demetrius Hunter. But Campbell would be the anchor of the bunch, a centerpiece in the class and an enforcer.
Texas looks tough to beat here, though, and Campbell would be a massive pull for the ‘Horns. Really, an argument could be made for either rival.
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Credit: 247Sports
Considering head coach Jimmy Lake’s one-game suspension for appearing to strike Ruperake Fuavai’s helmet on the sideline, and the fact that 4-5 Washington is underachieving, it might be hard to convince 5-star offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. to stay home in Seattle.
Instead, he could wind up at USC or Michigan, the two programs thought to be the Huskies’ chief competition for the nation’s No. 19-ranked player. EJ Holland of the Maize and Blue Review mentions the Trojans and Huskies as two schools high on Conerly’s list, but Alabama and others are in the mix too.
The Pac-12 has watched prospect after prospect of Conerly’s ilk head elsewhere, and with Washington and Southern Cal middling on the field, it’s an ideal situation for Jim Harbaugh’s program to nab him. And, boy, do the Wolverines need Conerly.
This year’s Michigan team could lose starters Ryan Hayes, Andrew Vastardis, Chuck Filiaga and Andrew Stueber after this season, making it a wide-open race to open holes for a strong group of running backs next year.
Harbaugh has recruited well to Ann Arbor, even in the toughest times, but getting a centerpiece like Conerly to battle for reps in 2022 would be huge. The Wolverines have some good-looking underclassmen on the roster, but there are just two linemen in this year’s recruiting class.
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Several of the best uncommitted players call the Lone Star State home.
One of those is 5-star cornerback Denver Harris from Houston-area powerhouse North Shore Senior High School. He’s the nation’s No. 13 player despite battling back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the 2020 state semifinals.
At 6’1″, 180 pounds, Harris has terrific size and is silky smooth, possessing all the traits needed to be a lockdown corner. His top programs appear to be Texas, Texas A&M, LSU and Alabama, which is a familiar group for this list.
Will he wind up going out of state?
Not only has Alabama done a great job of recruiting him, but the Tide could also use him. Despite being loaded with talent, they rank just seventh in the SEC in pass defense. Harris could slot in alongside Kool-Aid McKinstry and Malachi Moore to cement the back end of the defense.
The Longhorns rank right in the middle of the Big 12 in pass defense, but Harris would have an opportunity to shine in Tuscaloosa.
Steve Sarkisian needs a talent upgrade everywhere, which is why he’s recruiting Harris heavily, but underclassmen like Jahdae Barron, Jamier Johnson and Kitan Crawford are some young, promising players in Austin. Plus, even if Harris gets on the field sooner at home, Alabama churns out pro defensive backs every year.
What better combination than to go to a place where you can compete for national titles every year, have a chance to prove your skills on the field and learn from the nation’s best developer of defensive back talent in Nick Saban?
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The LSU Tigers are searching for hope during yet another disappointing season.
They got a glimmer of it in a competitive 20-14 loss to Alabama on Saturday night, but it was still another L in that column for lame-duck head coach Ed Orgeron. The future is up in the air for the Bayou Bengals, who will no doubt swing for the fences for their next coach.
Some of the replacement speculation has surrounded names such as Penn State’s James Franklin, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and even Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher.
For the Tigers’ sake, they better land somebody who can lock down the talent in the Boot.
One of those prospects is 5-star safety Jacoby Mathews, who is the nation’s No. 29 prospect and isn’t expected to make his college choice until January 2. That gives LSU time to hire somebody and get on the phone with the prospect, who hails from Ponchatoula and is familiar with the campus.
Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, Texas and others are trying to lure Mathews from Louisiana, but all six predictions in the Crystal Ball rankings have him staying home.
That would be best for him and whoever is tabbed to rejuvenate that program. At 6’2″, 205 pounds, Mathews has a college-ready body and can be an enforcer in the run game without being a liability against the pass. He’s exactly the kind of player defensive backs coach Corey Raymond molds into a star.
You have to think if Raymond sticks around, Mathews could stay home.
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The best, most fearsome defensive prospect left in the 2022 recruiting class is 6’3″, 210-pound Cypress, Texas, linebacker Harold Perkins.
The nation’s No. 11 recruit is the second-best linebacker prospect in the nation behind Ohio State pledge C.J. Hicks, and Perkins is a force who runs a sub-4.5 40-yard dash, attacks the line of scrimmage and could be an all-star running back if called upon.
It looks like he’ll choose between Texas A&M, Texas and LSU.
Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies have done a terrific job of recruiting Perkins, as 100 percent of the Crystal Ball projections have him going to College Station. That’s the perfect home for him too.
What the Aggies are building along the defensive front is remarkable, and coordinator Mike Elko’s defense is loading up to contend with SEC foes Alabama and Georgia to be the best on that side of the ball for years to come. But it needs some weapons on the second level.
With Aaron Hansford heading to the NFL after this year, Perkins would have a legitimate shot to earn playing time alongside budding stars Andre White Jr. and Edgerrin Cooper. Perkins would add an element to the Aggies they’re missing, and he can help them evolve on that side of the ball.
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At one point, Jaheim Singletary seemed all set to head north to play for Ohio State. But he decommitted in August, and it looks like his focus is on Georgia, Florida and Miami. With the latter two struggling on the field, the Bulldogs could be in line to land an elite talent.
The 6’2″, 170-pound 5-star recruit from Jacksonville, Florida, is in the thick of Bulldogs-Gators country, and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has beaten out Dan Mullen for his share of players from that area recently. Singletary seems set to be next.
That would be a coup for the Dawgs, and it would help them continue to fortify a historic defense that boasts both youth and supreme talent on the back level. With Ameer Speed, Christopher Smith, Derion Kendrick and Latavious Brini all seniors, there is room for playing time.
Yes, Smart has loaded up with great underclassmen in Kelee Ringo, Nyland Green and Kamari Lassiter, but Singletary is right there with those guys. Ringo is proof star talent can see immediate action, and Singletary would fall right on that level.
With what UGA is building in Athens, especially on defense, it’s difficult to envision an immediate future without a national championship. The recruiting won’t slow down any time soon, either. Singletary has the opportunity to be a key part of it.
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Steve Sarkisian’s first year at Texas is spiraling out of control.
The Longhorns are 4-5 after a demoralizing 30-7 loss to Iowa State on Saturday, and even though they’ve been close in several losses, they can’t seem to break through. Sark has rotated quarterbacks Casey Thompson and Hudson Card, and they can’t get any consistent traction.
Perhaps no position has seen more chaos than wide receiver, where the ‘Horns lost junior Josh Moore to the transfer portal on Monday. Anwar Richardson of OrangeBloods reported the wideout and Sarkisian had a “heated exchange” at last Wednesday’s practice, and the coach confirmed Moore’s move while speaking with the media this week.
Now, Texas has just three healthy receivers who have played significant snaps this year. The ‘Horns need major help at the position alongside Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington.
Enter Evan Stewart, the nation’s No. 3 overall player and a virtual Worthy clone from Frisco, Texas. The 6’0″, 175-pound pass-catcher is a near lock to be an instant-impact playmaker, and while Florida has hung around his recruitment for a long time, this looks like a Texas-Texas A&M battle.
He’d be smart to go to Austin, where Sarkisian can team him with Worthy and watch them show out.
The Longhorns need a lot of help on both sides of the ball to rebuild after decades of disappointment, and Stewart would be a major PR win for the school.
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Credit: 247Sports
The only team we have landing two players on this list is the Texas A&M Aggies, who have been pegged as Harold Perkins’ destination.
How about adding top-10 defensive lineman Shemar Stewart too?
The Aggies’ only real competition for him appears to be Georgia, and with all the front-seven talent Kirby Smart has assembled in Athens, it might make more sense for the Opa Locka, Florida, prospect to head to College Station.
Ohio State, Miami and Clemson are finalists, too, but this is really a two-team race.
It would be a haul for Fisher and Elko to add Stewart alongside 5-star defensive tackle commit Walter Nolen and 4-star defensive end Malick Sylla. Of course, Omari Abor is still in the picture too.
Stewart is a 6’5″, 265-pound versatile force on the defensive front—the kind of prospect who never used to leave the Sunshine State. But unless Miami can make a run for him, it appears he will. Neither Florida nor Florida State are ever even mentioned for his commitment.
If Manny Diaz’s Hurricanes were a real threat, it would make a ton of sense for them to keep him at home and pair him with Leonard Taylor. But the coaching situation is tenuous at best in Coral Gables, and that has to give prospects pause.
Stewart can shine at A&M, and it seems to be the place he’s leaning toward. That group of young linemen could be special soon for a program on an upward trajectory.
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Credit: 247Sports
Much like Jaheim Singletary, Georgia seems to be trending heavily for 5-star safety Kamari Wilson of IMG Academy. The 6’0″, 200-pound playmaker has six Crystal Ball projections, and they all point to the Dawgs.
Like Singletary, he’d fit in that nasty “junkyard” D.
But he has been exploring his options. Not only has he visited UGA, but he’s also seen LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn for the Tigers’ huge home win over Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago. He also plans to head across the country and see USC.
He’d fit right in, though, in the loveliest village on the Plains.
Wilson seemed to love his visit, and while there are a lot of places he wants to consider, it seems coach Bryan Harsin’s program has staying power with him. Wilson told 247Sports Jason Caldwell when he trims his list of favorites, AU will be among the top five.
“Auburn is definitely going to be in there,” Wilson said. “I love the defensive back coaches [Derek Mason and Zac Etheridge] and how they practice. He [Mason] showed me the film one time and I love how they practice to put their players in a good position to make plays. They just don’t do drills, they really do drills to help in the game.”
If Auburn can get him back on campus later in the year, it could be a serious courtship, even if Georgia holds a home-state advantage. He would be a major coup for Harsin, Mason and Co., and he would go a long way in helping sustain a program that has overachieved this season in Harsin’s first.
All stats courtesy of CFBStats and Sports Reference. Recruiting rankings via 247Sports‘ composite rankings unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brad Shepard on Twitter, @Brad_Shepard.
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