College football recruiting roundup: Week 1
The 2017 college football season is officially underway and we take a look at what happened in the recruiting world in Week 1.
The 2017 college football season is here, folks. The long wait is finally over and Week 0’s games are in the books. Luckily for fans, the season is about to get even more exciting with the start of Week 1 and premier contests.
However, the on-field action isn’t the only important news in the college football world, but recruiting takes center stage — almost always nowadays — as well. We are going to take a look at the biggest storylines from the first week of the season in the recruiting landscape.
Note: Latest commitments, rankings and scheduled visits come from 247Sports.
Texas lands big man up front
On Aug. 21, the Longhorns landed yet another solid target in four-star offensive tackle Rafiti Ghirmai from Frisco, Texas. Tom Herman has been proving his recruiting prowess and did so yet again as the Longhorns’ class currently ranks second overall in 2018.
Ghirmai stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 290 pounds. He picked Texas over about 35 others including the likes of Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Alabama and UCLA.
Can Herman surpass his former mentor, Urban Meyer, in the recruiting rankings by the end of the cycle?
Buckeyes land top in-state target
There’s plenty of speculation regarding who the top in-state target is for Ohio State in the 2018 class, but landing four-star athlete L’Christian Smith was a major priority. He stands 6-foot-6 and weighs about 205 pounds, making him a prime size for a receiver.
Herman struck first with the addition of Rafiti at Texas, but Ohio State put a stranglehold on that No. 1 spot in the 2018 class with Smith. He’s ranked the No. 119 overall player and fourth-best athlete in the class.
Tennessee flips Shocky Jacques-Louis from Kentucky
OK, so it wasn’t technically a “flip” since Shocky has been on the market for about two months, but landing an SEC foe’s former pledge is a big deal. Shocky Jacques-Louis is a three-star receiver from Fort Myers, Fla., who de-committed from Kentucky back in June and had a recent top five of Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Pitt and Tennessee.
The nation’s No. 459 receiver picked the Vols. Shocky is headed to Rocky Top. Awesome name.
The Volunteers also added four-star cornerback Jaycee Horn last week. He reigns from Alpharetta, Ga., and is the No. 219 overall player in the class.
West Virginia strikes gold
Dana Holgorsen might be preparing for how he’s going to put together back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in his career, but he took care of some recruiting business first. Last Thursday, he landed premier defensive end target, Dante Stills.
The Mountaineers could use all the defensive help they can get and Still is expected to be an absolute stud. He’s ranked the No. 117 overall player in the class, sixth-best strong-side end and is the top player in West Virginia. He held over 22 offers.
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Two programs add future stars at running back
Both Auburn and Indiana added key pieces to their future backfields recently. On Thursday, the Tigers picked up a commitment from four-star Asa Martin from Decatur, Ala. He was choosing between the Tigers, Florida and Alabama. Big recruiting win there for Gus Malzahn. Martin is ranked the No. 10 running back in the class and 214th overall.
Indiana, looking to bolster a solid backfield, added four-star running back Ronnie Walker from Hopewell, Va. He picked the Hoosiers over Michigan State and Virginia and looks to be a key commitment for a program that doesn’t usually land four-stars. He ranks No. 319 overall and is 2018’s 13th-best running back.