re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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NCAA RULE CHANGE IMPACTS CAMP TURNOUT

Regardless of how you feel about the new NCAA rule prohibiting colleges from employing people “close to recruits,” there’s no denying that it’s hurting on-campus prospect camps.

College staff are no long able to pay high school coaches to “work” their camp, thus removing any incentive for them to drive their top players to the event. The toll the rule is taking is obvious. This year’s June event at FSU, a camp notorious for attracting talent from all over, was noticeably light on top-flight players. The correlation is not a coincidence and people working the camp, including FSU’s own coaches, said as much.

There were headliners, including a pair of five-stars, kicking around the three-day camp. A program like Florida State will always attract star power. The lack of depth, however, was new.

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INDIANAPOLIS – More than 100 of the top players in the nation participated June 10 in the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas at the Indianapolis Colts practice facility. The Rivals analyst team is breaking down the status of each player at the marquee event based on his performance against elite competition. Today, we look at the running backs.

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Florida’s 2017 class may be underwhelming as things stand now, but its future classes are coming together quite nicely.

That’s probably understating the point. In fact, it definitely is.

On top of the base of elite prospects it already has in the fold for 2019, top 2020 quarterback Harrison Bailey also seems to be high on the Gators. The Georgia-based standout isn’t much for the recruiting process and disdains the process of interviews with reporters and hard sells from coaches. For those reasons, it seems, Bailey could make a commitment sooner than later.

UF is seen as the clear favorite and nothing serves as the cornerstone to a class better than an elite quarterback.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Ishmael Sopsher may be an underclassman, but he’s not new to the recruiting process by any stretch. The five-star defensive tackle showed up at Florida State with a long list of offers from a litany of major programs.

This setting is standard at this juncture. He breezes through interviews rather effortlessly and says as little as possible in the process. Favorites? He names none. And he’s certainly not naming a leader. Instead, he’d rather talk about his time on FSU’s campus.

His takeaways are simple.

“It’s a good school,” Sopsher said. “They have good coaching. I like the city and I like the facilities.”

According to Sopsher, who has now visited Florida State twice, the relationship between him and the Seminoles is still in its infancy. That fact is never more apparent than when he’s asked who serves as his main recruiting contact at the school.

“Right now? Nobody,” he said. “But we’re starting to talk and building a relationship now.”

Florida State is certainly a player in his recruitment and may become a larger one going forward. Where he feels most comfortable for now, however, is LSU, which he’s set to visit on Saturday.

“Coach [Dennis] Johnson is a good recruiter and recruits hard. I call him often – like once a week,” Sopsher said. “We talk about football and talk about life.”

The overall theme of LSU’s pitch is simple. It’s also familiar. There isn’t much nuance in play.

“LSU is just telling me they are the home schools and making me a priority,” Sopsher said. “They want me there. They think they can put me to good use.”

RIVALS REACTION: Alabama is among the leaders to land Sopsher but LSU can’t be counted out whatsoever. His second trip to FSU signals that Florida State is making a move, but the Seminoles are still, at best, running in third place.

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In less than two weeks, five-star Zamir White (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland) is set to announce his commitment. His high school coach, Richard Bailey, joined vsporto's SEC Recruiting Buzz this week to discuss his star tailback.

"I think he's got a good idea," Bailey said. "I think he is still trying to work through the process a little bit. But he has been to all of the schools at this point. He has met all of the coaches. He has been to every place multiple times. I feel like he's at least equipped now to make the best decision for him and his family.

"He's just really tired of the process. Because you are tired of something is not necessarily the right reason to make a decision, but I do think that factors into him wanting to go ahead and get it done on his mom's birthday."

That day, June 27, is right around the corner. White is likely to have Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio State hats on the table when he announces his decision. Alabama got White on campus two weeks ago.

"He had a great visit down there," Bailey said. "I was really almost thinking that Alabama was maybe not in it, and then he had a great visit. They really sold him on the idea that they use multiple backs. They have Najee Harris, but they are a school that is going to use 2-3 running backs. That is sort of traditionally what they have done.

"Obviously, they are committed to running the football at Alabama and you have a chance to win a national championship. They are always going to be a perennial favorite. You have a chance to win the Heisman Trophy and do some other great things. Definitely a school that he has looked at hard."

Listen to the full podcast below, which includes in-depth perspective on White as a player, as a person growing up, and the other programs in the mix.

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