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

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Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with a look at a busy week of big-time commitments, the teams that crushed it last week and a warning about reading too much into decommitments.

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3. DON'T READ TOO MUCH INTO A DECOMMITMENT

Kids decommit. It happens. I’d say it started to become a real problem about 10 years ago and it’s gotten worse every recruiting cycle since.

Four-star 2018 athlete Justin Watkins, who has now backed off of pledges to LSU, Florida State and Texas, is becoming an expert at decommitting. But does that mean that Watkins, a great athlete, will be a flop because he’s struggling to make a decision on his future destination?

Before you say yes, think about this. Recent Heisman winners Derrick Henry and Johnny Manziel were committed to other schools before inking with their final choices. First-round draft picks Jarrad Davis, Reuben Foster, Jalen Ramsey, Taylor Decker, Will Fuller and Robert Nkemdiche, among many others, also backed off of a commitment during their recruitment. And when it comes to multiple decommitments, who can forget guys like Arden Key, Alex Anzalone, Tajh Boyd and, more recently, Tate Martell, all of whom made multiple decommitments.

The record, at least by my memory, is held by Jordan Payton who committed to four different schools – Washington. USC, Cal and UCLA – although, for all I know, there could be a guy out there who committed to five schools. Bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how many times you decommit, what matters is that you end up at the right place. Time will tell if Watkins breaks the record on his way to finding a home.

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College football recruitment has become big business, and one of the biggest events on the summer calendar is The Opening.

One hundred and sixty-six of the nation's top recruits in the classes of 2018 and 2019 will congregate in Beaverton, Oregon, at the Nike World Headquarters from June 28 through July 3 to test their skills against the best of the best.

A number of talented athletes will be on hand, but who are the best of the best? We took a look with help from Scout.com's recruiting rankings and ranked the top 10 recruits expected to be at The Opening.

Factors including expected impact in college, diversity of skills and measured statistics were all considered in this ranking.

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3. CB Patrick Surtain Jr.

Recruiting info

No. 3 overall player in Class of 2018; considering LSU, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and Ohio State.

1 thing to know

He is the son of Patrick Surtain, who played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, including three Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections.

Why he's here

Surtain has a great pedigree, but he can stand on his own merits, too. He stands 6'2", 192 pounds and has excellent instincts and coverage skills, with good size and physicality.

He also has great burst off the snap and can close the gap quickly with opposing receivers. He will be a premier college corner and a major focal point this week.

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Zamir White’s RB ripple effect for Auburn

If you missed it, let me start by asking, how? But if you did, the No. 1 running back in the nation Zamir White — generally referred to as Zeus — committed to Georgia. The North Carolina 5-star prospect’s decision to choose the Bulldogs didn’t come as a shock, though some in-state hopefuls thought the Tar Heels could be a surprise threat.

As it turns out, it wasn’t the Tar Heels who made a late close. It was Alabama.

White told my Dawgnation colleague Jeff Sentell the Crimson Tide finished second.

OK, Mr. Auburn Recruiting Reporter, why are you telling me about Georgia and Alabama running backs?

Because Auburn and Alabama are in a race for 4-star running back Asa Martin from Austin Decatur. Had White surprisingly chosen an extended stay in Tuscaloosa rather than Athens, it would’ve changed the entire landscape of Auburn’s running back recruiting class.

The Tigers would’ve become the clear front-runner for Martin, as the Crimson Tide wouldn’t have been in such dire need to take a second back. Now it remains my belief the state’s No. 1 running back will choose Alabama over Auburn and Florida when he decides on Aug. 24.

That means the Tigers need to have their contingency plans ready, and they do.

Dameon Pierce — with White-to-UGA and the hypothetical Martin-to-Alabama — will become solely an Auburn and Florida race. Georgia would already have its feature back of the class, and I can’t envision Martin and Pierce, from Bainbridge, Ga., ending up in the same class. Multiple sources have said the Tigers would hold a significant advantage in that Auburn-Florida battle.

Another name to watch is Harold Joiner from Birmingham. He has long called LSU his leader, but that is no longer the case. Why? LSU had three running backs commit within the last week — Chris Curry, Tae Provens and AJ Carter. Provens, and to a lesser extent Curry, were both Auburn targets. Now Joiner feels like the odd man out in a running back group that he was once said to be the top guy. Georgia was another school Joiner had near the top, but early playing time, which is important to Joiner, seems less accessible in Athens with White’s announcement.

Also don’t count out Provens, a 3-star prospect from Gurley. Yes, he committed to LSU over the weekend, but it came on such surprise notice that I wouldn’t rule anything out here. He originally set an Aug. 11 commit date. In every conversation I’ve had with him, Provens has made his Auburn vs. Tennessee preference at the top quite clear, so LSU was a sudden curveball despite its revved up recruitment lately. With three running back adds in a week, more change seems likely in 2018 for LSU running backs.

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Joiner's Top 4, in order:

Michigan State
Clemson
Auburn
Alabama

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Alabama started the week off slow, but heated up late. The Crimson Tide managed to add to its 2018 class and made it to several player’s lists of top schools. All star ratings and rankings come from the 247Sports composite:

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