Hey! How’s it going? Good, great, grand, wonderful?
No yelling on the bus, please. Football Thoughts are #back!
This is the first week of the Blue Chip Scouting rebrand. As our revamped scouting department churns out reports every hour, I’ll have the pleasure of providing content for you all: the masses. There will be a lot of debates, discussions, and discourse on many different topics throughout the NFL and college football landscape this summer and I can’t wait to provide you all with my own thoughts on whatever is being discussed around the football landscape.
After a couple of weeks off from writing, I’m looking forward to getting back into the groove this week. I am also looking forward to beginning a brand-new podcast, The Feinal Roar: A Carolina Panthers podcast, this summer (hopefully towards the middle or end of June)!
There is plenty to discuss when it comes to the college football offseason, especially when the G.O.A.T. and his former apprentice buttheads about NIL, and the country’s Biletnikoff Award winner transfers to USC.
So, let’s dive in…shall we?
Nick Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher: fighting words and Name, Image, and Likeness
Last Wednesday night seemed like it was going to be a very peaceful one…until the great Nick Saban had some words to say about Texas A&M while at an event in Birmingham, Alabama during the 2022 World Games.
“We were second in recruiting last year. A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team. Made a deal for name, image, and likeness. We didn’t buy one player. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it.”
Oh, he just said that? Ah, ok. This should be interesting!
Well, it got a lot more interesting. The next morning, Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher called for a press conference at 11 AM ET. I’ll let you all read some of the quotes from this presser.
“It’s despicable that a reputable head coach can come out and say this when he doesn’t get his way or things don’t go his way. The narcissist in him doesn’t allow these things to happen and it’s ridiculous when he’s not on top.”
**insert eyeballs emoji**
“Some people think they’re God. Go dig into how God did his deal, you may find out about a lot of things that you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the czar of college football. Go dig into his past.”
“We’re done.”
Um…holy $@#%! That just happened. Folks, things are getting spicy in the SEC.
Alright, let’s cut to the chase and dig into this. This year, Texas A&M finished as the top recruiting class for 2022. They added eight five-star players and nineteen four-star players, making Texas A&M’s 2022 recruiting class the best in history. Yeah, it was really good! And that might have made Nick Saban a little bit jealous. Maybe a little too jealous to the point where you are claiming the Aggies and ole’ Jimbo are paying these high school recruits using NIL.
In 2021, the NCAA (reluctantly) agreed to allow all college athletes the ability to earn makings off any sort of sponsorship and, or, endorsement deals through name, image, and likeness. However, there is currently concern from programs across the country that NIL might use as an advantage to lure in top recruits to their program, which is now beginning a call for some regulation of the NCAA’s NIL policy.
So, what do we make of all of this? There is bad blood between not only both coaches in this ordeal but the programs as well. Saban did apologize late Thursday afternoon saying, “I should have never singled anyone out. That was a mistake. I apologize for that.” Even with the apology, it doesn’t sound like Fisher wants to patch things up.
Here’s the thing: maybe, or maybe not, both Alabama and Texas A&M are using NIL to their advantage by luring in 17 or 18-year-olds with a hefty amount of money from NIL deals. Can this be proven? Probably not, unless it’s a Nevin Shapiro ordeal. There will always be assumptions and accusations of “pay for play” especially in the new age of college football that we are in. Does all of this make Nick Saban a hypocrite? Is Jimbo Fisher right about what he said? Again, we have no idea whether or not these accusations/claims are even true to say Saban or Fisher is right.
Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach of all time and he wins– a lot! Of course, you’re going to be getting highly rated four and five-star recruits year in and year out. You’re going to have top two or three recruiting classes year in and out as well. Saban should be impressed with the job Fisher has done with the recruiting class this year.
For Jimbo Fisher, he’s been slowly growing the program. They’ve had struggles with consistency over the first few years of Fisher’s tenure. Beating Alabama at home last year definitely helps put your program in the right direction. Finishing 8-5 every year…not so much. However, being in the same SEC division as Alabama, an up-and-coming Arkansas, Ole Miss, and a Brian Kelly-led LSU, is tough sledding. Having the best recruiting class of all time should help things, though. Just look at what Georgia was able to do once their younger 4 and 5-stars gained experience and more playing time– they won the National Championship.
Will NIL impact A&M and Alabama for the good or bad? We’ll have to wait and see. For now, we shall enjoy the chaos and the new rivalry that has brewed in the SEC. October 8th can’t come fast enough!
Jordan Addison transfers to USC, but are the Trojans even “that team”?
If you asked me back in January if I saw the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner being on a Pac-12 program in late May, it would not have been on my bingo card at all.
Well, it happened. Pittsburgh wide receiver Jordan Addison is transferring to USC to join new head coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams. It is a move that shakes up college football from the ACC to the Pac-12.
Jordan Addison is arguably the best receiver in college football, catching 100 passes, for over 1500 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2021 with first-round pick Kenny Pickett throwing him the rock while helping the Pittsburgh Panthers to an ACC Championship title. Addison is also one of the best potential wide receiver prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft next April, should he declare.
Addison will be joining what could be one of the most explosive offenses in college football this season with Williams under center and Mario Williams at USC. Lincoln Riley is a phenomenal offensive mastermind that has the opportunity to turn USC into a championship contender in a very short time.
While there is a lot of hype surrounding USC at the moment, it’s time to take a step back here. USC, despite adding one of the best quarterbacks in college football and ripping the best offensive head coach in the sport away from Norman, Oklahoma, is still a ways away from being a true contender for a National Championship.
Riley has to figure out how to handle the offensive line and the defense this season. Could he get some help from the transfer portal? It’s possible, but highly unlikely at this point in the offseason with summer training well underway and the preseason fast approaching.
There’s no doubt in my mind Jordan Addison will be very impactful for the Trojans this season. But, he’s not going to single-handedly make them the favorites to win it all. Outside of the offensive skill positions, there’s not a lot to rave about with USC other than the shiny new coach, quarterback, and wide receivers.
I expect USC to be somewhat respectable this season. There’s always a chance their offense could end up being so good that they’ll win plenty of games in shootouts or just by outsourcing teams by 20+ points due to their offensive firepower. I expect a higher bowl game for the Trojans, at best. Maybe they can win enough games to get into the Pac-12 championship and go for an NY6 bowl. However, I have too many concerns in the trenches and on defense to be comfortable with this team being anywhere close to earning the honors of being a Top 25 team, in my opinion.
Two Closing Football Thoughts
Here are a couple of quick football thoughts I have on summer scouting and the QB battle in Death Valley (SC).
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I’m very interested in the quarterback battle in Clemson, South Carolina. True freshman Cade Klubnik and rising junior D.J. Uiagalelei will be battling out for the starting job. The battle could last well into the season depending on who has the hotter hand. Despite all of this, head coach Dabo Swinney has been adamant about Uiagalelei being the starter no matter what. 2020 showed a lot of promise and potential for the former 5-star QB from southern California when he played in place of Trevor Lawrence when he was out due to COVID-19. Last season, he looked like a completely different player that showed great inconsistency with his mechanics and decision-making throughout the season. The spring game didn’t ease those concerns one bit. Klubnik has a wonderful opportunity in front of him to be the Week 1 starter. But, should Uiagalelei turn things around this preseason, it could be an uphill battle.
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I am currently only 3 prospects into summer scouting. I have watched Alabama EDGE Will Anderson, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud, and Clemson LB Trenton Simpson. I can say with confidence that these are three very good football players. Anderson has the skill set and upside in his pass rush repertoire to be a Chase Young/Myles Garrett/Nick Bosa-type of talent in this next draft cycle. C.J. Stroud made incredible strides throughout the season from Week 1 to the Rose Bowl and with another great year could be the easy favorite for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft. I love how he uses his eyes to manipulate defense and he already has the accuracy and arm talent to be a deadly QB at the next level. Trenton Simpson is an athletic freak who played in that Isaiah Simmons-like role on Clemson’s defense due to him playing multiple alignments and positions on the second and third levels. Simpson is expected to be the starting WILL linebacker and should be a favorite to be one of the best linebackers in the 2023 NFL Draft.