2018 FB Recruit Wishlist - April Update

Unfortunately there are no new commits to report from the last month, but we are in the mix for a lot of great recruits. As a reminder, this is meant to be a realistic list of who we might be able to land based on perceived interest (warm on 247, Crystal Ball leader, in the top group, recent visit, etc.). The list goes name, position, 247 composite ranking, 247 composite score, notes.

Current Commits:
Chamarri Conner.....S..........3......0.8834
DeJuan Ellis................QB......3......0.8770
Quincy Patterson....QB......3......0.8596
Bryce Thompson....ATH....3......0.8577
Nasir Peoples............S..........3......0.8316

Wishlist:
Ronnie Walker..................RB..............4.......0.9040......UVA recruit, 4/1 visit
Mychale Salahuddin.....RB..............3.......0.8738......in his top 3
Dillon Spalding.................WR............4.......0.9047.......6'2", 4/1 visit, CB leader
Armani Chatman............WR.............3.......0.8850......757
James Mitchell................WR/TE.....3.......0.8856......6'4", 4/8 visit, CB leader
Kyle Pitts..............................TE...............3.......0.8704.......6'5", 4/1 visit, CB leader
James Ohonba................OT...............4.......0.9030.....GA
Antwan Reed....................OT...............3.......0.8892......Pimp's HS
Aidan Rafferty..................OT...............3.......0.8639......DC, CB leader
John Harris........................OG..............3.......0.8366......GA, 4/7 visit, CB leader
Chris Collins......................DE...............3.......0.8496......Richmond, VA
Eli Adams............................DE...........UR.............................not yet offered
Alim McNeill..............DE/DT..............4.......0.9104........6'3" 270
Jamarcus Chatman.......DT..............3.......0.8852.......in top 10
Dax Hollifield......................ILB............4.......0.9513.........CB leader
Keshon Artis.......................ILB............3.......0.8857.........757
Payton Wilson.................OLB............4.......0.9550........in top 4, 4/8 visit, commits 5/1
DJ Crossen.........................CB.............3.......0.8789........6'2", 4/12 visit, CB leader
Nate Thompson..............CB.............3.......0.8711...........6'2", Duke in lead as of 3/25
Rayshad Williams............CB.............3.......0.8466.......6'4", in top 2 (Tenn), 4/8 visit
Tre Turner..........................ATH............4.......0.9355........6'4", 4/11 visit, CB leader
Dyami Brown..................ATH.............4......0.9174..........in the lead as of 3/25, CB leader
Trent Pennix....................ATH.............3.......0.8444.......in the lead, 4/1 visit

Others to Watch:
Jamal Elliot...................................RB................4.....0.9167......in top 3 (Ore & Tenn) 4/8 visit
Jalynn Sykes................................RB................3.....0.8563.....in top 4
Malcolm Davidson...................RB............UR..........................in top 3, 4.44 40
Daniel George.............................WR..............4.....0.9306.....PSU lean
Shaquon Anderson-Butts...WR..............4.....0.8926.....PSU lean
Darryle Simmons.......................WR..............3.....0.8819......in top 6, 3/25 visit
Nigel Fitzgerald..........................WR/TE......3.....0.8066....not yet offered, 6'5" 210
Tyree Henry..................................WR/TE...UR.........................6'5" 225, 4/1 visit
Rasheed Walker.........................OT................4.....0.9195.....MD/PSU lean
Jordan McFadden....................OT............UR..........................in top 12
KJ Henry.........................................DE...............5.....0.9866.....in top 10
John Morgan...............................DE................3....0.8527......PSU lean
Rick Sandidge.............................DT................4....0.9648.....USCe lean
Charles Johnson.......................DT................4....0.9064.....not yet offered (grades)
Dante Stills...................................DT................4....0.8916.......WV, in top 6
Cam Goode..................................DT................3....0.8422......DC, 5'11" 322 lbs, 4/1 visit
Jalen Alexander.........................DT................3....0.8127........757
Joe Kane........................................DT............UR..........................4/1, 4/22 visit
Alan Tisdale...............................OLB...............4.....0.9117........leader as of 3/25
Noah Boykin................................CB................3.....0.8704.....DC
Donte Burton..............................CB................3....0.8455.....de-committed from UNC 4/13, 4/1 visit
Telly Plummer.............................CB.................3....0.8066
Tyrese Ross....................................S..................3....0.8416
Raymond Boone.....................ATH............UR

If we ended up landing everyone on the wishlist that would be 28 commits with our composite average score being 0.8831 (compared to 0.8614 last year), likely enough for a top 20 finish.

Lastly, I did a position breakdown based on how recruiting looks at this point:
In a Good Place:
QB and S. We have two QBs committed. Patterson is a mid-3* but is getting a lot of exposure, getting invited to the Elite11 Finals. I wouldn't be surprised to see his recruiting/ranking shoot up over the next year. Don't hear a lot about Ellis, though he is the higher rated of the two. Shorter, but really athletic. I wonder if our QB depth keeps Jackson, Hooker, and Patterson over the next couple years if Ellis would get moved to the slot, he seems to be a playmaker. Safety we have Conner, who I think will end up being really good, and Peoples and possibly Watts.

Good Options, Just need to land some:
RB, WR/TE, LB, CB
I think we're in a great place with WR/TE being in the lead for recruits like Spalding, Turner, Brown, Chatman, Pitts, and Mitchell, and are in the mix for some others. For LB if I had to predict I would say we land Hollifiled and Artis, and would be in a great position if we did. For RB and CB there are a lot of solid options though it's less clear who we may actually land. My "money" is on RB Trent Pinnex and CB DJ Crossen, but we definitely need some more (especially at CB).

Biggest Concern:
DL, OL
I am most concerned about DL. We aren't in the lead for any DEs it seems. Though we got some decent DEs last year I would love to sign at least 1 quality DE. There are more options we are in the mix for at DT, though I don't know if I see us landing a big time DT that we would all love to see. I think we're in a little better shape with OL, I like our chances with Rafferty and Harris, and think they can both become good linemen, but kind of like DT I'm not sure I see us landing a big time 4* OL.

I realize this is probably a ridiculous exercise predicting all of this so far out, but part of the fun will be looking back next February and seeing how far off (or how accurate?) these posts were.