Rivals kicked off their July 1 recruiting extravaganza and Summer Signing day with several big names coming off the board. There are still three more days of announcements from blue chip recruits all over the country that will surely impact the rankings for teams around the SEC and country.
What’s next for LSU
LSU is in the mix for two blue chip defensive backs set to announce on Thursday. Four-star safety Davion Jones is down to LSU and South Carolina and four-star DB Greedy James is currently committing to Texas, but could flip to LSU.
Expect the Tigers to bat .500 today and land James but lose Jones. Jones’ teammate, Josh Dobson, committed to South Carolina on Wednesday, and the NIL package they put before him is well above what LSU was willing to offer.
A lot can change in recruiting in literally any minute, but expect LSU to land another good addition today.
New coaches and new money
Coaches that enter into their first season aren’t just given a new set of keys to the facility, they’re given a bankroll to get the program turned around as quickly as possible. A new coach brings new life into a program and with that brings newfound resources.
Curt Cignetti proved last year that even the lowest of programs, historically speaking, can win it all and change the trajectory of an entire university in as little as two years. If Indiana can do it, why not little ol’ Kentucky? Or top 15 all-time programs like Auburn and Florida for that matter?
That makes recruiting against those programs even harder. You don’t have to just worry about the old money programs in the league like Texas A&M, Texas, LSU, etc. that can continuously find more money in their NIL warchest. Now you have to go to the negotiation table against new money programs looking to become Indiana 2.0.
This offseason there were six new hires in the SEC: Ole Miss, LSU, Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn and Florida. Everyone but Arkansas is currently ranked in the top 21 nationally according to Rivals team rankings. Four of those six are currently in the top 14 nationally. Don’t expect that to change. The investment into the program nowadays doesn’t just stop at a new coach, it’s a complete overhaul into the staff and roster that costs tens of millions of dollars.
Five Star Josh Dobson commits to South Carolina
The recruitment of Josh Dobson didn’t necessarily come to an end Wednesday, but the five-star defensive back did put on the South Carolina hat and commit to the Gamecocks. It’s not hyperbolic to say that is one of the biggest wins of Shane Beamer’s career.
Dobson is an elite DB that stands 6-foot-1, 195 pounds. He had offers from everywhere and depending on where you jump into his timeline, he was favored to land anywhere but South Carolina. He was crystal balled to LSU, then to Texas A&M, and finally he landed on South Carolina.
His recruitment is a perfect example of modern recruiting in the NIL era. The market value for his position is really high for a high school player, as the going rate for defensive backs is over $1 million. In Dobson’s case it was well over $1 million.
It’s rare that South Carolina could elbow their way to the final table against programs like LSU and Texas A&M and make a pitch based on development, playing time, and culture along with what ended up being the best financial offer of anyone. Another deep pocket blue blood, Michigan, joined in the game late as well, but ultimately Dobson chose the school that began recruiting him in the eighth grade.
The final ticket price was rumored to be $1.4 million. If you think that sounds ridiculous and way too high for a high school player, you’re not wrong. What’s even crazier is that the No. 1 ranked DB in this class John Meredith got $1.7 million from Texas according to sources.
Welcome to the NIL era. Surely the bubble on spending has to burst at some point.
SEC Team Rankings (as of Thursday July 2)
No. 1 Texas A&M
No. 5 Oklahoma
No. 7 Texas
No. 8 Florida
No. 12 Auburn
No. 13 LSU
No. 14 Ole Miss
No. 16 Georgia
No. 21 Kentucky
No. 26 Missouri
No. 27 South Carolina
No. 28 Vanderbilt
No. 33 Tennessee
No. 35 Alabama
No. 39 Arkansas
No. 43 Mississippi State
