I’ll start this morning with an interesting note on top defensive end recruit Josh Kaindoh. Maryland insiders believed the Terrapins were leading for the five-star from IMG Academy, but his top four released Wednesday night consisted of (no order) Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. No Maryland. This was a bit of a surprise.
Insiders thought Maryland led for 5-star recruit, but he didn’t put Terps in top four
Welcome to The Crootletter (sign up to get this in your inbox every morning!). I’m Bud Elliott, SB Nation’s National Recruiting Analyst, and in this space I’ll be sharing news, rumors and musings on the world of college football recruiting.
Student Sports
I don’t know why Maryland insiders were picking Kaindoh to the Terrapins, but I have a theory: positive feedback from Maryland recruits who are trying to get Kaindoh to College Park. Commitments are always extremely confident that other elite players will join them. It’s a reflection of confirmation bias in attempting to affirm their own choice.
Quickly
As discussed on the College Football Recruiting Podcast, Texas A&M QB commitment Tate Martell is making sure to look around. This is smart considering A&M’s staff might not be around if the Aggies have another average year. But the Aggies are also being smart in offering San Clemente (Calif) QB Jack Sears.
Satellite camp craziness. UCLA AD Dan Guerrero represented the Pac-12, but his vote did not reflect the will of the other ADs. Guerrero’s explanation, if true, makes sense in that he was trying to make the best of a potentially untenable situation. If Guerrero had voted to keep satellite camps it would not have changed the result, as another conference would have had to join him in order to sway things. There does appear to be some chance that the ban on satellite camps will be walked back.
Five-star running back Cam Akers, of Mississippi, had some nice things to say about Ohio State.
NCAA rules allowing for schools to pay for families to accompany recruits on official visits are a great thing for schools that do most of their recruiting out of state and region.
Previously
If you're a recent signup or missed a day, that's okay. I link my previous Crootletters in this section.
Jalen Ramsey and Derrick Henry are two former five-star recruits getting ready for the NFL draft who didn't outgrow their positions. Chris Jones has always been overshadowed by Robert Nkemdiche. Alex Collins had a crazy recruiting story but a great college career.
Will the NCAA's new social media policy be a mess for coaches? Recruits like it.
This timeline shows how tough and complicated quarterback recruiting really is.
Texas recruits and recruiting experts say that they are in a holding pattern, waiting to see what is going to happen with Charlie Strong and Kevin Sumlin.
