Sunday afternoon after the Columbus Elite 11 and NFTC events, I tweeted the following:
Star 2014 quarterback recruit dominos falling: Who’s next after Kyle Allen?
With the commitment of Kyle Allen, and the expected commitment of David Cornwell, many teams will soon move to their second and third quarterback recruit targets. Quarterback is the one position where recruits really are forced to wait.
QB dominoes are about to fall. Once Cornwell and Allen pop, about five schools will move to their No.2, and then about 10 move to their No. 3
— SB Nation Recruiting (@SBNRecruiting) June 2, 2013
As of this week, about 28 recruits are committed to the 64 teams of the BCS conferences (excluding the Big East, which is in its last year of existence). That number should grow to roughly 75 by the end of the year, as almost every BCS team takes a QB, and more will take two than zero.
Let’s take a look at the domino effect.
Kyle Allen committed to Texas A&M
On Monday, the first domino fell, as elite quarterback Kyle Allen selected Texas A&M over Notre Dame, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Ohio State. For those four other suitors, it is safe to assume that Allen was the top choice. Now they must move on to other targets.
Notre Dame
For the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the most obvious option is Brandon Dawkins of Thousand Oaks (Calif.). Notre Dame offered Dawkins early on, and he is still quite high on the Irish.
The Irish are also involved with Deshone Kizer of Toledo (Oh.) Central Catholic, a very talented quarterback who holds non-committable offers from Alabama and LSU, a committable offer from Tennessee, and is also hearing from Ohio State. Do the Irish make Kizer an offer?
Another option is Jacob Park, whom many think will choose Virginia Tech. Park received an Irish offer in May.
UCLA
UCLA may look at Brad Kaaya, a Miami commitment, or Manny Wilkins, who is currently committed to Arizona State. Both seem like strong commitments to their respective schools at the moment.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes are in a very interesting position. Their No. 1 target, Deshaun Watson, is committed to Clemson and seems quite solid at the moment. Allen was supposedly their No. 2.
The No. 3 is likely Brandon Harris, of Bossier City (La.). Harris is also quite high on the hometown LSU Tigers, Alabama, and Auburn Tigers, where he'll soon visit. Harris recently visited Ohio State and enjoyed the trip. Ohio State also likes Zack Darlington, of Apopka (Fla.). He is another dual-threat QB who fits Urban Meyer's scheme.
The Buckeyes are also in contact with Kizer, and it is a bit surprising that they have not yet offered the local product in the wake of Allen’s decision.
But once David Cornwell commits ...
Cornwell is the other quarterback teams are willing to wait on. The 6’5, 230-pound Cornwell has a huge arm and plenty of athleticism. He is thought to be Alabama’s top target. He is also wanted by Tennessee, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and others.
Cornwell is also facing an issue that could unjustly cost him his senior season. Cornwell is unlikely to make a move until his situation is resolved.
If Alabama goes with Cornwell
Tennessee, Auburn and Oklahoma State will need to move further on down their lists.
The Tennessee Volunteers would really like to land one of Cornwell or Kizer, and should be rooting for Harris to go to Ohio State if Bama takes Cornwell, leaving the Volunteers with Kizer.
Oklahoma State was involved with Allen, and is involved with Cornwell. It is also after Mason Rudolph, who also likes LSU and Virginia Tech a lot, and will commit later Wednesday. If things don’t break right for the Cowboys, they could have to move to their fourth choice. As of now, the identify of that QB isn’t certain.
If Cornwell ends up at Tennessee
Things get very interesting. Would Alabama’s offer to Harris or Kizer become committable? Is Alabama even necessarily the leader for Harris, with LSU, Auburn and Ohio State firmly in the mix? We should know the answer to those questions within the next week or so.
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