With seven months remaining in the 2017 recruiting cycle there is a lot that can still change at the top. The current recruiting frontrunners have loaded up with early commits as some of the highest-rated prospects on the board have made their early decisions on where they would like to play. That said, a lot could change from now until the end of the recruiting cycle. Since we’re in the dog days of summer, it’s always fun to get a little creative and think about the different scenarios. In this case, we’ve got our non-rose colored glasses and we’re being pretty pessimistic. Here is a look at some possible nightmare scenarios for the top recruiting classes.
Nick Saban Leaves Alabama
Alabama has absolutely dominated on the recruiting trail and on the national stage as a football team over the past few years and there is every reason to believe that will continue. The Crimson Tide is shooting for its sixth recruiting title in a row and there isn’t much that can stop them right now. That said, if there is one thing that could get in their way of landing the best of recruiting classes, it would be head coach Nick Saban deciding to leave town. Saban leaving because of retirement, burnout or for perhaps another job in the NFL would be a nightmare scenario for Alabama and could prevent them from landing the best of the recruiting classes. But that’s about the only thing that would stop them from lassoing the best crop of players.
Ohio State Misses On 5-Star WR’s
Ohio State has an opportunity to challenge Alabama for the top recruiting class in the country and three five-star wide receivers will play a major role in that. The Buckeyes are shooting hard for three of the top-five wide receiver prospects in this year’s class in Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tyjon Lindsey and Trevon Grimes with the latter of that group widely expected to be a lock to join the Buckeyes. Ohio State might need each of those three receivers to challenge the Tide for the best of the recruiting classes in 2017 but they aren’t guaranteed to lock up any one of them. If they miss out on all three, that would be a nightmare scenario for Urban Meyer and company.
Oklahoma’s Hot Streak Ends
The Sooners’ run to a Big 12 title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff has paid off early on in the 2017 cycle with 10 of its 15 commitments four-star players and a few more five and four-star players considering signing with Oklahoma. However, the 2016 season is around the corner and a lot can change in an instant for the Sooners. The nightmare scenario would have Oklahoma getting off to a slow start and failing to play to expectations in the Big 12 this year. Oklahoma State could again be a contender, Texas should be (slightly) better, TCU could be strong and even Baylor should be competitive even though they lost their head coach. If Oklahoma can’t reign atop the Big 12, that could result in a number of top prospects reevaluating whether they want to join the team.
Lack Of Offensive Stars Interested In Michigan
Michigan has already locked in the star of its 2017 recruiting class in five-star pro-style quarterback Dylan McCaffrey but they have to continue to pursue talented prospects that they can surround him with. The Wolverines are pushing hard for both No. 1 wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and top offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson, but they’ll get competition from Ohio State. Those would be key targets to help take their offense to another level. Michigan needs more five-star players on offense to complete what is already shaping up to be a fairly impressive roster for 2016. Coach Jim Harbaugh is pulling out all of the punches to ensure that they get the best players in the country but if they swing and miss on some key guys, that would really sting. M missing out on their top targets – including most importantly McCaffrey – would be a nightmare situation for the Wolverines.
