1. All eyes will be on Bronx (N.Y.) Our Saviour Lutheran senior point guard Ty-Laur Johnson at lunch time Saturday.
Johnson has come up with a unique way of announcing his college choice among NC State, Memphis and Seton Hall, by copying a gender reveal. The details will get worked out by maybe it could be as simple as him dunking something and having it explode into red or blue or white. Both Memphis and Seton Hall have similar colors.
Johnson is a low-key personality but he teamed up with the company Daps on Friday, which apparently will allow NC State, Memphis and Seton Hall fans to do a video call with him or receive a written response. That’s a first among NC State recruiting targets, but the same company just promoted another New York product this month — North Carolina guard R.J. Davis.
What also has made the Johnson recruitment unique is that by the end of this week, all three colleges involved feel good. Now that wasn’t always the case. NC State had a major lead after Johnson officially visited Oct. 7-9, but then Memphis moved fast, and they had the absolute easiest way to do that. The Tigers had hired New York Rens coach Andy Borman as an assistant coach in early Sept., and Johnson played for that Nike-based traveling squad. Our Saviour Lutheran also is tied to Nike.
Johnson didn’t quickly commit to Memphis after his official visit there in mid-October, and then the intrigue started. The feeling is that Johnson was set on Memphis and told people that behind the scenes, but maybe it has now faded.
Recruits and adults are enamored with Memphis coach Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, a hoops legend, who probably won’t make the Basketball Hall of Fame due to injuries. The Tigers also have five players in the class of 2023, including guard Mikey Williams. Johnson said all the right things about possibly playing with Williams, but some behind the scenes wonder about that.
Seton Hall has the advantage of being close to home and recruits really like first-year Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway, a former McDonald’s All-American point guard.
Big picture, the need to get a portal point guard will probably still be there if Johnson picks NC State. He’d be a good backup as a freshman, competing with current freshman L.J. Thomas for the role. That would allow sophomore Breon Pass to play off the ball, which is better for his skillset.
More importantly, Johnson would show critics that even with everything surrounding the NC State program, it can still go out and land two top 100 recruits.
2. The signing of senior forward Dennis Parker on Friday was a good symbolic move.
The Richmond (Va.) John Marshall had been steadfast about waiting until the April signing period since last April. What are the difference between November and April?
In 2022, not as much as it used to be because schools pretty much universally release any signed prep players if they ask, especially so if there is a coaching transition. In this case, it would be coaching suicide to upset the Team Loaded family. Playing hard ball with the adidas-sponsored traveling team that has sent NC State players for a decade isn’t an option.
Therefore, the signing is a good public relations move. NC State was a little shocked at first when Parker balked at signing, but tried to convince him the last few weeks, and it clearly worked. Assistant coach Levi Watkins was the point man on Parker down the stretch, and he did the same thing as a prep player and NCSU coach Herb Sendek on the hot seat. He committed early and signed late.
The reason why it was important for Parker to sign with coach Kevin Keatts is that it doesn’t show any weakness in recruiting. It raises eyebrows when a top 100 player doesn’t sign, and it means other schools could test that relationship in the next five months. Does tampering happen all the time? No question, but now it won’t play out like a public recruitment and NC State doesn’t need that kind of negative mojo.
3. I ventured out to Burlington (N.C.) Cummings for basically two reasons — junior wide receiver Jonathan Paylor usually puts on a show, and there was something new to talk to him about.
The latter is because Paylor has probably unofficially visited NC State 10-15 times, so he’s probably heard every question about the Wolfpack program for the last year. What is new? Freshman quarterback MJ Morris. I have long said that the North Carolina prep receivers know senior commit Lex Thomas of Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage High, but not Morris of Carrollton (Ga.) High. That has changed with his emergence. Time is running out on the class of 2023, but Morris emergence is ideal to make an impact on the class fo 2024 wide receivers. It’s the one position that absolutely wants to know who will throw them the ball. A month ago, they wouldn’t have known, and now they do at NC State.
Then you look at the schools that Paylor has unofficially visited this fall, some have quarterbacks of the future, and some have question marks.
Clemson will turn the offense over Cade Klubnik in 2024 if everything goes to plan. The Tigers also have a commitment from four-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina in the class of 2023.
Long-shot Maryland has landed Rivals.com three-star prospect Robert Long in the class of 2023, and current redshirt freshman Billy Edwards Jr. is the backup this season.
North Carolina is in a unique situation. Paylor will sign in mid-December 2023, and current redshirt freshman Drake Maye could wait until mid-January to declare his NFL plans. Maye will enter next year as one of the faces of college football and the conjecture on his NFL Draft decision will be steady all season. Freshman Conner Harrell or a transfer would be the likely option in 2024 if Maye goes pro early. UNC has a commitment from Tad Hudson in the class of 2023, but he won’t be ready to play early.
South Carolina has a pair of redshirt juniors at 1-2 this season at quarterback. Current freshmen Braden Davis and Tanner Bailey could battle out this spring and summer to be the Gamecocks quarterback of the future. Class of 2024 quarterback Dante Reno from Connecticut, who recently just played NCSU senior commit Charlie Symonds, has also committed.
Tennessee landed the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2023 with quarterback Nico Iamaleavea, and that will be a powerful recruiting tool [see Raleigh Millbrook senior wide receiver Nathan Leacock]. Freshman Tayven Jackson is third string on the depth chart, and odds are good that Tennessee could be in the transfer market this spring, unless Iamaleavea or Jackson are just that good.
Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame or Georgia could all end up on his final list of colleges, but he elected to not to unofficially visit them this fall.
