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Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman, Richie Schnyerdite of NittanyNation.com, Scott Greene of TerrapinSportsReport.com and Mark Passwaters of AggieYell.com tackle three topics and determine where they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
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1. Northwestern commit Mason Robinson will flip to Penn State.Â
Friedman’s take: FACT. Robinson was always a big target for Penn State and it was a bit of a surprise when Northwestern landed his commitment earlier in this recruiting cycle. Now that he’s making his return trip to Happy Valley for an official visit this coming weekend, the writing is on the wall for Robinson to make the final call for the Nittany Lions. His high school is viewed as somewhat of a pipeline for Penn State. Curtis Jacobs, D’von Ellies, PJ Mustipher and Dani Dennis-Sutton all went to McDonough, and it appears Robinson could follow their lead.
Schnyderite’s take: FACT. Robinson was a longtime Nittany Lion lean and it seemed like everything was set for him to end up with Penn State, but a late push from Northwestern, along with a great sell of its academics, helped the Wildcats lock him up pretty early.
However, Northwestern had a pretty awful year as most ranked the Wildcats at the bottom of the Big Ten, making the appeal of the program wear off a bit. Penn State never stopped recruiting Robinson and we've seen James Franklin pull some late recruiting magic with the previous classes. I think he has a chance to do it here once again as he can sell the fact that Penn State won 10 games once again under his watch. Look for Robinson to flip pretty quickly after his official visit this upcoming weekend.
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2. Maryland is the team to beat for five-star Nyckoles Harbor. Â
Friedman’s take: FICTION. I’m not quite ready to call the Terps the favorite for Harbor, but they’re certainly gaining momentum. This past weekend‘s unofficial visit to the nearby College Park campus and attendance at the Maryland basketball game could not have gone better. He has an official visit to Maryland coming up this weekend and it appears Mike Locksley and company are poised to take the lead if all goes well. South Carolina is still right there at the top, and Michigan isn’t backing down, either, but Harbor has some decisions to make. He still has a lot of time to decide, though, because he won’t be signing until February.
Greene’s take: FACT. The Terps hosted Harbor at their most recent home basketball game last week and rolled out the red carpet. He was introduced to celebrity alumni and had students chanting his name. He also got to take in an electric atmosphere and a Terps win. He will now take his official visit to Maryland this weekend and really get to sit down with the staff and learn more about how he specifically would fit at the school and into the program. Maryland also had two tight ends enter the transfer portal this week, so playing time should be readily available next season.
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3. Rivals100 OL Chase Bisontis will sign with Texas A&M. Â
Friedman’s Take: FACT. This is a really tough call to make because Bisontis’ decision has a lot to do with whether or not Texas A&M retains assistant coach Steve Addazio. Bisontis has a very strong relationship with Addazio that goes back years. Addazio was the driving force behind landing Bisontis' commitment the first time around, but a lot of coaching changes are expected in College Station. If Addazio survives these moves it’s likely Bisontis ends up signing with the Aggies. But if that doesn’t happen look out for Georgia and possibly even Colorado, which offered him earlier this week.
Passwaters' take: FACT. It’s not a certainty, since the status of Addazio is very much up in the air. But Bisontis has been committed for quite a while and will visit Texas A&M one more time before the Early Signing Period, which could be enough to lock him down.
