Midwest Spotlight: Five Early Signing Period predictions
National Signing Day is only days away and so there’s no better time for some predictions. Today, we look at five prognostications in the Midwest Region:
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RELATED: Five East Coast predictions for the Early Signing Period | West Region
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COLEMAN WILL CHOOSE THE HUSKERS OR BUFFALOES
Despite Coleman stating that his recruitment would be wide open following his decommitment from Nebraska, many speculated that the programs in his original top seven would be the main contenders. Would it be Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma or would he eventually circle back to the hometown Huskers?
In the end, it appears that Coleman's recruitment is coming down to two programs: Nebraska and Colorado. The Buffaloes were not in the picture early in Coleman's recruitment but Colorado's hire of Deion Sanders changed that. When Coach Prime comes calling, you listen, and that is exactly what Coleman has done. Following back-to-back weekend visits to Nebraska and Colorado, this recruitment now appears to be a two-team race.
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MICHIGAN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UP THE TEAM RANKINGS
I've gone on record multiple times saying that Michigan's slow start on the recruiting trail was nothing to be alarmed about and the Wolverines' chances of landing a special class were pretty good. Needless to say, the Wolverines have been rolling up the recruiting rankings as of late.
Late November and early December have been especially notable on the recruiting front for Michigan as just under one-third of its class has committed since Nov. 18. Two of these late additions were previously committed to other teams in four-stars Roderick Pierce and Cameron Calhoun, who both have elite potential.
This likely isn't the end for Michigan either as it could be receiving more good news this week, with five-star athlete Nyckoles Harbour representing the most notable potential addition.
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WISCONSIN WILL SALVAGE ITS CLASS WITH A STRONG FINISH
Wisconsin's recruiting class experienced plenty of turmoil this recruiting cycle due to the dismissal of Paul Chryst early in the season. Jim Leonhard took over as interim head coach and while the Badgers didn't add a ton of new commitments during that tenure, Leonhard and staff managed to keep the majority of the class intact.
Then the news of Wisconsin passing on Leonhard in favor of Luke Fickell as the program's new head coach was announced and some of the Badgers' biggest recruits started defecting. There was some early criticism about what the 2023 class would look like, especially after Chris Terek immediately flipped to Notre Dame, but in just a few short weeks Fickell and his staff have more than proved their chops on the recruiting trail.
In the past week alone, Wisconsin has received four commitments from some really impressive players highlighted by former Cincinnati commits Braedyn Moore and Jonas Duclona. This is only the beginning and don't be surprised if Wisconsin pulls off some more magic this week.
The caliber of recruit Fickell brought to Cincinnati is nothing short of amazing and now that he has the resources of a major Big Ten program behind him, the results will be even better. Add in the fact that Fickell will make recruiting more of a priority than the previous regime and you begin to get the sense that the sky's the limit when it comes to Wisconsin recruiting.
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FLIPS ARE COMING
This already seems to be the year of the flip, but what we have seen thus far may only be a slight taste of what is to come this week. The two big ones to watch in the Midwest are two of the region's highest profile recruits in Dante Moore and Kadyn Proctor.
Moore is a long-time Oregon commit and by all accounts was extremely solid with his pledge up until the last week or so. When former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham left to become Arizona State's next head coach, many speculated that it would lead to Moore reevaluating his commitment. UCLA became a major player in the five-star quarterback's recruitment in the last week and, following a recent visit to Los Angeles, I fully expect Moore to flip to the Bruins this week.
While Moore's landing spot has been speculated ad nausem, Proctor's commitment to Iowa never seemed to be in question. That was until Oregon came after the five-star offensive tackle a second time and had him out for a recent visit. Proctor's once solid commitment to the Hawkeyes could now be up in the air and, while I am not certain that he will actually flip, a recent visit to Alabama gives me the sense that Proctor is still shopping around and could be up for grabs this Wednesday.
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MICKENS WILL SIGN DURING THE EARLY PERIOD
When Joshua Mickens decommitted from LSU in November following a visit to Ohio State, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that he would soon join the Buckeyes' 2023 class. While Mickens still seems to be leaning toward Ohio State, I wonder if he hasn't announced his decision publicly because he wants to make a splash on National Signing Day or perhaps he is going to take his time and make his decision at his own pace.
While I fully expect Mickens to announce and sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, the lack of clarity when it comes to his short-term plans at least leaves the door open for a recruitment that extends into 2023.