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Notes: Predicting the Five-Stars

With the 2011 college football season past the midway point, recruiting is starting to heat up again, so it’s time to really dive into it. So with that, here’s one man’s take on where uncommitted five-star prospects will end up.

Kyle Murphy at San Clemente

Five-star offensive tackle Kyle Murphy could end up at Stanford, along with several other elite offensive linemen in the 2012 class.

Arik Armstead: Cal
Dorial Green-Beckham: Arkansas
Eddie Goldman: Florida State
Andrus Peat: Nebraska
Landon Collins: LSU
Kyle Murphy: Stanford
Keith Marshall: Georgia
Stefon Diggs: Florida
Shaq Thompson: Cal
Gunner Kiel: Notre Dame
Noah Spence: Penn State
Yuri Wright: Georgia
Devin Fuller: Rutgers
Darius Hamilton: Rutgers

One team that I’ve heard mentioned more for Peat lately is Stanford. That begs the question- is it possible that the Cardinal ends up with Peat, Murphy and possibly four-star Josh Garnett? I still think in the end, the Cornhuskers land Peat, but given the strength of Stanford’s offensive line this season, it’s not a surprise that the nation’s best offensive line prospects are eyeing that program.

Wright is a mystery man, but I continue to hear that Georgia feels good about its chances if they can get him on campus for a visit. This means the Bulldogs could end up with the nation’s No. 1 running back (Marshall) and No. 1 cornerback (Wright), along with the nation’s No. 4 offensive tackle (John Theus)- all from out-of-state. Certain programs (like Alabama, mentioned below) have been giving the Bulldogs fits at times (last recruiting cycle, UGA closed extremely strong) within the Peach State, but it looks like out-of-state recruiting is humming right along.

Quick Hitters

-Alabama appears set to land the state of Georgia’s top prospect in 2012, defensive end Jordan Jenkins (Hamilton, Ga./Harris County). The top prospect in the Peach State for 2013, defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) is an early lean to Bama and could be the top prospect in the country for the next cycle. If that isn’t enough, Alabama has Class of 2013 five-star linebacker Reuben Foster (LaGrange, Ga./Troup) already in the fold and in any other cycle, Foster would easily be the top prospect in Georgia and a contender for No. 1 overall.

-Four-star linebacker Quanzell Lambert (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek) has made official visits to Iowa and Northwestern and has rounded out his visit schedule. This weekend, he’s scheduled to visit Nebraska officially. He also is set to go to Alabama on the weekend of Dec. 9 and will set up a visit with Oklahoma. Among those five teams, watch out for the Wildcats, Tide and Hawkeyes, but realistically any of the five could end up with the four-star linebacker, who piled up 112 tackles in an All-South Jersey year as a junior and who is up to 242 pounds with no loss of athleticism this season. Lambert would be a great fit at any of the school’s on his list. He’s the nation’s No. 5 inside linebacker according to 247Sports and is the No. 152 overall prospect in the country.

-We keep hearing great things about Class of 2013 four-star safety Antonio Conner (Batesville, Miss./South Panola). He recently was given an overall grade of 96 by 247Sports and has an impressive early offer list of Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia. There will be plenty more to come. He has 159 tackles and seven interceptions combined the last two seasons. Conner has said he wants to play out-of-state and the Tide and Tigers are certainly two early teams to watch given both program’s history recruiting the Magnolia State.

-Athlete Jordan Lucas (Worcester, Mass./Academy) is a player to watch from New England. The 6-foot, 176-pounder is getting attention from Connecticut, Virginia, Rutgers and a number of other programs. Provided his academics work out, he will be playing defensive back (most likely) at an FBS program. We hear that the Huskies are the team that is most likely to end up with him when all is said and done or the Scarlet Knights, if they offer.

-Class of 2014 quarterback prospect John Wolford (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) has jumped on the radar early. He had an outstanding season (1,751 passing yards and nine touchdowns, 669 rushing yards and eight touchdowns) as a freshman and was an All-First Coast selection. Wolford visited Florida for the Alabama game on Oct. 1 and will visit South Carolina for the Gamecocks’ home game with the Gators on Nov. 12. Louisville and Arkansas also have invited him for games.

JC Shurburtt is a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports

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