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Rivals rankings director and national transfer portal analyst Adam Friedman is joined by Caleb Jones of AuburnSports.com, Paul Strelow of TigerIllustrated.com and Jack Knowlton of TideIllustrated.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Five-star QB Julian Lewis will flip to Indiana
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1. Auburn currently has the best defensive back class of the 2025 cycle.
Friedman: FICTION. I really like the group that Auburn has assembled right now but there are two other teams I’d say have better defensive back hauls right now. Ohio State’s combination of five-stars Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord along with top-40 prospect Faheem Delane, Rivals250 safety Cody Haddad and four-star DeShawn Stewart is elite.
I also really like what Miami is doing with a group led by five-star Hylton Stubbs and three other-top 100 prospects in Bryce Fitzgerald, Jamboree Antoine and Chris Ewald Jr. The Hurricanes also hold commitments from four-stars Timothy Merritt and Amari Wallace.
Jones: FICTION. Auburn’s defensive back class is impressive, but it’s hard to be definitive and say it’s the best in the country. Safeties Anquon Fegans and Eric Winters, along with cornerback Blake Woodby, highlight the Tigers’ defensive back class and make it debatable, but I still give Ohio State the edge. With two five-star cornerbacks in Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord, and high four-star safety Faheem Delane, the Buckeyes have the best class right now.
Auburn’s still pushing for the Offord flip, which if it were to happen, gives Auburn enough to claim the best DB class in the country.
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2. Clemson and all the programs in the Carolinas will have trouble keeping five-stars from leaving their borders.
Friedman: FACT. Eight of the last nine five-stars from the Carolinas have signed with either North Carolina, South Carolina or Clemson but that trend could be a thing of the past.
Five-star David Sanders Jr. was considered a shoe-in for Clemson early in his recruitment and the Tigers probably would have gotten his commitment had he come along a few years ago. The changing NIL environment is making it hard for these programs to compete with those with large NIL backing. Clemson’s NIL philosophy hurt in its pursuit of Sanders and he won’t be the last five-star turned off by the Tigers’ approach. South Carolina, North Carolina and NC State seem, at best, inconsistent with their NIL efforts, which doesn’t bode well for their chances of keeping a five-star from heading out-of-state.
Tennessee has Sanders and star 2026 quarterback commit Faizon Brandon is quickly rising up the rankings so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Vols sign back-to-back No. 1 players from North Carolina.
Strelow: FACT. Look, NIL has altered the recruiting food chain. Nebraska has its virtues and all, but Clemson isn’t abruptly replaced by the Cornhuskers in David Sanders’ top five if not foremost for financial considerations. That’s tough to dispute.
Recruiting is a different game now, and it’s harder for everyone to hold homecourt anymore. See Alabama losing traction in its backyard to Auburn and others.
Be it partially by effect, though, Clemson and the two prominent Tarheel State presences – North Carolina and NC State – have to improve their team results to retain more of a foothold within the Carolinas.
Tennessee is demonstrating the purchasing power to win anytime, and one can foresee the Vols reclaiming as much of a presence in North Carolina as they had in Phil Fulmer‘s first go-round.
Georgia wields a ton of cachet, and Ohio State among others will be able to still pick its spots.
NC State has passed the bucket to swoop in and rally with several in-staters the last two classes.
Yet there’s work to be done still in changing their image, while Mack Brown‘s window feels as if it is closing when North Carolina wasn’t able to capitalize on the Drake Maye tenure. Clemson is still getting the big names here and there, but the Tigers are going to have to return to the national championship and playoffs picture if they’re to retain the muscle in North Carolina they flexed the last decade.
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3. Alabama still has the best linebacker class in the 2025 cycle despite the loss of Jaeden Harmon to Tennessee.
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Friedman: FACT. Alabama has assembled an outstanding group of linebackers for this recruiting class and it’s still the best even though it lost Rivals250 linebacker Jaeden Harmon to Tennessee. The Crimson Tide hold commitments from top-100 linebackers Darrell Johnson and Luke Metz. Alabama has fought off a few programs for each of them already. Kalen DeBoer’s staff went into Ohio to land a commitment from Rivals250 linebacker Justin Hill and they went out to California to get Abduall Sanders, a Rivals250 linebacker from powerhouse Mater Dei. Don’t forget about four-star Dawson Merritt from Kansas.
Ohio State has two top-100 linebacker commits and a third commitment from a Rivals250 linebacker while Texas A&M holds three Rivals250 linebacker commitments. At this point, neither of them stack up to what Alabama has assembled so far.
Knowlton: FACT. Despite Harmon’s decommitment, linebacker remains Alabama’s second strongest position group behind offensive line in 2025. Alabama took care of business at the linebacker position early in the spring, landing the pledges of Harmon, Abduall Sanders, Darrell Johnson and Luke Metz. While Harmon is no longer in the class, Metz, Johnson and Sanders are all ranked in the Rivals250 and remain committed to the Crimson Tide. Alabama landed another Rivals250 linebacker in Justin Hill as well as four-star Dawson Merritt this summer, and head into the season with an elite crop of players and a newly opened linebacker spot to recruit.
Should Alabama add to its haul, it would only further solidify the Tide’s status as having the best linebacker group in 2025. Ohio State, Miami and LSU all have strong LB groups, but Alabama’s linebacker class remains the deepest and most versatile when it comes to future impact, even after Harmon’s decommitment.
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