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Chat Reel: Allen Wallace

SuperPrep's Wallace says Wolverines may lead nation

CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's college football recruiting chat with SuperPrep's Allen Wallace. Welcome, Allen. Thanks for joining us.
Allen Wallace: Thanks for having me and happy holidays.

From Brad Brauser in Oklahoma City: So far, what school seems to be leading the pack?
Allen Wallace: Right now, we would probably pick between four schools. They would be Michigan, Florida State, Texas and UCLA. You can really make a good case for any one of those programs right now, especially Michigan.

From a guest: Can Washington land Reggie Williams and Dominic Robinson?
Allen Wallace: Dominic Robinson has favored Florida State since late spring. The Seminoles have a large lead over Washington, Tennessee, Oregon and Georgia Tech. If he chooses the Huskies, that will be an upset. As far as Reggie goes, the Huskies hold a solid lead over Michigan, UCLA and Notre Dame. And I predict Reggie will ultimately sign with Washington, because they need a terrific wide receiver with great speed, and he's perfect for them.

From Jordan in Atlanta: With UGA looking for a new coach, who could come into that situation and really make huge strides in the recruiting area? Mark Richt? Ray Sherman? Jeff Bower? Thanks and keep up that great work!
Allen Wallace: I can't really predict who will be the next coach at Georgia, but whoever he is, will enjoy an immediate honeymoon period with Georgia fans, as well as recruits who are serious about the Dawgs. So I would anticipate an immediate upswing in the recruiting posture of Georgia as soon as they name any coach, and all of the candidates you mentioned would be good replacements, in my opinion.

From e95hokie: If Virginia Tech lands Bryan Randall or Michael Robinson, along with Kevin Jones, will that give the Hokies a top 10 class?
Allen Wallace: Right now, we have Virginia Tech ranked No. 12. They have an excellent chance of landing within the top 10. When we last spoke with Kevin Jones, Tennessee held a slight lead. Mike Robinson favors the Hokies over Penn State, so they're looking good there. And once again, the Vols enter the picture for Bryan Randall, who told us that Tennessee was tied with Virginia Tech. But since both Robinson and Randall are quarterbacks, it'd be tough to bet on the Hokies signing both of those guys. If they do, I think you've got your top 10 ranking.

From a guest: How will Pete Carroll do at USC? Is he losing any recruits right now?
Allen Wallace: Pete Carroll hasn't lost any recruits, although he has enjoyed an enormous amount of undeserved negative publicity. Basically, he comes to the Trojans as an unknown quantity to most SC followers. But because SC is so starved for a good team, it seems their fans wanted a sure bet in terms of proven college success. And although Carroll doesn't have that type of record, he seems to have the background, and certainly the enthusiasm, to turn the program around. I think people will be skeptical of this hire until they see any actual results on the field next season, primarily because Paul Hackett pretty much poisoned the well for how USC fans feel about pro coaches. But that's unfair to Carroll, who could turn out to surprise a lot of people. Then again, if he turns out to be another Hackett, you'll hear a whole lot of "I told you so's."

From Jason in Denver, Colo.: Reports are out today that OL Blake Larsen just committed to Iowa. How does this affect Iowa's class and future?
Allen Wallace: We're trying to confirm that commitment right now. It would surprise us because just recently, Blake Larsen's top six choices were Notre Dame, Nebraska, Miami, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Tennessee. But remember Blake was at one time committed to Iowa, before de-committing. That was in the middle of the football season. So perhaps he's had another complete change of heart.

From a guest: Where do you think Kellen Winslow Jr. will wind up?
Allen Wallace: Kellen favors UCLA, Miami, Texas and USC. UCLA held a solid lead when we last spoke with him, but he had not set any official trips at that time. And he told us he didn't expect to make a decision until signing day. Now that USC has changed coaches, it will be interesting to see how that affects races like this one, where both USC and UCLA are involved.

From Ayan Bose in New Brunswick, N.J.: Hi Allen, my question concerns new coaches. Does a change in coaches have major ramifications in an athlete's commitment? Specifically, is a change helping Rutgers in getting players from New Jersey? (Believe me, I am under no illusions about winning anything soon.)
Allen Wallace: It appears that the Rutgers coaching switch has had an immediate effect on Rutgers recruiting. They had a very successful weekend, and as you probably already know, they took the commitment of fullback Ricky Cook, who de-committed from Virginia when George Welsh left. There's no question that Schiano is making a concerted effort to educate New Jersey youngsters about the possibility of completely reversing the fortunes of the Scarlet Knights if they can just start keeping some of the great home-grown talent within state borders. But this has certainly had an immediate spike on the recruiting fortunes of Rutgers. Good luck to you guys.

From Puff: What kind of shot do you give Miami at landing Kevin Simon?
Allen Wallace: Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami and Tennessee and UCLA were in the lead for Simon when we last spoke to him, but I haven't talked to him since his visit to Miami. When we last talked, Kevin told us all those schools were dead even.

From b4lsu: What do you think LSU's chances are of landing Ben Wilkerson (OL from Texas), Michael Clayton (from La.) and Marcus Spears (from La.) now?
Allen Wallace: Michael Clayton says LSU has just a slight lead over Florida State. That decision could occur at any time. I expect it soon. Spears says LSU, which is only 15 minutes from his house and where his sister, Deidra, attends, holds a slight lead over Miami, Georgia Tech, Texas and FSU. LSU has a great shot at Marcus Spears, too. And they also have a reasonable opportunity to sign Wilkerson, who is also very serious about Purdue, Tennessee and Texas A&M. It's going to be a real dogfight between those three and the Tigers. And Ben told us he expects to decide around Christmas. He's already visited all his favorites. The Tigers are shaping up to be a very good-looking group.

From Puff: Where do you see Tommie Harris going? How about Orien Harris?
Allen Wallace: Orien says that Miami and Florida State have a slight lead over Florida, UCLA, Ohio State and Tennessee. He went out of his way to indicate he would not be making any decision until after all his official visits, and he expects to decide near signing day. I didn't get the impression he was ready to announce anything soon. Tommie Harris is looking seriously at Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Florida State, Miami and Texas.

From Dave Camillo in Lafayette, Ind.: How does Kansas State's failure to win a Big XII title affect its recruiting? Despite having one of the best programs of the 90s, they haven't been able to win the "big one."
Allen Wallace: I don't think it affects their recruiting badly, because the key to the success of that program is very clearly Bill Snyder, and it doesn't appear he's going anywhere. Kansas State knows if it wants to win a national title, it has to schedule some tougher out of conference games, which they are trying to do, and most of the kids they are recruiting feel Kansas State CAN win that championship. And it's the capability that counts.

From Harvdog: How do you think Texas will finish up? Quan Cosby, Derrick Johnson?
Allen Wallace: Texas could end up No. 1. They'd have to fall all over themselves not to get at least a top five class, but that's not really possible considering Texas is relying almost entirely on in-state talent. These kids show no inclination to shy away from becoming a Longhorn. Derrick Johnson solidly favored Texas, which was also his parents' favorite, and is only about one and a half hours from his house, when we last spoke with him. This is over Texas A&M, FSU, Arkansas and Oklahoma. And Texas and A&M have been the two leaders on every occasion when we've spoken with Derrick, who still needs to qualify on his test. But I'd say Texas looks like the team to beat on him.

From Puff: Does Miami have a chance to pull an upset and get Joe Mauer?
Allen Wallace: Joe is also a great baseball player, and he favors Minnesota slightly over Florida State, Arizona and Miami. He's supposed to officially visit the Canes on Jan. 19, and unless he changed his plans, we believed he was going to be on the Minnesota campus this past weekend. I think Minnesota's going to win this battle, It's only 15 minutes away from his house. And although every school has indicated he can also play baseball, Minnesota has also gone so far as to offer him a scholarship for baseball.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with SuperPrep's Allen Wallace. Thanks again for your time and insights, Allen. We enjoyed it.
Allen Wallace: Thank you guys. I really appreciate being with you.

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