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Chat Reel: Allen Wallace

College Recruiting expert Allen Wallace of SuperPrep magazine joined CNNSI.com for a chat about college football recruiting on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

A transcription follows.

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

From Shawn Ruffin in Bloomington, Ind.: I read where Notre Dame got a verbal commitment from Marcus Wilson of Poly Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y., who is coached by former Kansas City Chief player Dino Manigiero. Do you know anything about him? It seems that he has put up some awesome numbers. Any insight? Thanks.
Allen Wallace: Marcus rushed for 1,712 yards, scored 25 touchdowns this season. He was also in on 60 tackles and had four interceptions. We ranked him as the 10th best player in New York, and he chose the Irish over Penn State, Northwestern and Michigan State.

From dawgforlife: Will Georgia land the big dogs: Jabari Davis, Ahmad "Batman" Carroll and Aires "Air" Currie?
Allen Wallace: We just spoke with Jabari today. He favors Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, and gives Tennessee a solid lead at this time. He's visiting Alabama this weekend. The Vols were his childhood favorite, however he does like Coach Richt and respects his national championship experience at Florida State. Ahmad Carroll favored Florida State heavily the last time we spoke with him. Airese Curry favored Clemson solidly Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee and Michigan State. Clemson has enjoyed anywhere from a slight to a significant advantage in every conversation we've had with him since September. So it would be an upset for the Dogs to catch him at this point, especially since Airese is from South Carolina.

From Ricky Anderson in Seattle, Wash.: With the commit of Reggie Williams to Washington, will that affect the decision of Dominic Robinson?
Allen Wallace: I doubt it. Generally speaking, it's a rare instance when one recruit's decision honestly affects another recruit. Sometimes these youngsters talk as if they're more affected by what other recruits do than they really are. I think Washington has an excellent chance at Dominic, but they'll have to beat Florida State, And Dominic never indicated to us that he would be affected by Reggie's decision, or any other recruit's decision.

From NUFootballJunkie in Chicago, Ill.: Hey Allen, Any news on where Maurice Hall may be headed? Thanks for the update...
Allen Wallace: We just recently spoke with Maurice, and he surprised us by saying that Florida State had a small lead over Ohio State and Georgia Tech. He hadn't really visited with new coach Jim Tressel yet. And we had this conversation with Maurice before he visited Penn State last weekend. So Tressel's impression on Maurice would undoubtedly affect what he told us before he met Jim. I think Ohio State has an excellent chance at Maurice, even though he's very comfortable with the Florida State coaches and very much admires Bobby Bowden.

From bayoubill: What is the latest on Joe Mauer?
Allen Wallace: Nothing has changed with Joe. He still likes Minnesota, which is only 10 minutes away from home, Arizona, Miami, where he visited last weekend, and Florida State. We've always felt Minnesota had the inside track here, but Joe denies that any school leads wherever he goes. He's looking to play baseball as well,. We've always felt Minnesota was in the best position, especially since Glen Mason is staying.

From LSUTigerbait in Ruston, La.: It looks like LSU is on its way to a top 5 class in recruiting this year. What separates a top five class from the rest of the field?
Allen Wallace: Nothing really separates these top 5 schools from the others, except a gut feeling that they satisfied their needs better, or a certain amount of athletes have star potential that make that class stand out. Any top ranked school, and by that I mean the top 10 to 15 is usually loaded with talent. So what you're looking for is outstanding quarterbacks in the group, or extremely high profile players such as Marcus Spears, or Ben Wilkerson. Those elite athletes are the ones that generally push a class into the top five category.

From Greg Stamatiou in Snohomish, Wash.: Is Charles Federick going to stay with his verbal commitment to Washington or is he going to go to Tennessee?
Allen Wallace: Charles still has to qualify. And since his commitment to Washington, Reggie Williams has decided to play for Rick Neuheisel. Because he's located so far from Washington, I think the Huskies have reason to be concerned. But we haven't spoken with Charles since Reggie committed, and we don't know his SAT or ACT score, which might have a large bearing on whether he decides to completely cross the country.

From JP: Allen, why would Kevin Jones say that PSU's one bad year affected his decision when he's going to a school that's only been good for two or three years?
Allen Wallace: Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder in recruiting, and the truth of the matter is, Penn State had a dismal year, which may have some recruits wondering if they have lost the edge they need to be the dominant program they've always been. I suspect, however, that Kevin was just trying to explain why he was not going to choose such an outstanding program like Penn State's. And in the glare of the spotlight, a youngster in that situation is looking to answer some tough questions. I think he chose Virginia Tech because of coach Frank Beamer, who visited with him on Tuesday ... and because Virginia Tech has now arrived in every sense of the word as a major college football power. Recruiting can be very cruel, and one-year disasters are bound to have an effect on at least some of the recruits.

From Terry in Los Angeles, Calif.: Where is Shaun Cody leaning? Does UCLA still have a chance for a top five class?
Allen Wallace: UCLA does have a chance for a top five class, and Shaun Cody would probably put them in that arena. That's how good he is. He's visiting USC this weekend, after spending last weekend in South Bend. The wild card here really is USC. He favored the Trojans during most of the preseason, up until October, when UCLA began to assume a clear-cut advantage. Since then, the Washington Huskies have made a big impression on Cody. And I have felt the Bruins or the Huskies would win this battle. But if USC pulls the right strings on his visit, we could be in for a surprise. But if I were a betting man, I'd still vote for UCLA to win this battle. Based upon the length of time they've been in the lead and how highly Shaun speaks of Bruin coaches, players, and the Westwood area.

From Mike in Santa Barbara, Calif.: What are Michigan's chances of landing Charles Rush?
Allen Wallace: We haven't spoken with Charles in approximately three weeks. I can only tell you at that time, Penn State held the lead over Pittsburgh, Michigan, UCLA and Notre Dame. He likes the Michigan business school, as well as the fan support. His dad is pushing for Notre Dame. He was also considering Miami, to a lesser extent. Penn State has missed out on a number of the better prospects in Pennsylvania this year. We ranked Charles as the No. 2 prospect in the state behind Kevin Jones. And you've got to feel that Penn State is going to latch on to one of these in-state big timers. And Penn State has held anything from a sizable to small lead ever since we first spoke with Charles in April. I think the Nittany Lions are still the team to beat.

From Ben: Is the Lydell Ross commitment to Notre Dame a solid or soft commitment?
Allen Wallace: We did speak with Lydell's mother this morning, and she indicated that he made a decision last night and said that Auburn and Florida finished behind the Irish. She did not seem hesitant about her son's decision, and never indicated this wasn't firm.

From Brennan Meinke in Corvallis, Ore.: What do you think of Oregon State commitment Chaz Scott? I've heard different things about what position he might play in college... Also, what do you think of the OSU recruiting class as a whole?
Allen Wallace: Chaz Scott will play either strong safety or outside linebacker for Oregon State, But he's going to have to substantially improve his SAT score if he expects to contribute next year. Overall, Oregon State, Washington and UCLA have the best recruiting classes in the West. Quarterback Derrick Anderson and DL Bill Swancutt both really stand out for the Beavers, who have a top 20 class right now.

From A guest: Where do you see Jerome Carter and J.R. Lemon ending up?
Allen Wallace: J.R. Lemon favored Stanford and Georgia Tech solidly over Miami and Georgia. He wasn't sure he was going to visit Georgia this weekend, as scheduled, but we haven't spoken with J.R. since he visited Miami last weekend. Stanford was never ranked higher than No. 3 on his list until he visited on Jan. 12. He was very impressed with the people and the city, and Stanford has a tendency to do well with youngsters who have 1,170 SAT scores. With Cardinal recruiting, it generally comes down to whether he's a "Stanford guy." Jerome Carter has to substantially improve on his test score if he expects to contribute as a freshman at either Florida State, Miami, Georgia, South Florida or Florida. When we last spoke with him, he said he might not decide until around Signing Day. He might end up in junior college.

From Fooner:: What about Michael Craven? Do you think Washington has any chance?
Allen Wallace: I don't think that Craven will choose Washington. His sister goes to UCLA. He also likes Stanford a lot, which is where his parents would like to see him enroll. Washington trailed those programs, as well as Miami and Florida State when we last spoke with him. The Huskies would really have to come from behind to sign Craven, who has a 3.9 GPA and 1,160 SAT.

From Mike Dineen in Pittsburgh, PA.: Does Pitt have any chance at Tyler Reed?
Allen Wallace: We ranked with him as the No. 4 prospect in Pennsylvania. His coach played at Pitt. We expect a late announcement here, near Signing Day. Pitt, which is 15 minutes from home, and Penn State, is trying to hold off Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee. Tyler is very open-minded, and hasn't really tipped his hand. But Pitt has as good a chance as anybody.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with SuperPrep's Allen Wallace. Thanks for joining us!
Allen Wallace: Thanks for having me. It's been a pleasure answering your questions.

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