They won't be *IF* this actually happens.
We're all hoping Mario lands more SFL kids, and gets us up the recruiting rankings. Obviously.
USCw is hoping for the same.
UGA is killing it on the trail already, as is A&M. But our hopes have to actually come to fruition for this to be reality.
Alabama just signed the #2 class in the country. In 2021, it was the #1 class.
So what do we think is gonna happen? Lincoln starts to keep more Cali kids home, Mario starts to keep more SFL kids home, UGA continues to recruit top 3 classes, A&M continues to recruit top 3 classes....and Bama just drops to like 10th overall? Because of Mario and Lincoln? That's pretty **** ambitious.
As long as Saban is there, they continue to win, and they continue to pay, they will continue to pull more than their share of Cali and SFL kids. Sorry, but I'm MUCH more optimistic on Mario's recruiting prowess than even the majority of this board, and I still have to call it how I see it. Mario isn't locking Saban out of Florida. That's just silly.
Where Mario has to gain a foothold is not letting EVERYONE come raid Florida. Saban is going to get his. He just is. So are the other elites of the elite. But of the Top 20 kids in the state in 2022, 7 of them went to the in-state schools. Mario needs to limit UGA, A&M, and Bama, but he's never going to keep who he wants and shut those dudes out. He needs to get more than what we've been getting, and keep the other schools out (OSU, UNC, OU, Michigan) and, where he really needs to make his bones, is he needs to own Norvell and Sun Belt Bill. If Bama gets some, whatever. But we need to get way more of what sometimes goes to FSU and UF.