Four-star quarterback recruit Dylan Lonergan released a top five on Friday that includes South Carolina Football, Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, and Stanford.
It’s not a huge secret that quarterbacks come off the board quickly when it comes to college football recruiting. In 2023, that’s evident by the fact that five of the top 10 quarterback recruits are already committed, as well as 15 of the top 25.
It’s like a game of musical chairs and with the transfer portal, it’s hard to land more than one in a particular class and even then, the depth chart is always a concern.
The big target in the 2023 college football recruiting class is five-star Arch Manning. However, fellow five-star quarterbacks Dante Moore and Jaden Rashada are also uncommitted.
Yet, there are two other top-10 quarterbacks that still have open recruitments, and one of them, Dylan Lonergan released his top five on Friday which featured South Carolina football, Florida football, Alabama, Ohio State, and Stanford.
According to On3.com consensus rankings, Lonergan ranks 83rd overall in the 2023 recruiting class, as well as ninth among quarterbacks. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder out of Georgia is also a stellar baseball player and wants to do that in college too.
Lonergan is talking about taking his official visits before a decision and that could play a key part in the process but here’s a look right now at the top five contenders in Dylan Lonergan’s recruitment.
Stanford
I think Stanford has done well to stay in this recruitment and keep in the top five. The Cardinal does have a history of developing quarterbacks and Davis Mills is the most recent example.
The academic side is something Lonergan talked about as making the Cardinal an interesting option, but it’s hard for me to see him winding up there, although according to the On3.com prediciton machine, they currently have the second-best chance.
4. Alabama
Alabama is a team to watch in Dylan Lonergan’s recruitment if things go differently in some other battles but he seems to be less of a priority right now.
Arch Manning, of course, is at the top of the board for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide have fallen to third in the On3.com prediction machine in the race for Manning, while at the same time, surging into first for former Texas A&M commitment Eli Holstein, another top-10 QB.
Nick Saban said the Crimson Tide would wait for Arch to make his decision before taking a commitment of another QB and we’ll see if that impacts the Tide’s pursuit of other QBs.
3. Ohio State
Ohio State is another team that’s lurking in Lonergan’s recruitment. He talked about how well the Buckeyes develop quarterbacks and it would be an intriguing option no doubt.
However, Ohio State has sort of been all over the map with its quarterback recruiting in 2023. Dante Moore is probably the top target, yet the Buckeyes have never really gained traction.
If Ryan Day and OSU decide to go all-in on this recruitment, that could make a huge difference. Yet, would they want him to play baseball and would he want to play baseball for Ohio State? Which doesn’t have a comparable program to some of the other contenders.
2. Florida
Of the five college football teams still alive in this recruitment, Florida football is the one that offered most recently. The Gators, sort of like Ohio State, haven’t really gained traction with any of the top 2023 quarterback recruits. Dante Moore has visited and the Gators are in the mix but Dylan Lonergan could be their best hope of a top-10 commitment at the position.
Billy Napier has work to do because he has had the shortest amount of time to build that relationship, but Lonergan said good things about the baseball program and if Florida football can extend this recruitment into the fall, and show some strong results on the field, the Gators could have a real chance.
1. South Carolina
The South Carolina football team landed an elite quarterback in the transfer portal this past offseason in Spencer Rattler and head coach Shane Beamer has done a great job of recruiting Lonergan, which is why the Gamecocks are currently viewed as the favorite. It was also the only school he referred to as “home” in recent interviews.
Not only did South Carolina football pick up a crystal ball projection on Friday with a confidence level of six (1-10 scale) but the On3.com prediciton machine also gives the Gamecocks a 46.7-percent chance of winning his commitment.
Florida is fourth and could be the leading competitor when it’s all said and done, but right now, the Gamecocks appear to be the team to beat.