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Fact or Fiction: Iowa is the heavy favorite to sign Jaxx DeJean
Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith is joined by national transfer portal analyst Adam Friedman, Jon McNamara of BadgerBlitz.com and Eliot Clough of HawkeyeBeacon.com to tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
1. Indiana will bring in double-digit transfers again this year.
Friedman: FACT. Curt Cignetti and his staff have done an outstanding job in his first year as Indiana’s head coach. The former James Madison coach brought a lot of players with him to Indiana for this year and roster turnover should continue with this transfer cycle. The Hoosiers are still working with a talent deficit compared with where they want to be in the Big Ten so expect a lot of transfer activity from Indiana when the portal opens in December.
Smith: FACT. Coach Curt Cignetti brought in 20 transfers last offseason with the bulk of them coming along from James Madison. I expect the schools the Hoosiers pull from to have more variety this time around. However, I do think the team will keep adding talent. Indiana will be an attractive spot for players looking for a fresh start after what the team is showing on the field this season.
There are fun times ahead for Indiana football and the portal will continue being a major component.
MORE INDIANA: Cignetti pulling off the impossible
2. Staff changes are coming to Wisconsin after the season.
McNamara: FACT. Wisconsin is off to a 2-2 start, a record most expected heading into the 2024 season. But after four-quarter games against Western Michigan and South Dakota, a blowout home loss to Alabama and a no-show second half against USC, there are plenty of big-picture questions surrounding Luke Fickell’s program. It’s early and the Badgers have an opportunity to right the ship, but the realistic goal is to now keep the 22-year bowl streak intact as opposed to competing for a Big Ten title this fall.
Regardless of how this team finishes, Ficklell’s job is safe. He’s tied to athletic director Chris McIntosh and the university is far too invested to make any snap decisions. Both coordinators, however, should feel significant pressure heading into the heart of conference play, specifically Phil Longo. UW’s quarterbacks coach and play caller brought his Air Raid offense from North Carolina, but that attack has yet to get off the runway. UW currently ranks No. 103 in total offense (337.2 yards per game), No. 105 in passing offense (181.8) and No. 72 in rushing offense (181.8). Assuming those numbers stay relatively the same with backup Braedyn Locke at the helm, Fickell will have to decide if his choice to modernize Wisconsin’s offense – previously known for establishing the run, disciplined football and controlling the clock – was too extreme. Going back to Paul Chryst’s system isn’t the answer, but something in between the pro-style and Air Raid seems to be more appropriate given UW’s tradition, recruiting footprint and NIL resources.
On the other side of the ball, Mike Tressel’s unit hasn’t been much better over the last 1.5 years. Fans have yet to truly see the 3-3-5 he ran at Cincinnati, and the Badgers may not be able to acquire the necessary athletes to fully incorporate that in Madison. That said, Fickell and Tressel have a longer history and seemingly stronger relationship, and the card the head coach will likely pull at the end of the year, if necessary, will likely be on offense.
Smith: FACT. Even if nothing too unexpected has happened in Madison this season so far it’s clear that a change of some sort is needed. I’m in no way suggesting that coach Luke Fickell is in any danger but there does need to be some sort of shakeup in my opinion.
Defensively things aren’t fully clicking but long-term I don’t think the issues are on that side of the ball. Plus, I have a lot more faith that Fickell and Mike Tressel will get things rolling. The offense is another story. A major shakeup could be in order there. The Phil Longo Air Raid doesn’t seem to be a good fit in Madison. There are real questions on if the Badgers can recruit the athletes necessary to consistently run this version of the offense.
Fickell took a big swing to ‘modernize’ the Wisconsin offense but it just doesn’t seem to be working at this point. There is a lot of time left in the season though, but it’ll be tough sledding without the team’s starting QB.
3. Iowa is the heavy favorite to land Jaxx DeJean.
Clough: FACT. Jaxx DeJean and the DeJean family saw first-hand what Iowa can do for a small town kid developmentally. They have strong ties to Iowa City through Cooper and shared recruiter, LeVar Woods. The Hawkeyes are way out in front of the competition in their connection with Jaxx, which he shared is important to him when he makes his decision.
Though he and Cooper play different positions, Jaxx is set to play tight end at the next level, and what better place to do it than TE U? With NFL aspirations, Jaxx sees the Hawkeyes as his best bet to reach the league.
It may not be a foregone conclusion, as the youngest DeJean wants to cultivate his own path, but Iowa is the clear leader at this point in his recruitment.
Smith: FACT. All legacy players like to chart their own path in their recruitments. DeJean is no different but this feels like a situation where other teams will not push hard for him because of the assumption that he will be a Hawkeye. Recruiting is about allocation of resources so teams have to make that decision on how to best use their time.
What’s most interesting to me about this recruitment is that Jaxx is such a different type of player than Cooper. Jaxx is bigger and his best position may be tight end. That makes it even more likely that he goes to Iowa. Jaxx. will likely hear other programs out but the strong assumption is that he will play his college football in Iowa City.
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