What Im hearing in CFB recruiting: Battle for Gatlin Bair, 4-star QB Tyler Cherry down to 2

June 02, 2024

Well, well, well. Here we are.

After yet another wild year in college football recruiting, the early signing period is just one day away.

As we round the corner, here’s what we’re hearing on the recruiting trail:

The battle for Bair heats up

Only one of the nation’s top 50 prospects remains uncommitted: four-star wide receiver Gatlin Bair out of Burley (Idaho) High School.

But don’t expect Bair, who will enroll as a true freshman in January 2026 after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to have a decision ready by Wednesday. Instead, Bair (arguably the fastest player in the class) will sign in February, his high school coach Cameron Andersen confirmed.

“He decommitted from Boise State. They’re no longer any part of his consideration, and he’s focused on Oregon and Michigan,” Andersen said. “He wants to gather as much information as possible. There’s a lot of things that go into play, that it’s smart just to be patient and watch.”

GO DEEPER

Boise State beats Michigan for top-50 WR Gatlin Bair

Bair, ranked No. 43 overall, committed to Boise State in August but backed off his pledge after the program fired Andy Avalos. He has since visited Michigan and Oregon and hosted coaches from both programs.

He visited Michigan for the Ohio State game and met with coach Jim Harbaugh in his office the next day. Bair asked Harbaugh about his interest in the NFL.

“We had a very fluid conversation about that, and I think coach Harbaugh has been honest with everyone,” Andersen said. “There’s nowhere else in college he’s gonna go. He doesn’t really want to be anywhere else. But there’s always the intrigue and thought of the NFL if it’s the right situation — the one that is built completely for what he needs, that he couldn’t turn down.”

Andersen said that Bair has formed a close relationship with offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who stepped in as the acting head coach while Harbaugh was suspended due to alleged sign stealing. Should Harbaugh leave before 2026, Moore could be the favorite to replace him — something Bair is comfortable with.

But perhaps the biggest pull to Michigan, Andersen said, is the Wolverines’ ability to develop talent. Bair intends to major in kinesiology and has a passion for strength and conditioning. He has a close relationship with Michigan strength coach Ben Herbert, who makes $1 million annually for the critical role he plays inside the program. Bair has been impressed with the way the Wolverines have developed fellow Idaho native Colston Loveland into a first-team All-Big Ten tight end.

@colstonlovelan1 like that! https://t.co/hO0jwS6okx

— Gatlin Bair (@BairGatlin) October 22, 2023

“The biggest piece with Michigan is probably coach (Ron) Bellamy, the receivers coach, and coach Herb, the strength and conditioning coach,” Andersen said. “If (Bair’s family) feels like they’re in place and in a good spot, then I would say they feel comfortable with the situation.”

Meanwhile, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has made Bair a top priority and has been very active in his recruitment.

“I think Gatlin has an affinity for and a recognition of the type of offense they run and how (he) would fit really, really well in that scheme and what they do,” Andersen said.

Oregon landed Idaho’s top player in the Class of 2023 in Kenyon Sadiq while Michigan signed Loveland, the state’s top player in 2022. When Bair plays in the Under Armour Next All-America Football Game in January, he’ll see recruits from both teams, including five-star Michigan quarterback Jadyn Davis.

Who will get him?

“I really see him laying the pedal to the metal and really focusing on the minor details, I would say, after the All-American game because he’s got that month between there and when he leaves on his mission,” Andersen said. “I would say it’s very 50-50.”

Crunch time for Tyler Cherry

Four-star quarterback Tyler Cherry is down to two schools after decommitting from Duke on Friday. Cherry, who plays at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind., said on Monday afternoon that he hopes to make a decision on Tuesday morning.

The final contenders: Indiana, the in-state school, and Michigan State. Both have new head coaches who have already provided new energy around their respective programs.

“I think it’s just gonna come down to the best fit for me. I really like both places,” Cherry said. “I can see myself playing both places.”

Cherry took official visits to both schools and has hosted coaches from both programs for an in-home visit. The draw to Michigan State is the Spartans offense. Head coach Jonathan Smith brought along offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren from Oregon State after they spent six years together with the Beavers. Oregon State averaged 426.9 yards per game in the 2023 regular season.

“Coach Smith and coach Lindgren, they’re both great coaches. They run a really great offense,” Cherry said. “Really, an NFL-type offense that coach Lindgren runs. Having a coach that is quarterback-friendly is definitely intriguing.”

Indiana also offers an enticing offense, with coach Curt Cignetti having brought in Mike Shanahan and Tino Sunseri from James Madison. The Dukes are averaging 430.3 per game heading into the Armed Forces Bowl.

“The big thing with them is the winning mindset,” Cherry said. “Coach Cignetti fully believes in the team.”

Cherry said things might have turned out differently with Duke had new coach Manny Diaz retained offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns after head coach Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. But when Johns left, Cherry decided to move on.

Cherry admitted he was surprised by Elko’s decision to leave so close to the early signing period.

“I’d seen all the rumors and stuff and figured it could be an option, but I think once he took it, it definitely shocked me and my family,” Cherry said. “But that’s a hard opportunity to pass up.”

It’s been about three weeks since Syracuse hired Fran Brown, and the former Georgia defensive backs coach has wasted no time on the recruiting trail.

The Orange have picked up six commitments this month, headlined by four-star athlete Emanuel Ross, the highest-rated player in the class. Ross, a New Jersey native — like his new head coach — had been committed to Stanford since June.

The biggest news this month, however, was Brown landing a commitment from Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord on Sunday.

“That was crazy,” four-star tight end commit Jamie Tremble said. “Kyle brings a lot to the table. He’s a good quarterback and he knows what he’s doing. Played at Ohio State and he has good mechanics as a QB, which is a huge part of the offense. He brings a lot and I think that was a great, really big pickup.”

Tremble is Syracuse’s second-highest-rated prospect in the 2024 class and is the younger brother of Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble, who played at Notre Dame. The younger Tremble, who committed to the previous Syracuse staff in June, was initially skeptical about Brown taking over the job as a first-time head coach. Other teams have been trying to flip him, he said, but after taking an official visit to Syracuse over the weekend and spending more time around Brown, he feels confident in his decision to sign with the Orange.

“I feel even more comfortable,” he said. “So I think going into signing day, I think I’m pretty locked.”

Tremble believes his new head coach is just getting started. The Orange’s average player rating of 86.49 in the Class of 2024 is the program’s highest in the modern recruiting era (dating back to 2002).

“As a recruiter, I think he’s a really straightforward guy and (that’s) what I like about him,” Tremble said. “I think recruits respect that. He’s just really relatable, like a relatable person, and he brings that through his energy and his recruiting.

“He knows how to win, especially with him being at Georgia. I really think he has the ability to help Syracuse win and win now.”

Recruiting for the portal

It’s no secret that the transfer portal has fundamentally changed college football recruiting, but it’s now trickling down to the way college coaches recruit high school prospects, too.

It used to be that once a prospect committed to another school, the coach who lost out might stay in touch just in case, but for the most part, both parties would move on.

Now? It’s easier to transfer than ever before, and college coaches know that when they walk into high schools.

“Nowadays with the portal, you never know when they want to leave,” Sean Calhoun, the head coach at Colquitt County (Ga.) High School said. “Before the portal, kids would still transfer but it wasn’t as much. You would see kids, they would almost come back home more than they would just go to a different school. So if you had a local kid that went off somewhere, (you might say), ‘Hey, just so you know, if anything ever happens there, we’d love to have you.’

“Well, now it’s a lot easier. You’re recruiting for the moment, but then you’re also recruiting for the portal, and that’s the way it is.”

Nuts and bolts

• Credit to Virginia Tech. The Hokies’ average player rating of 87.99 is on pace to be their highest of the modern era. With two of the top three commits in the class coming from Virginia Beach — four-star wide receiver Keylen Adams and four-star edge Gerard Johnson — coach Brent Pry has gotten the Hokies back into the ever-fruitful Hampton Roads area.

• Keep an eye on five-star Ohio State edge commit Eddrick Houston. He is committed to the Buckeyes but just took visits to Clemson and Alabama. Could a flip be brewing?

• Even with five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola flipping from Georgia to Nebraska, the Bulldogs still have the top class in the country. Even without Raiola, Georgia is still the only program to top 300 total points in the 247Sports Composite.

• Four-star safety Zavier Mincey joins Bair as the only uncommitted prospects in the top 100. Mincey will announce among Alabama, Miami, Florida State and Florida in January.

GO DEEPER

Mandel's mailbag: Where's the respect for Michigan, who overperformed this season?

(Photo courtesy of Cameron Andersen)

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