Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. has a trio of predictions on Bill Belichick's roster construction, Deuce Knight's redshirt status and a breakout candidate at Miami.
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1. BILL BELICHICK WILL FOLLOW DEION SANDERS' ROUTE
There will be plenty of similarities between how Deion Sanders began to build the Colorado roster and how Bill Belichick starts out at North Carolina, at least during this time-crunched cycle. Luxury brand analogies aside, there will be a heavy transfer portal influence where experienced players will shake up the current state of the roster.
Holy Cross offensive lineman Christo Kelly became the first portal win for the staff on Monday and we could see more in the next 24 hours with former South Carolina tight end Connor Cox cancelling an NC State visit in favor of seeing what is what in Chapel Hill after landing an offer on Monday.
It will be somewhat selective, but the portal run will be a strong one for the Tar Heels, even without a full staff in place. Like Sanders, we should expect more high school and traditional recruiting supplements for the portal as each cycle opens going forward.
2. DEUCE KNIGHT WILL NOT REDSHIRT IN 2025
While Auburn has hunted quarterbacks as much as any program in the transfer portal to date, landing Stanford's Ashton Daniels on Monday, it doesn't mean we won't get to see the top prep quarterback Hugh Freeze has recruited since he took the Tiger gig.
Deuce Knight is too talented in general, with his big arm, and perhaps more importantly he is too dynamic a runner, to keep on the shelf for at least eight games. While he hasn't received the hype of an Arch Manning or a DJ Lagway, the Auburn fanbase will beckon for a sample of what Knight can do whenever the elder quarterbacks in the room aren't performing to expectation. Whether it's a weekly package that evolves or it's just a short yardage and/or trick play scenario, the No. 2 dual-threat QB recruit will see the field plenty next fall.
3. BREAKOUT SEASON AHEAD FOR JOSHISA TRADER
Miami will look plenty different in 2025 without Cam Ward and the battery of his top wideouts. The Hurricanes remain one of the most talented programs in the country, though, thanks to three-straight top classes in the ACC – and wide receiver is no exception. The 2024 and 2025 classes each saw strong additions at the position, but we'll call our shot on Joshisa 'Jojo' Trader being the fastest riser from the two groups.
He is the most natural route-runner of the bunch with strong run-after-catch ability with the rock in his hands. A year of experience playing one position, for the first time in his football life, will have paid off.
