Especially when you consider he is was true frosh and going against the nations best competition. So you take the nations top ranked TE coming out of HS, and then he produces better than any frosh TE in yrs, it's not a stretch to suggest he's top 5 as a soph.

I haven't checked stats, but I'm guessing very few freshmen TE's have averaged 4+ recs per gm? On any FBS team, let alone, in the elite SEC. Ariks immediate future looks very bright. That said, he hasn't done himself any favors with his up in the air transfer situation. He's an every down(blocking/receiving), NFL starting TE potential, so hopefully he gets himself situated.

I agree with you about "recruit status" coming out of HS. Recruiting will always be an inexact science. There will always be top ranked recruits, at all positions, that dominated in both production and combines in HS, that do very little in college. At this point, that's not Arik. As he has already established himself within his first 12 months on a college campus. And his body, athleticism, and reported strong work ethic, suggest he will continue to show marked improvement.

My allegiance will always be BYU guys. And for BYU, I'd take Rex and Holker over Arik, but I'm not going out on a limb to suggest a kid like Arik is a Top 5 FBS TE talent as a soph when you consider his frosh yr production and his elite skill set.

As I mentioned in my other post, Rex or the ND true frosh TE Mayer, should both be top 5 over Kuithe.