Ask Farrell: Should Gee Scott Jr. be in the five-star discussion?
The wide receiver group in the 2020 class is incredibly strong with four five-star prospects leading the way in Ohio State commit Julian Fleming, LSU pledge Rakim Jarrett, Texas A&M commit Demond Demas and then Jordan Johnson, who committed to Notre Dame in the spring.
But an argument could be made that no receiver in the entire class has had a better offseason than Ohio State pledge Gee Scott Jr., who has been dominant at numerous camps and 7-on-7 events and then again recently at The Opening.
MORE ASK FARRELL: How did the top 2021 QBs look at the Five-Star Challenge?
The Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic standout decided not to compete at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas in the last few weeks, but he was excellent at the Los Angeles stop of the regional camps.
At numerous events, Scott has shown he’s one of the most physical and imposing receivers in the country, routinely dominating smaller cornerbacks with his size and toughness on the outside. The Ohio State pledge has also shown the ability to use his speed to blow by defensive backs who try to muscle him up at the line of scrimmage.
If there’s one thing to consider from the alternative perspective it’s that Eastside Catholic does not play a national schedule and on the biggest stage last season it lost handily to Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian, 35-12.
In that game at the Honor Bowl, Scott had four catches for 91 yards but he certainly didn’t dominate like five-star defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux or high four-star Zach Charbonnet did for Oaks Christian. It’s also fair to note Eastside Catholic did not have elite quarterback play in that game, either.
Scott is one major member of Ohio State’s awesome wide receiver class that includes Fleming, four-star Jaxon Smith-Njigba and now four-star Mookie Cooper after his pledge to the Buckeyes on Monday.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell if Scott should be in the five-star discussion or at the very least move up from No. 10 at the position and No. 50 overall nationally especially after such a strong offseason?
“I think he’ll certainly be in the discussion as he has all the intangibles and has dominated at times this offseason, but we will look at all the receivers and see how he compares. We have not determined who is the top wide receiver in this class, but it’s a very good year at the position and things could change many times between now and the final ranking.
"I know some guys on our team like Scott a lot and others aren’t as sold, but that can be said about all the five-stars, to be honest. The wide receiver debate is one of our better ones each rankings meeting and it will be a good one in August. But when NFL players like Richard Sherman and Cris Carter are tweeting about a guy like Scott as a five-star, you certainly take another look.”