Ask Farrell: Which Pac-12 freshmen will impress in 2020?
There was only one five-star in the 2019 class that went to the Pac-12 and that’s the bad news for the conference.
The good news is that Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux had an excellent freshman season with 14 tackles for loss, including nine sacks. He’s setting himself up to be one of the best defensive players in the league in the coming years.
Four-star Mykael Wright also had a fantastic freshman season for the Ducks with an interception and two kick returns for touchdowns.
USC also had an impressive group of 2019 players make a huge impact in their freshman seasons but none better than quarterback Kedon Slovis, who was one of the biggest surprises in all of college football. The former three-star threw for 3,502 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine picks.
MORE ASK FARRELL: Which Big Ten freshmen will impress in 2020? | Which ACC freshmen? | SEC freshmen?
Running back Kenan Christon and wide receiver Drake London flashed at times and defensive end Drake Jackson looks like a future star.
At Arizona State, Jayden Daniels emerged as one of the best young quarterbacks in college football as he won the starting job for the Sun Devils and finished the season with 2,943 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Across the conference, there were 2019 prospects who had huge impacts. And now we look to 2020.
Five-star linebackers Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell lead the way at Oregon and five-star offensive lineman Myles Hinton could be a star at Stanford.
FARRELL'S TAKE
We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell to take a look across the 2020 class in the Pac-12 and make predictions on some players who could have huge first seasons at their school.
"I’ll start with Gary Bryant at USC because he’s going to be very good and possibly special there. The two linebackers headed to Oregon — Flowe and Sewell — should also make an immediate impact.
"Sav’ell Smalls should make an impact at Washington with his ability to play a few different roles. I also really like EJ Smith to make a strong first impression at Stanford. Watch out for Lavon Bunkley-Shelton at Arizona State as well with his speed. Cornerback Clark Phillips will impact at Utah, also."