Ask Farrell: Why are there so few five-stars in the 2021 class?

There are six new five-star prospects in the 2021 class after many players had senior seasons, while some states have still not started playing football.

The new five-stars are Alabama offensive line commit JC Latham, Alabama linebacker pledge Dallas Turner, LSU defensive back pledge Sage Ryan, Clemson linebacker commit Barrett Carter, Oregon offensive lineman commit Kingsley Suamataia and Wisconsin OL pledge Nolan Rucci.

That is a healthy number of new five-stars considering the entire country isn't playing high school football, but overall five-star numbers are still down - and could stay that way through National Signing Day.

Last recruiting cycle, there were 35 five-stars. In the 2019 class, there were 30 five-stars. In 2018, there were 33. You get the point: Around 30 or more is the target number for five-star prospects in a recruiting class.

Yet, the 2021 group - even with the six new five-stars - is sitting at just 26 with very limited evaluation opportunities remaining until signing day.

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK SCHEDULE:

Monday: Five-Star Countdown

Tuesday: New Rivals250 | Mind of Mike: Farrell's thoughts

Wednesday: Offensive position rankings released | Big movers | Hot teams

Thursday: Defensive position rankings released

Friday: State rankings released

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team

CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series

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The Under Armour Game has been canceled. The All-American Bowl has been canceled. Both because of COVID-19 protocols and logistics. The Polynesian Bowl is still scheduled for later in January.

That’s not to say there cannot be more five-star movement through the final rankings phases for the 2021 class.

Many Western states have not even started playing high school football yet. More senior season film will be released. There will be opportunities to see more prospects in person in the coming months.

We ask Rivals National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell why there are so few five-stars in this recruiting class, whether it’s because the class is a little down on highest-end talent, because of coronavirus shutdowns affecting the rankings process or maybe a little bit of both?

"This is all about the pandemic, as we just haven’t had as many chances to evaluate prospects since the shutdown in the spring. To become a five-star, it often takes numerous in-person evaluations. Between the spring camps being shut down, the summer being limited and some states not even playing a season, it’s going to be a smaller year for numbers. This has nothing to do with talent, however. This is a great class. We are just a bit limited."