Biggest out-of-state grabs: Defensive backs
RELATED: Biggest out-of-state quarterback grabs | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
Out-of-state recruiting is especially important if you want to vie for a national championship or even to just contend in your division. In this series, we look at players recruited out of state that will have a big impact on their teams, and conference battles, in 2019. We finish with some of the defensive backs that stand out.
Recruiting: Adebo initially committed to Notre Dame, but after re-opening his process in early January, an official visit to Stanford a few days later sealed the deal for the Cardinal. This was considered a big loss for the Irish, who were prioritizing the defensive back position.
Farrell’s take: Stanford recruits very well nationally, especially for academically inclined players and Adebo was certainly that guy. Texas has been good to Stanford in recent years and Adebo is one of the more versatile commitments they’ve received.
Recruiting: Hudson took official visits to Michigan, Penn State and UCLA before committing to the Wolverines in late January. Pittsburgh, his local program, was also in the picture until the end.
Farrell’s take: Hudson was ranked as an athlete coming out of high school because he could do so many things and he’s turned into a huge get for Michigan because of that versatility. He’s the kind of prospect who just started to hit his peak late in his high school career, so was undervalued a bit.
Recruiting: Woodbey initially committed to Ohio State, but with Florida State and USC both making late runs, rumors began to surface that he was seriously considering other schools. At his announcement press conference, he proved that those rumors were valid as he flipped to the Seminoles, surprising many.
Farrell’s take: Woodbey is a former five-star recruit who was a huge get for Willie Taggart and company and made an impact right away. He was a safety who was easily big enough to grow into a linebacker or play a hybrid role and he has done that very well so far.
Recruiting: Simmons took official visits to Clemson, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Illinois before committing to the Tigers on National Signing Day. His visit to Death Valley was the final one he took, during the last weekend, and it was what put the Tigers over the top.
Farrell’s take: This is an example of Clemson’s ability to recruit anywhere in the country as Simmons was recruited by many schools closer to home, some of them big-time programs. Commitments like this are the reason Clemson keeps winning national titles and doesn’t have to skip any state when targeting a prospect.
Recruiting: Fuller trimmed his list of top schools down to Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame before committing to the Buckeyes a couple of days before National Signing Day. Playing with multiple Ohio State commits at the U.S. Army All-American Game, plus a late home visit with Urban Meyer, solidified the Buckeyes with Fuller.
Farrell’s take: Fuller was a big safety with athleticism out of New Jersey that has some big national offers. His brother, Devin, was a 2012 big-time recruit who chose UCLA but Jordan was going to carve his own path. New Jersey is ripe for the picking and a state where programs like Ohio State can continue to poach players.
Recruiting: Stewart took official visits to Florida, TCU, Arkansas and Arizona State in January, before committing to the Gators. Florida was considered the firm leader for Stewart, who committed while on his visit to Gainesville.
Farrell’s take: LSU didn’t make Stewart a priority and it paid off for the Gators as he’s already emerging as a star. It’s interesting that one program that considers itself DBU in LSU passed on a kid who ended up at another staking the claim in Florida. Stewart has a chance to be a star and has been better than expected.
Recruiting: Pride initially committed to Virginia Tech before reopening his process. While he still considered the Hokies, along with Clemson, North Carolina, NC State and Georgia Tech, it was Notre Dame and his relationship with their coaching staff that helped the Irish to this recruiting victory.
Farrell’s take: Notre Dame wants to make more of an impact in recruiting in ACC country so Pride, who lived close to Charlotte, continued the out-of-state recruiting for the Irish in that area. He had good size out of high school, he just needed to fill out a bit more.
