College Football Playoff: Breaking down each team's roster talent
The College Football Playoff field is set with Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame announced on Sunday afternoon as the field of four. Each coaching staff spent the last four or five years building their starting lineups but some of those players were ranked higher than others.
Take a look at how the projected starting lineups for each College Football Playoff contender was rated as high school prospects.
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NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: The Farrell Awards | What to look for during the rest of the Early Signing Period | Farrell's thoughts on NSD | Winners and losers from National Signing Day | Analyzing the team rankings | How every team announced commits on Twitter | The 10 biggest flips | More team rankings topics after Friday | Five teams poised for late signing period | Biggest surprises of NSD | Top Group of Five signees
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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| Alabama | Clemson | Notre Dame | Ohio State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Five-stars |
5 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
|
Four-stars |
13 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
|
Rivals100 |
9 |
9 |
6 |
13 |
|
Rivals250 |
8 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
|
Three-stars |
3 |
6 |
11 |
5 |
|
Two-stars |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1. ALABAMA
The Crimson Tide have a loaded starting lineup featuring six former five-stars and 13 former four-stars. Alabama’s two starting offensive tackles, Alex Leatherwood and Evan Neal, were both five-stars ranking in the top 10 in the nation. The other five-star starter on offense for Alabama, Najee Harris, was the No. 1 prospect in the 2017 class.
Linebacker Dylan Moses, cornerback Patrick Surtain, and linebacker Will Anderson were also five-stars. Of Alabama’s 13 four-stars, only receiver DeVonta Smith, offensive lineman Landon Dickerson and safety Jordan Battle ranked inside the Rivals100.
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2. CLEMSON
Clemson’s starting lineup is full of former five-stars. The Tigers are the only playoff team with two former Rivals250 No. 1 prospects on their roster in quarterback: Trevor Lawrence and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee. Offensive tackle Jackson Carman, cornerback Deion Kendrick and defensive ends K.J. Henry and Myles Murphy were also five-stars.
Clemson is also the only playoff team with a pair of two-stars in its starting lineup in safety Nolan Turner and offensive lineman Cade Stewart. Star running back Travis Etienne and linebacker James Skalski are two of the six three-stars that start for the Tigers.
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3. OHIO STATE
Ohio State fields plenty of five-stars every year and this year is no different. Quarterback Justin Fields and offensive linemen Wyatt Davis and Nicholas Petit-Frere were all five-stars. Offensive starters Jameson Williams, Garrett Wilson, Josh Myers, Harry Miller, Master Teague and Luke Farrell were all in the Rivals250 as well.
Ohio State’s starting defense is nearly as talented as its offense. Shaun Wade and Baron Browning were both five-stars and everybody else, except for Sevyn Banks, Marcus Hooker and Tuf Borland, were four-stars.
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4. NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame’s lone five-star is defensive end Daelin Hayes and the rest of the starting lineup for the Fighting Irish is made up of former four- and three-stars. Their strongest position group, the offensive line, is filled with former Rivals250 prospects. Tommy Kraemer (No. 41 in the 2016 class) was the highest-ranked of the group.
Superstar tight end Brock Wright was the No. 1 tight end in the 2017 class and ranked inside the Rivals100. Ian Book and Kyren Williams were just three-star prospects. Outside of Hayes, the only defensive starters that were rated higher than three-stars were safeties Shaun Crawford and Kyle Hamilton along with linebacker Shayne Simon.
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| Rank. Team (Record) |
|---|
|
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0) |
|
2. Clemson Tigers (10-1) |
|
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0) |
|
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) |
|
5. Texas A&M Aggies (8-1) |
|
6. Oklahoma Sooners (8-2) |