Commit Fit: Cornerback
Sometimes it’s not always the highest-rated prospects that fit the best with the school of their choice. In this series we call Commit Fit, Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell picks five players at each position he thinks fit seamlessly into the schemes at the schools they’ve chosen.
Today we look at cornerback.
Wade is instinctual and aggressive and is too talented to sit at Penn State, and he has some terrific defensive backs at Penn State to learn from. It wouldn’t shock me to see him work from nickel to starter during his freshman year, and I love the future pairing with John Reid, who is also instinctual but undersized.
Tall cornerbacks do well at Ohio State, or at least they have in recent years, and Wade could be the tallest in a while. OSU is producing NFL cornerbacks left and right these days, and with Wade’s skillset, he’s either going to be the next one or move to safety and dominate there.
Terrell is tall and long and should fit in line with Mackensie Alexander and Cordrea Tankersley as the next great corner under Clemson defensive coordiator Brent Venables. Terrell is a bit raw when it comes to natural corner instincts, so he’s more like Tankersley than Alexander in that respect, but you know he’ll be coached up.
The early playing time opportunity at UCLA likely exceeds any other on this list, but Holmes checks in at No. 4 simply because the Bruins haven’t been developing elite corners in recent years. That being said, Holmes is going to make a big impact on the Bruins' defense and should break that string.
Samuels won’t impact right away because he needs to add size and strength, especially in his lower body, and FSU has a lot of talent at the position. But FSU has done a great job of developing corners in recent years, and when Samuels' turn comes, he has the athleticism and instincts to excel in their coverage scheme.
