With the college football season a little beyond the halfway point, it’s time for another installment of the Farrell 50, the top 50 college football players in the country. However, as usual here at Rivals.com, we take a quick look at how each ranked out of high school and if they are exceeding or simply living up to expectations. And with such a crazy season of injuries and disappointing seasons from some of the bigger names, you could be stunned at who’s missing from the list. Today we look at Nos. 26-30 led by two more from Alabama and the nation’s active rushing leader.
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
MORE Farrell 50: Nos. 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50
The skinny: Ridley was an early commitment to the Crimson Tide, and while rumors persisted throughout his senior season and leading up to National Signing Day that he was taking a look at other programs, he stuck with his word and signed with Alabama. Ridley, who became an immediate star at Alabama as a true freshman, continues to be the top receiving threat for the Crimson Tide this season. Currently with 43 receptions for 504 yards and five touchdowns, plus an additional rushing touchdown, Ridley is a vital part of Alabama’s offense and could surpass last season’s numbers even with a true freshman at quarterback.
Farrell’s take: Ridley set freshman records at Alabama as a receiver, the same place where Julio Jones and Amari Cooper dominated, so that's heady stuff. Ridley was always an elite prospect in high school and a no-brainer five-star for us from the start, and other websites followed suit. He was an accomplished route runner, had solid size and amazing hands and just needed to fill out and find his way into the Alabama offense. Now he should dominate the rest of this season, next season and head off as a first rounder like his predecessors.
The skinny: Pumphrey committed to San Diego State prior to his senior season after also considering Colorado, Utah, Duke and Nevada. He did consider taking a January official visit to UNLV, his hometown team, but decided against it after learning that a visit might cost him his offer from the Aztecs. After rushing for 1,867 yards in 2014 and 1,653 yards in 2015, Pumphrey is on an even more impressive pace this fall. Already with 1,246 yards through seven games, Pumphrey is on pace for a monumental season and has even jumped onto a few darkhorse Heisman lists. He is currently No. 9 on the college football career rushing list.
Farrell’s take: Pumphrey was a low three-star prospect who lacked great size but had serious speed and wiggle coming out. Size was our main concern with him and his college level of competition is in question here as he has put up some big numbers against some very poor teams. But how do you keep him off this list? He’d put up major numbers in numerous Power Five conferences, maybe not to the extent he has at San Diego State, but still big numbers.
The skinny: Adams came down to LSU, Florida and Ole Miss, after taking official visits to each of the three schools. Despite a strong relationship with Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss and having his godfather, Joker Phillips, as an assistant at Florida, Adams committed to LSU at the 2014 Under Armour All-America game. After two extremely productive seasons in Baton Rouge, Adams had already entrenched himself as one of the top safeties in the country. He is continuing to prove this in 2016, as he has totaled 50 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery through six games.
Farrell’s take: Many felt Adams would head to Florida even leading up to his announcement and the Tigers are thrilled they kept him closer to home. Adams was one of the most active safeties you’ll ever see on a high school football field. He was fearless in run support and loved to make receivers pay for coming into his area. Adams also had excellent ball skills at the prep level. The only thing that held him back from a fifth star was his lack of length, but he has overcome that with amazing instincts. I can still hear his constant chatter and smack talk from our Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour in Chicago as Adams certainly doesn’t lack for confidence.
The skinny: Price committed and signed with Ohio State after taking official visits to both Columbus and Iowa, but Pitt was really the school that challenge the Buckeyes the most. And he never played a down for Ohio State. Price was released from his from his scholarship after various resignations and investigations at Ohio State, which led to his transfer to Pittsburgh. Somewhat under the radar last season, Price finished with 19.5 tackles for a loss and 11.5 sacks. This fall, he has proven his performance was not a fluke, as he has already totaled 26 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss and nine sacks through seven games.
Farrell’s take: Price has gone from a sawed off inside linebacker prospect in 2011 who had committed to Ohio State to a sawed off sack machine at defensive end for Pitt in 2016. He was always an excellent pass rusher and made a ton of tackles, but he was a low three-star prospect because he didn’t have much length and was closer to 5-foot-11 than he was 6-foot. It might have been the best thing for him that he ended up at Pitt because I can’t see Ohio State giving him as chance along the defensive line with his size. Now he’s one of the toughest pass rushers in the nation and his natural leverage works for him in a big way.
The skinny: Humphrey was long considered a lock to Alabama since his father, Bobby Humphrey, was an ex-player and top draft pick. Florida State put up a good fight, but in the end Humphrey committed to Alabama a week before Signing Day. After a very good redshirt freshman year, Humphrey has become one of the top cover corners in the SEC and has 20 tackles, two tackles for a loss and two interceptions as well as four passes defended.
Farrell’s take: Humphrey had good size, was long and was a confident kid coming out of high school. He was a sure tackler, very smooth in his back pedal and had natural football instincts. I remember he had a poor week of practice at the Under Armour All-America Game, but shook it off and had a very good game. He’s better under the lights like that. Humphrey doesn’t get targeted a ton at Alabama, but when he does, he’s always around the ball.
