Advertisement
football Edit

Farrell Midseason 50: Nos. 41-45

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 year 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. 41-45 led by two big-time quarterbacks and a Big Ten breakout star.

Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.

FARRELL 50: Nos. 46-50

Advertisement

The skinny: Davis was originally committed to Auburn before flipping to Florida after a December official visit to Gainesville. After starting only two games during his first two seasons with the Gators, Davis had an impressive 2015 and has carried that over to 2016. With 48 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks currently under his belt, Davis is on pace to have his best season as a Gator this fall as he also prepares for the NFL Draft next spring.

Farrell’s take: Davis had good size and was a kid who covered a lot of ground and could tackle but needed work at the point of attack and shedding blocks. He was overlooked in the Florida linebacker class by bigger names like Alex Anzalone, Matt Rolin and Daniel McMillian, but he’s getting the last laugh. His ability to drop in coverage is off the charts and he’s having another excellent season and is certainly someone even a loaded Auburn defense misses as a decommitment. Davis has tremendous instincts to flow to the ball.

The skinny: Engram committed to Ole Miss over Wake Forest, Marshall and several FBS offers. While several other programs were showing serious interest at the time of his commitment, Engram still made his decision during the summer before his senior season. Engram has become one of the more productive tight ends in the country over the last three seasons. This fall, teaming up with Chad Kelly, he has continued his impressive play with 40 receptions, 605 yards and five touchdowns in what is already his best statistical season with the Rebels.

Farrell’s take: Lack of size was the main reason he wasn't as highly ranked as the other two on this list and is something he will need to answer at the next level, but let’s be real – Engram is a tight end with wide receiver skills who has become a mismatch. His ball skills are off the charts, his route running is excellent and a reliable target is a quarterback’s best friend. He’s been more productive than any of the bigger name tight ends out there and he’s rising on many lists, including those of NFL scouts.

The skinny: Falk was originally committed to Cornell when coach Mike Leach gave him a late opportunity to walk-on at Washington State. He accepted the opportunity and after redshirting in 2013 has become one of the more productive quarterbacks in the country over the last two seasons. After passing for 4,561 yards and 38 touchdowns last season, Falk has the Cougars in Rose Bowl contention this fall with 2,511 yards and 19 touchdowns with only five picks. He’s also completing an amazing 73 percent of his passes.

Farrell’s take: This is an excellent example of how well Leach works with quarterbacks, because Falk was not an attractive commodity out of high school. He was tall and had plenty of room to fill out, but his release wasn’t pretty and his arm strength average. He couldn’t make it at Oaks Christian and was benched after two games and the competition level in Utah wasn’t great. And now he’s killing it in college after being Ivy-bound? Wow. This is another ranking that will make people shake their heads, but I’m telling you the Luke Falk you see now is nothing close to what he was in high school.

The skinny: With in-state offers from Texas Tech, Houston and Rice, Mahomes decided not to wait his process out and committed to the Red Raiders in April of his junior year. Mahomes had a huge 2015 season, passing for 4,653 yards and 36 touchdowns, and more of the same was expected this fall. While the Red Raiders have struggled to a 3-4 start this fall, Mahomes has not disappointed while leading Texas Tech’s prolific passing attack with 3,313 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 68 percent of his passes. Texas Tech is averaging 50.3 points per game. Mahomes attempted an NCAA-record 88 passes and gained (passing and rushing) an NCAA-record 819 yards in a 66-59 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.

Farrell’s take: Mahomes was a big, dual-threat who was in the national top 12 at his position and just shy of a fourth star. We don’t base rankings on offers, which is good for Mahomes, who didn’t have many. We also don’t base them on stats, and Mahomes' senior stats in high school were ridiculous. Perhaps we should have seen a bit more from him out of high school as he’s out-playing his ranking for sure and is the nation’s most productive passer from a yardage standpoint.

The skinny: Samuel’s process came down to whether playing close to home was a priority for him. Once he realized it wasn’t, he committed to Ohio State over Rutgers right before the start of his senior season. After being used as more of a running back during his true freshman season and then a receiver in 2015, Samuel has occupied a role similar to the one Percy Harvin played at Florida with coach Urban Meyer. One of the offensive stars for the Buckeyes this fall, he has already rushed for 527 yards, has 471 yards receiving and totaled seven touchdowns.

Farrell’s take: Samuel was a kid coming from a school not known for producing big-time talent who was simply too explosive to ignore. He was a blur in camp settings, which lived up to his film, and Samuel has one of the best highlight videos you’ll see from the last few years. He followed Wayne Morgan at Erasmus two years after Morgan was over-hyped, so there was some skepticism surrounding his abilities, but Samuel showed he was the real deal throughout the process. Now he’s one of the most dynamic players in the Big Ten.

Advertisement