Farrell Postseason 50: Nos. 11-15
With the college football regular season over and bowl games underway, it’s time for the final installment of the Farrell 50, the top 50 college football players in the country for 2016. 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. Today we look at Nos. 11-15, led by three standout offensive weapons.
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
Farrell postseason 50: Nos. 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50
The skinny: With offers from only Western Michigan and Illinois State, Davis committed to the Broncos at the conclusion of his official visit in early January. Davis put together a fantastic four-year career with the Broncos, which culminated in an All-American season this fall. He finished his senior season with 91 receptions for 1,427 yards and 18 touchdowns. Davis is primed to be a first-round draft pick next spring.
Farrell’s take: Davis was lightly recruited and lightly regarded out of high school. Western Michigan and Illinois State were the only ones who wanted Davis as many in the Big Ten failed to pull the trigger and are paying the price now. He was a tall, rangy and raw prospect out of high school who might have been more heavily recruited had all his academics been in order. Now he’s Terrell Owens Part II.
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. Samuel quickly established himself as Ohio State’s most explosive offensive player, which led to 704 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, plus 822 yards and seven touchdowns through the air.
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 the most dynamic player in the Big Ten.
The skinny: Jackson took official visits to Florida State, LSU, Tennessee and Oklahoma, and took multiple visits to both USC and UCLA, before committing to the Trojans on National Signing Day. Florida was another big player for Jackson, but at the end he decided to stay closer to home. At USC, Jackson has done a little bit of everything during his two seasons. This year, once again, he proved multi-dimensional with 51 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass break up’s on defense, one receiving touchdown on offense and four return touchdowns on special teams.
Farrell’s take: Jackson was a dynamic athlete in high school who could play either side of the ball and impact special teams and we’ve seen that in college as well. His ability as a punt and kick returner is especially intriguing. He’s one of the most dynamic players in college football and simply fun to watch. This season he showed better ability to cover bigger receivers and tackle in run support. We obviously loved him as our No. 1 athlete, a five-star and the No. 6 player overall in 2014, and he’s living up to that.
The skinny: Fitzpatrick committed to Alabama over Florida State. While he did take an official visit to Tallahassee after making his commitment, he ultimately stuck with his word and signed with the Crimson Tide. Fitzpatrick has followed up a tremendous true freshman season with an even better start to his sophomore campaign. He finished with 56 tackles, 5.5 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks, five interceptions - two of which were returned for touchdowns -seven pass break-ups and one forced fumble. Fitzpatrick has established himself as one of the top defensive playmakers in the country.
Farrell’s take: I've watched Fitzpatrick since he was a freshman in high school. He has always been a five-star talent, but scouting him so much might have led to expectations that were too high. It's why we moved him from cornerback to safety in the end because he struggled in solo coverage against elite wide receivers. So much for that, huh? Fitzpatrick's instant impact last season on the Alabama defense was amazing and he’s taken it to the next level this season. He's living up to that five-star status but also sticking it in our face a bit about that move to safety.
The skinny: Foreman committed to Texas in June prior to his senior season along with his twin brother Armanti Foreman. Armanti was the more heavily recruited of the two, and had once been committed to Oklahoma, while D’Onta’s best offer aside from the Longhorns was Missouri. After rushing for 746 yards and five touchdowns combined during his first two seasons on the field, Foreman exploded this fall with 2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Longhorns.
Farrell’s take: In high school, Foreman was not the beast you see crushing opponents and leading the Big 12 in rushing. In fact, he was thought to be a bit of a throw-in to secure the commitment of his brother. My how times have changed. The 6-foot, 198-pounder we had as a two-star athlete has turned into a 250-pound monster who has sneaky speed, light feet and can bowl anyone over. As a high school running back, Foreman put up monster numbers as a senior, but there were concerns about his speed and change of direction. Oops. We will look very bad on this ranking in the end.
