Hit or Miss? How we ranked these recent CFB stars in HS
Did we get it right or did we get it wrong? Each week during the college football season we will pick five players who had outstanding weeks and look at their career so far and determine if our ranking was a hit or a miss. Here are this week’s stars.
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
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Shane Buechele – SMU
The skinny: Buechele committed to Texas in February of his junior year. While Oklahoma was considered the early favorite, due to some family ties to the program, the Longhorns pulled out the recruiting victory after he made his way to campus a few times for unofficial visits. After starting in Austin in 2016 and then splitting time with Sam Ehlinger in 2017 and 2018, Buechele decided to transfer to SMU.
His impressive play this fall is one reason the Mustangs are undefeated and ranked. He continued to torch defenses on Saturday by completing 30 of 53 passes for 457 yards and six touchdowns during a surprisingly easy victory over Temple.
Farrell’s take: HIT. I had Buechele in my Commit Fit after National Signing Day when he was coming out of high school for a reason because he had the skill set Tom Herman covets at quarterback and he was a great fit at quarterback. That is, however, until Ehlinger came along and took his job.
Buechele's injuries during his high school career, from his knee to his wrist, led to some question marks, but he was still so prolific that there was no question he was in the Rivals100 range and a top 150 talent. He wasn’t the tallest quarterback, but he had a good arm, compact release and was powerfully built, which helped his running ability and ability to bounce off tackles. He’s lived up to his ranking so far despite the transfer to SMU, where is now having great success as a Group of Five quarterback.
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JaMycal Hasty – Baylor
The skinny: Hasty committed to Baylor during the spring after his junior season over offers from Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M and Houston. With the Bears, Hasty has experienced a great deal since his arrival in 2015. And now with Baylor undefeated, he is once again an important part of the offense.
He shined on Saturday during an important victory over Oklahoma State with his best game of the season. Totaling 146 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries, he will be relied on for more of the same as the Bears head into the meat of their schedule.
Farrell’s take: MISS. Despite his solid game this past weekend and his contributions to an undefeated team, Hasty has proven to be overranked as a four-star. He had great speed and was an excellent pass catcher out of high school and he has shown some of that ability in college, but he hasn’t broken through or been as consistent as a long threat as we expected.
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KJ Hamler – Penn State
The skinny: Hamler took official visits to Penn State, Oregon and Michigan State during his senior season before committing to the Nittany Lions in early December. While the Penn State offense has seen some inconsistencies at wide receiver over the last two seasons, that can’t be said about Hamler.
He once again is a consistent threat on both offense and special teams, as he proved against Michigan on Saturday night when he had six receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns, returned two kickoffs for a 32.5 yard average.
Farrell’s take: HIT. Despite a lack of great size we had Hamler as a four-star coming out of high school because of his big-play ability and the way he got separation. We also thought he’d have a big impact in the return game as well. He’s the most dangerous player on the Penn State offense and he’s living up to the hype, and then some, already.
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Bradlee Anae – Utah
The skinny: Anae took January official visits to Utah, Vanderbilt, BYU and Oregon State before committing to the Utes on National Signing Day. This came down to the Utes and Commodores.
The Utah defense, which does not receive as much respect as it should nationally, has been anchored by Anae’s strong play. Coming off a 2018 season that saw him finish with 47 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks, he is once again terrorizing Pac-12 offenses in 2019. During a big win against Arizona State on Saturday night he continued his impressive play with three tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks and one pass breakup.
Farrell’s take: MISS. While Anae hasn’t played like a four-star over his entire career he has played better than the low three-star we ranked him out of Hawaii in 2016. A tall, rangy - yet skinny - end out of high school, he wasn’t heavily recruited because of a perceived lack of explosion. He’s added that to his game and has become one of the Pac-12’s most disruptive players and is having a career year so far.
Travis Etienne – Clemson
The skinny: Etienne was initially committed to Texas A&M, but re-opened his recruitment two months later. After trimming his list to Clemson, LSU and Tennessee, and taking official visits to Clemson and Tennessee in January, he committed to the Tigers a week before National Signing Day. While some people seem to be concerned about Clemson’s offensive production this season, Etienne continues to produce. Turning in another big game during an easy victory over Louisville, he rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries as the Tigers look poised to make another run at a national championship.
Farrell’s take: MISS. This is a kid I thought might be under-ranked, because he had size, speed and shiftiness, and he’s proving that he should have been ranked much higher. LSU really coveted him, but much too late and Clemson did a great job winning this recruiting battle.
He’s faster than I expected and his burst has improved greatly. As a guy just outside of that four-star ranking, he is making our evaluation look bad. Etienne has already turned into one of the fastest and most explosive running backs in college football and could make a case for the best running back in the nation.