Ranking with the Stars: Odell Beckham Jr.
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The skinny: Metoyer was a five-star, No. 12 overall, the No. 2 wide receiver and the No. 2 recruit from Texas, behind only Malcolm Brown, in the Class of 2011. LSU and Ole Miss received long looks from Metoyer, but Oklahoma always stood out to the Texas receiver so a commitment followed in March. However, he did not qualify academically so Metoyer spent a prep season at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia before making the move to Oklahoma. In Norman, he showed his potential during his freshman season in 2012, finishing with 17 receptions for 148 yards and one touchdown. Greater things were expected from Metoyer in 2013, but that never became reality as he was dismissed from the team by head coach Bob Stoops after being charged with two felony counts of indecent exposure. In early 2014, Metoyer was arrested again for felony indecent exposure. Earlier this year, Metoyer was sentenced to probation for eight years for his 2013 indecent exposure charges.
Farrell's take: Another waste of talent, this time for off-the-field issues which are, of course, impossible to predict. Metoyer was very explosive and was a deep threat and could have been a star in college and possibly beyond had he kept out of trouble.
3
WR
Fort Myers (Fla.) South Fort Myers
The skinny: Watkins was a five-star, No. 15 overall, the No. 3 wide receiver and the No. 5 recruit from Florida in the Class of 2011. Watkins had plenty offers to choose from, but Clemson, Miami and Michigan were three of the schools that stood out from the start. Two offseason visits to Clemson were enough to put the Tigers over the top, as Watkins committed in late November. Watkins burst onto the collegiate scene at Clemson in 2011, finishing with 82 receptions for 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns. His sophomore season was somewhat of a disappointment, but he turned in a memorable season in 2013 with 101 receptions for 1,464 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was named First-Team All-American in both 2011 and 2013, and is Clemson's all-time reception leader with 240. Watkins decided to forego his senior season and was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, where he set single-season rookie receiving records with 65 receptions for 982 yards. This year Watkins leads the Bills with 716 receiving yards.
Farrell's take: Watkins was an absolute star in high school and college and is emerging as a potential star in the NFL. One of the most gifted pass catchers I've seen, his body control was off the charts and he worked the sidelines and corner of the end zone so well. Watkins was a deep threat but also very good at moving the chains and was one of the biggest commits in Clemson history, as the Tigers stole him out of South Florida.
4
WR
Lutcher, La.
The skinny: Landry was a five-star, No. 18 overall, the No. 4 wide receiver and the No. 3 recruit from Louisiana, behind La'El Collins and Anthony Johnson, in the Class of 2011. Landry committed very early to LSU, and while there were times during his commitment that he left the door open a little bit, he stuck with his word and signed with the Tigers. Landry saw limited playing time as a true freshman but then exploded onto the scene in 2012 with 56 receptions for 573 yards and five touchdowns. Landry continued his improvement in 2013, as he teamed up with Beckham Jr. to form one of the more dynamic receiving duos in the country. He finished his junior season with 77 receptions for 1,193 yards and 10 touchdowns before deciding to forego his senior season to enter the 2014 NFL Draft. Landry was selected with the No. 63 overall pick in the second round by the Miami Dolphins and had a very productive rookie season with 84 receptions for 758 yards and five touchdowns. He has followed that up with an equally impressive second season, with 89 receptions for 920 yards so far.
Farrell's take: This is a pretty good 1-2 punch in the class of 2011 for LSU, huh? Beckham Jr. has become a star in the NFL and Landry is emerging as well and was a guy who put up good numbers in college despite the constant LSU quarterback woes. Landry had good size, was a deep threat with speed and he had very good hands. Similar to Watkins he had great body control and feet, but his drive appears to surpass that of Watkins at this stage.
5
WR
Fontana (Calif.) Summit
The skinny: Blackmon was a four-star, No. 35 overall, the No. 5 wide receiver and the No. 3 recruit from California, behind George Farmer and De'Anthony Thomas, in the Class of 2011. Blackmon had an interesting recruiting process, which culminated in his commitment to Oregon over both USC and UCLA during the Under Armour All-America Game. Blackmon redshirted during his freshman season and then after only three games and no receptions decided to transfer out of Oregon in 2012. He found his way to Riverside City College for the 2013 season, where he was a three-star JUCO recruit in the Class of 2014, before he committed to BYU over Utah and Boise State. His first season in Provo last fall saw him finish with only 10 receptions for 130 yards, while being suspended for one game. Now a senior with the Cougars, Blackmon finished the regular season with 43 catches for 572 yards.
Farrell's take: We overshot this one as Blackmon just never emerged as the slot receiving star we expected out of high school but re-calibrated after evaluating him out of JUCO. He played mostly quarterback in high school so it took him some time to learn how to run routes but he was excellent in the open field and changed direction on a dime. The jury is still out here, but it certainly looks like he will fall shy of that lofty early ranking.
Another huge game from @OBJ_3 on Monday. Who ranked ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. in HS? https://t.co/nwLnAnoAz1 - #LSU
https://t.co/cBpGaw3IA1— Rivals.com (@Rivals) December 15, 2015
Mike Farrell
National Recruiting Director
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