The Rivals Crossover Series is a weeklong look at some historic figures in football and basketball, merging our two sports into one storyline.
In this piece, national football recruiting director Mike Farrell and national basketball analyst Eric Bossi look at the No. 1 player from each sport and compare their national influence and success. Here we look at the class of 2018.
MORE CROSSOVER SERIES:
Who would have been better at football, LeBron or Zion?
The top 10 football-basketball combo prospects
The top 10 football-basketball combo schools
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2003): LeBron James vs. Ernie Sims
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2004): Dwight Howard vs. Adrian Peterson
No. 1 vs. No.1 (2005): Gerald Green vs. Derrick Williams
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2006): Greg Oden vs. Percy Harvin
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2007): Michael Beasley vs. Jimmy Clausen
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2008): B.J. Mullens vs. Terrelle Pryor
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2009): John Wall vs. Bryce Brown
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2010): Josh Shelby vs. Ronald Powell
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2011): Austin Rivers vs. Jadeveon Clowney
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2012): Shabazz Muhammad vs. Dorial Green-Beckham
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2013): Andrew Wiggins vs. Robert Nkemdiche
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2014): Jahlil Okafor vs. Da'Shawn Hand
No. 1 vs. No. 1 (2015): Skal Labissiere vs. Byron Cowart
BASKETBALL: R.J. Barrett
Bossi’s take: One of the most highly decorated high school players ever, Barrett won every award imaginable at the high school level. A Canadian who has been heavily promoted since a young age, he was outstanding during one year at Duke where he was a first team All-ACC and All-American selection. However, nobody seemed to notice since he was playing alongside the Zion Williamson juggernaut. Barrett was taken No. 3 overall by the New York Knicks and was in the midst of a solid first year before the coronavirus pandemic shut things down.
FOOTBALL: Trevor Lawrence
Farrell’s take: Lawrence is the best quarterback I’ve ever scouted and has already won a national title at Clemson and took his team to the title game last year as well. A big junior season is expected and he’s the consensus favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft in 2021. His size, arm strength, mobility and overall feel for the game are unmatched.
And the winner is ... While Lawrence is still in college and Barrett has proven he can hang in the NBA, Lawrence is the winner here. What he has done at Clemson and what he is projected to do in the NFL – where he would likely have been highly drafted after his sophomore year if he could have entered the Draft -- is tough to argue against.
