With the college football season nearly upon us, 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. Today we continue with Nos. 16-20, highlighted by three of the nation’s best rush ends from the SEC.
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report
PREVIOUS: Nos. 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50
The skinny: Lawson committed during the spring of his junior year, but after the coaching change at Auburn he began to look at other schools. Despite taking official visits to both Clemson and Tennessee in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day, coach Gus Malzahn was able to lock up Lawson. After a big true freshman season, which saw him finish with 20 tackles and 7.5 tackles for a loss, Lawson missed the 2014 season with a torn ACL and then was limited to seven games last season due to a lingering hip concern. Fully healthy now, everyone is looking for Lawson to return to his 2013 level of play this fall.
Farrell’s take: Lawson destroyed people at our first Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta and became a five-star as a result of that dominant performance. There were some questions about who was better – Lawson or Robert Nkemdiche in 2013, that’s how good he could be at the top of his game. He’s had some injuries in college, but when he’s on the field he’s destructive and can’t be stopped. Is this the season he puts it all together?
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 in the end he decided to stay closer to home. At USC, Jackson has done a little bit of everything during his two seasons. Jackson is mostly considered a cornerback, but he has scored five offensive and four special teams touchdowns thus far. Look for more of the same from Jackson in 2016.
Farrell’s take: Jackson was a dynamic athlete in high school who could play either side of the ball and impact special teams. His ability as a punt and kick returner is especially intriguing and he can do it all. He’s one of the most dynamic players in college football and simply fun to watch. 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: McMillan took official visits to Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and Georgia, before committing to the Buckeyes in mid-December. As a spring enrollee, McMillan picked up the defense quickly and contributed on the 2014 national championship team. McMillan continued to improve his game last fall as he finished with 114 tackles, which led the team, four tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Now one of the veterans on the Buckeyes defense, another big season may catapult him up NFL Draft charts.
Farrell’s take: A huge linebacker with excellent sideline-to-sideline speed and quick-twitch ability, McMillan was special out of high school. One of our initial five-stars in the 2014 class, he actually lost that fifth star at one point when he gained too much weight and slowed himself down. But he took that in stride, dedicated himself to getting faster and trimming down and became the No. 1 linebacker in the country. His wide range is why he makes so many tackles. He's huge and can move.
The skinny: After originally planning to wait out his process and take official visits to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri, Barnett pulled the trigger on a commitment to the Vols in October before he took any one of those visits. Early playing time was a major factor in Barnett committing to Tennessee, and he used that opportunity to finish his true freshman season with 73 tackles, 20.5 tackles for a loss and nine sacks. He followed that up with another impressive season last fall, which now sets him up with the high expectations everyone currently has for him in 2016.
Farrell’s take: Some guys do a lot of developing between the time they sign and when they arrive on campus, and Barnett is clearly one of those players. We liked him obviously based on his top-175 ranking, but did we see his massive impact on the SEC in his first two seasons? Nope, we didn’t. He is exceeding our expectations quite a bit and has become stronger and faster earlier than projected, much to the delight of Vols fans.
The skinny: With no interest to drag his process out, Allen trimmed his list down to Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Penn State and Virginia Tech before committing to the Crimson Tide in May. As with many top-level Alabama recruits, Allen has had to wait his turn in Tuscaloosa. After a promising 2014 season, Allen began to show all of his potential last season when he finished with 14.5 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks. Now everyone will be looking for Allen to take the next step into the national spotlight this fall.
Farrell’s take: As a five-star and No. 11 player in the 2013 class, it was clear that I loved Allen as a player. He was big, intense, ran everything down and could either go around you or bull rush you into the quarterback’s comfort zone. He played end and tackle in high school and couldn’t be stopped at either position. He was downright scary at Stone Bridge and has always been a serious worker off the field.
