RELATED: Video analysis of Derek Stingley at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.
THE STORYLINE
In the latest rankings release, five-star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. took over the No. 1 spot from five-star athlete Quavaris Crouch.
The Baton Rouge (La.) Dunham standout has excellent size, phenomenal ability and in a class where the top prospect is not absolutely clear unlike years past, Stingley seems as suitable as a bunch of other prospects who could be the No. 1 player as well.
At the recent Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas in Atlanta, Stingley had an up-and-down performance where he won some reps but was beaten a couple times by five-star receiver Theo Wease, tops at his position nationally and No. 3 in the class.
There will definitely be a heated debate about whether the LSU commit should stay in the No. 1 slot during the next rankings cycle. How much should Stingley’s performance (considering both the good and bad) at one event factor into his ranking and if not the Baton Rouge Dunham standout, has anyone else emerged as the clear top-rated player in this class?
FIRST TAKE: CHAD SIMMONS, SOUTHEAST RECRUITING ANALYST
“A conversation should be had until the end on who the top prospect is in any class. There may be a couple of names in the discussion or there may be a list, but the discussion needs to be ongoing until the final rankings are released each cycle.
Stingley played like a five-star at the Five-Star Challenge, but I am not sure he played to the level of the No. 1 prospect in the country on that day. I am not a big believer on one event having a big effect on the overall ranking of a prospect. Sure, it is great to see guys compete again, but I go more off the body of work and the upside of a prospect.
Stingley should remain in the conversation as the top prospect in his class. There is no doubt he is a special talent and a guy who has 'playing on Sunday' written all over him.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, NATIONAL RECRUITING DIRECTOR
“The conversation is wide open because nobody has stepped forward. He could still be No. 1. Other people have different guys at No. 1. I don’t think there is a surefire No. 1 this year. It’s going to be a discussion every rankings cycle until the end.
“You can’t really go by one event. You can go cycle-to-cycle by big event. We put a lot of emphasis on the all-star games and we put a lot of emphasis on the Five-Star Challenge and The Opening, but I don’t think you can cement a person into No. 1 just because of one event. By my count, he took four one-on-one reps, all of them against the No. 3 player in the country in a competition that is made for wide receivers to have a huge advantage. In 7-on-7, he played half the time on offense. He was having fun, he was competing, but you can’t say that’s the definitive evaluation.”
