The top 10 prospects from Washington state in the Rivals era

With offensive tackle Foster Sarell receiving a historic ranking for players out of the state of Washington recently, quarterback Max Browne finally getting his first start at USC and freshman quarterback Jacob Eason appearing to be the solution under center for Georgia, we thought it would be a good time to look at an impressive list of the top 10 highest ranked prospects from the state. Interestingly, of the nine players to finish high school, only one played college football in state.

Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.

The skinny: Sarell has been on recruiting boards since his freshman season, so he is no stranger to the process. Leading the way at this point seems to be Washington, Stanford and Notre Dame, but an official visit to Nebraska has the Huskers seriously in play. The Cardinal recently received good news with Sarell when word came out that he had been admitted into the school, which is big considering the university's tedious and time-consuming acceptance process. With this behind him, look for Stanford to be involved until the end, along with the Huskies, Fighting Irish and Huskers.

Farrell’s take: Sarell has a chance to be special as he has a great combination of size, footwork and aggressiveness. His performance at The Opening was one of the best in the history of the event. We can now see how he can dominate elite prospects as he continues to crush the weak competition he faces in his home state.

The skinny: Eason committed to Georgia during the summer leading up to his senior season, but that was just the beginning of his recruiting adventure. The firing of Mark Richt opened the door for several programs, which resulted in visits to Miami, Washington, Washington State and Florida. However, an official visit back to Athens in December sealed the deal for Eason as he stuck with his word and enrolled for the spring semester. As a true freshman, Eason replaced Greyson Lambert in the Bulldogs' opening win against UNC and looks to be the starter moving forward barring a surprise.

Farrell’s take: The first time I saw Eason he immediately reminded me of Matt Stafford, not only on the field but the way he looked. The mannerisms were so similar, although Eason is taller and has a bigger frame to fill out. Eason has a very strong arm and shows poise in the pocket. As he continues to see the field better and get more comfortable with his progressions, he could be special in college and beyond.

The skinny: After taking several visits during the winter and spring, Browne committed to USC in late April. At USC, Browne redshirted during his freshman season and then served as the back-up to Cody Kessler in 2014 and 2015. While he has only seen minimal playing time to this point, Browne was seen as the likely starter heading into the 2016 season and held off Sam Darnold to get the nod against Alabama. Obviously things didn’t go so well in a 52-6 loss so this will be a quarterback battle to watch.

Farrell’s take: Browne was an interesting kid to scout. On film he was amazing, working from a spread offense and dishing the ball everywhere with perfect precision. In 7-on-7 play, however, he looked a bit awkward at times and tended to push the ball. But again in live situations like at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, we loved what we saw in pads and his character, calm demeanor and the way he saw the field led us to feel he could be great. That hasn’t happened yet and might not, as he’s dangerously close to being on the bust side of being a No. 1 quarterback.

The skinny: After taking official visits to Oregon, USC, Tennessee and Washington State, Stewart trimmed his list to the Ducks and Cougars before committing to UO in late January. He earned immediate playing time in Eugene, but was more known for his kick return abilities as a true freshman. He then rushed for 981 yards in 2006 before exploding onto the scene in 2007 with 1,722 yards and 11 touchdowns. This performance propelled him to be selected with the 13th overall pick by Carolina in the 2008 NFL Draft. Stewart has played all eight of his NFL seasons with the Panthers, totaling 5,814 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns during that time.

Farrell’s take: You won’t see many better running backs in high school than Stewart. He was powerfully built, ran low to the ground, broke tackles and had breakaway speed. We knew he’d be special and his college and NFL careers have been very solid. He hasn’t emerged as that superstar at the NFL level that I expected, but his longevity and key contributions to the Panthers have been important.

The skinny: Mays trimmed his list down to USC, Washington and Miami before committing to the Trojans in August of his senior year. Mays had a memorable career with USC, being named first-team All-American three times and a second-team All-American once. Despite his accomplishments at USC, Mays slipped into the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, where he was selected by San Francisco. After being traded to Cincinnati after his rookie season, Mays spent four years with the Bengals before bouncing around from Minnesota to Detroit to Oakland and finally back to Cincinnati. While he re-signed with the Bengals in March, an upcoming suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy resulted in Mays being waived in July. He is currently an unsigned free agent.

Farrell’s take: Mays had the best combination of size and athleticism at the safety position I had seen up to that point in my career. He was just a massive kid who nowadays would have immediately projected to linebacker. He was never quite as physical as I would have liked in run support but he could cover a ton of ground with his long strides and huge frame. He had a great college career but never hit it off in the NFL.

The skinny: Banner took his time with his recruiting process, as he took official visits to USC, Washington, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma before committing to the Trojans a few days before National Signing Day. Banner has started all 27 games over the last two seasons, as he has helped solidify the USC offensive line. Banner is a player the NFL is keeping a close eye on, as his 6-foot-8, 375-pound frame and athleticism are attributes that the league looks for.

Farrell’s take: Banner is one of the biggest humans you will lay your eyes on and had very light feet for a massive tackle. I liked his ceiling but always wanted him to put more people on their backs because he was so physically impressive. But a 6-foot-8 kid with that frame who can move has to be a five-star. He has a chance to earn a first-round grade in the NFL if he can make some serious improvement this season.

The skinny: Tuiasosopo took winter official visits to UCLA and Washington before committing to the Huskies in mid-December. However, he would never play for the Huskies as the draw of playing Major League Baseball was too much for him. He signed a contract with the Seattle Mariners organization upon his graduation from Woodinville High School. He has played baseball since, mostly at the Triple-A level since 2009. He has played in 155 MLB games over five seasons with three different teams.

Farrell’s take: A terrific athlete and a quarterback who did great things in and out of the pocket, Tuiasosopo was an elite dual-threat back in the day who had solid size but would use his powerful build to shrug off tackles and his speed to run away from people. He could have been a very good college player and possibly a solid NFL quarterback as well but he chose the right path based on his long baseball career even if he hasn’t become a star in that sport.

The skinny: Schilling took December and January official visits to Michigan, USC, Washington and California before committing to the Wolverines a week before National Signing Day. After redshirting in 2006, Schilling earned the starting right tackle position in 2007, but also played some right guard due to injuries on the team. Because of his versatility, Schilling continued to bounce around the offensive line during his next three seasons at Ann Arbor, in the process becoming a very reliable and important part of the team. Selected in the sixth round by San Diego in the 2011 NFL Draft, Schilling spent three seasons with the Chargers before playing one season with Seattle in 2014. After seeing his season in Seattle cut short due to a knee injury in November, he decided to retire in April, 2015.

Farrell’s take: I loved Schilling out of high school because he loved to flatten kids and always played to the whistle. He was an aggressive run blocker, had the feet of a tackle and you could see his versatility in high school. He was one of our very rare five-star guards, a 6-foot-5 kid who could play outside or inside and loves to smack people around. His solid career at Michigan is no surprise but I’m a bit stunned he didn’t become a 10-year NFL guy. He just had that “it” factor about him.

The skinny: Garnett took official visits to Stanford, Notre Dame and Michigan before committing to the Cardinal in late January. Garnett, who played as a true freshman at Stanford, continually improved his game during each season with the Cardinal. His college career was culminated by a Rose Bowl victory over Iowa and being the anchor of the offensive line that paved the way for a historic season by Christian McCaffrey. Garnett was selected with the 28th overall pick by San Francisco in the 2016 NFL Draft. He is currently fighting for playing time at right guard, but has already moved his way into the second team.

Farrell’s take: Garnett just missed five-star status in 2012 and in hindsight should have earned it. Another 6-foot-5 guard prospect like Schilling, he was more of a pure inside guy with great hand placement and athletic footwork. He was a road grader in the run game but his balance was what really stood out as he was rarely on the ground. He was part of one of the best OL classes I’ve ever scouted with Andrus Peat and Kyle Murphy making up the big three.

The skinny: Sefarian-Jenkins always liked the idea of playing close to home, so despite rumors that he was favoring Texas, he pulled off somewhat of a surprise with a commitment to the Huskies in August. Being an early enrollee at Washington, Sefarian-Jenkins played immediately for the Huskies. He enjoyed three fantastic seasons in Washington winning the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end, in 2013. Selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay, Sefarian-Jenkins has been productive while on the field, but injuries have limited him to only 16 games in two seasons.

Farrell’s take: When I first saw Sefarian-Jenkins in person it was at the GridIron Kings 7-on-7 event in Florida and I thought they made a mistake and let an offensive tackle play. I still to this day have not seen a bigger tight end and I was 50-50 on whether he would emerge as an offensive tackle or stay at tight end. His athleticism for his size was off the charts. This guy was listed 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds but trust me he was closer to 275 when I saw him. If he can stay healthy he can have a great NFL career because he’s the perfect check down option for Jameis Winston in Tampa.