Three-Point Stance: 5-stars make bank; slow 2019 starts; return to glory

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with former five-stars who made big bank in free agency, five schools off to a slow start in 2019 and catching up on teams due for a breakthrough by now.

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On Tuesday, I looked at a ton of two-stars and unranked prospects who are making millions in NFL free agency. It’s only fair to look at some five-stars who are doing the same. Why are there a lot less names on this list? Remember, five-stars prospects make up less than 1 percent of all high school prospects in a given recruiting cycle. They are like unicorns. Here are a few:

WR Sammy Watkins, 3-year, $48M - Clemson (signed with Kansas City)

DT Haloti Ngata, 1-year, $2.6M – Oregon (signed with Philadelphia)

RB Jonathan Stewart, 2-year, 6.9M - Oregon (signed with NY Giants)

RB Isaiah Crowell, 3-year, 12M – Georgia (signed with NY Jets)

LB Nigel Bradham, 5-year, 40M – Florida State (stayed with Philadelphia)

OL Andre Smith, 2-year, 8M - Alabama (signed with Arizona)

OL Seantrel Henderson, 1-year, 4M – Miami (signed with Houston)

DE Alex Okafor, 2-year, 10M – Texas (resigned with New Orleans)

DE Devon Kennard, 3-year, 18.75M – USC (signed with Detroit)

LB Christian Jones, 2-year, 7.75M – Florida State (signed with Detroit)

DT Sheldon Richardson, 1-year, terms not released– Missouri (signed with Minnesota)

I mentioned five teams on Tuesday that are off to surprising starts, but what about teams that are off to a disappointing start? Here are five that stand out to me:

Penn State – Two commitments and two three-stars isn’t bad, but after last year’s amazing haul, a bit more is expected early. Penn State will finish in the Top 15 this cycle and perhaps Top 10, but can they push to Top 5 again? I’m not sure.

Maryland – After an amazing job in 2018, the Terps have one commitment from a low three-star, which isn’t a great start. They need to pick it up.

USC – We all know USC will finish in the Top 10, but zero commitments so far for 2019 is odd and perhaps a little troubling.

UCLA – Not as much is expected from UCLA as it is from USC, but zero commitments is also a bit of a question mark.

Oregon – I had them on this list last year around this time and then they exploded with commitments. Will the same happen soon?

A couple of years ago I mentioned that college football would benefit if these five teams returned to previous glory. Let’s check in on those programs and see how they have been doing.

Michigan – Coming off the worst season so far under Jim Harbaugh, some think the Wolverines are getting further from a playoff run than closer. However, in 2016 they came close to making the playoff and most agree Michigan will get there sooner rather than later. If I’m a Michigan fan, despite the losses to Ohio State, I’m confident my team will be back in the national title picture.

Miami – Nine wins in 2016 and 10 wins this past season has the fan base excited. The 10-0 start last season was fun to watch, but losing the last three games left many question marks. Under Mark Richt, the Canes now have an ACC divisional title under their belt and the future looks bright with recruiting. They are much closer to competing for a national title than they were a couple years ago.

Texas – Charlie Strong is gone, Tom Herman has arrived and optimism comes with him. Texas went 7-6 last season including a bowl win, but it seems a couple years away from competing for the Big 12 title. This upcoming season will be a big one to see if it can take a bigger step in the right direction.

Nebraska – After a nine-win season in 2016, last season was a disaster and Mike Riley is out. Scott Frost, who did amazing things with Central Florida including an undefeated season last year, is the new man in charge, but he inherits a 4-8 football team. Nebraska has optimism, Frost alone brings that, but they are far from national title contention barring a major surprise over the next couple of seasons.

Tennessee – This is strikingly similar to Nebraska as Tennessee was coming off a nine win season in 2016, only to stumble to a 4-8 year. The difference? At least Nebraska won some in conference games. Tennessee went 0-8 in the SEC and Butch Jones is long gone. Enter Jeremy Pruitt and optimism, but the SEC isn’t exactly an easy place to rebuild and current SEC East boss Georgia looks tough. A Kirby Smart-like ascension will be expected by Vols fans, but this team doesn’t appear anywhere close to being a national title contender for a few years.