Three-point stance: Baylor, Harbaugh vs. Saban, Pac-12

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance continues today with what Baylor needs to do, Jim Harbaugh vs. Nick Saban and 2017 early returns in the Pac-12.

As we know, Art Briles was fired from Baylor more than a week ago, Baylor AD Ian McCaw resigned and long-time good guy head coach Jim Grobe was hired to help clean up this mess. But how do you clean up a stain that just won’t come out? I can tell you how NOT to do it and that’s the way Baylor is handing things.

What you don’t do is keep Ken Starr, whose buffoonery is perhaps the best Ali G impression I have ever seen, attached to the university in any way nor do you let him ever speak representing the school.

What you don’t do is keep any of the current staff on board because, as I’ve said, there are no secrets in a football program and if Briles knew then I believe his assistants had to know.

And what you don’t do is refuse to allow 2016 recruits out of their LOI.

With a disgusting cover-up like this, what you MUST DO is blow up the whole thing and start over again. Fire Starr, fire the coaches, fire anyone who knew anything and ignored it, make massive charitable donations to every women’s sexual abuse fund you can find, impose your own NCAA-like penalties and work as hard as possible to overcome the stigma that now surrounds the football program.

The Big 12 should consider kicking out Baylor if the school continues to bumble and fumble this situation. I will get to the disgusting Mississippi State situation in Thursday’s column after I shower this one off.

Jim Harbaugh always makes news and Michigan fans think I love him when I agree with him and they think I despise the man when I disagree with him. Sleepovers? Ridiculous. Satellite camp fight? Good for him. You get the picture. So what do I think when he takes a shot at college football royalty like this one …

This was, of course, after Nick Saban felt the need to complain about satellite camps and how they could potentially lead to recruiting violations, opening the door for Harbaugh to refer to the recent dismissal of defensive line coach Bo Davis for – wait for it – recruiting violations.

What’s more juicy is that Davis was reportedly dismissed for contacting kids during a non-contact period, the same thing Saban is apparently worried about. So what’s my take? I have two of them for you, and it will probably make Michigan and Alabama fans hate me even more.

My first take is that Saban shouldn’t be complaining. It is hypocritical to complain about satellite camps turning recruiting into the wild, wild West and discounting the head football coach when you had to fire your own coach for cheating during a non-contact period recently. Saban has won a billion national titles, he’s in my Mount Rushmore of great college coaches and he doesn’t need to whine about this stuff. Harbaugh has every right to point out the two faces of Nick here.

And my take on Harbaugh’s attack?

Well, Saban didn’t direct the issue at Harbaugh personally, in fact he pointedly said he’s not blaming Harbaugh when asked by a reporter, so why take offense directly and interject your opinion? And I know there are some fans out there, non-Michigan fans of course, who would have loved to see a Saban reply tweet regarding rings or national titles or something about focusing on your own team and winning a title before worrying about ‘Bama.

Too bad Saban didn’t keep the tiff going in that respect. That would have been fun.

The Pac-12 is the last Power Five conference I need to break down based on early 2017 returns. Here goes.

Biggest get: UCLA landing DE Jaelan Phillips. He is a hybrid who could also play linebacker and is a newly minted five-star. This kid is a freak of nature and could play all over the field for the Bruins.

Biggest surprise: I’d say it is Georgia QB Davis Mills to Stanford, but is it surprising that Stanford lands an elite quarterback? Not really. How about Arizona State stealing in-state quarterback Ryan Kelley back from Oregon after he originally committed to the Ducks? That’s a good one.

Great start: UCLA has only three commitments, but they are all potentially special players, especially Phillips and fellow DE Hunter Echols, who could make passers in the conference very nervous over the next few years.

Surprising start: Arizona usually isn’t on top of the Pac-12 team rankings at any stage, but with three four-stars and some talented threes, they are off to a really good start.

Rough start: Oregon has only two commitments and lost Kelley, and the Ducks just don’t seem to be mentioned with as many elite kids in California these last couple of years.

Recruiting battle to watch: USC vs. UCLA as usual. This is always a battle for the city kids and should be fun to watch down the stretch.

Must keep: Najee Harris is committed to Alabama, but many think the No. 2 player in the country could flip and stay closer to home in the end. The conference needs to keep him because he could be the next Peterson/Fournette kind of back.

Do or die: Mark Helfrich went to the playoffs in 2015 and has a 33-8 record over three seasons at Oregon, but replacing Chip Kelly isn’t easy as expectations are high and recruiting had taken a dip. He needs a big year on the field and off, or the words hot and seat could start being uttered together.