Three-Point Stance: Bounceback commits, Saban's raise, second-round stars

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with analysis on a couple of big bounceback commitments, Nick Saban’s big raise and some second-round NFL draft picks that will be stars.

MORE THREE-POINT STANCE: Oregon's big weekend/Michigan draft success

HOT SEAT: Prospects taking a wait-and-see approach with Vols | Make-or-break 2017 for these schools

On Tuesday I wrote about how Oregon emerged from an early 2018 struggle to put together one of the most impressive commitment weekends in recent history.

However, a couple of the others schools I had talked about struggling also had big “bounceback” commitments. So what is a “bounceback” commitment? To me, it’s a vitally important commitment to a program after it has either suffered numerous recent recruiting losses or are trying to recover from a rash of decommitments.

Two programs, in addition to Oregon, that I identified a week ago as struggling this spring received huge commitments to get back on track.

The first is Georgia. After losing out on 11 of the top 20 prospects in the Peach State, how can a mid-level three-star like Atlanta (Ga.) Hapeville Charter cornerback Christopher Smith be a bounceback commitment?

There are a few reasons.

First, he’s in line for a nice recruiting bump in our next rankings release after a very impressive spring and that could push him into the top 20 in the state. Additionally, he plays a position of need. UGA addressed cornerback a bit in 2017 in a very large class, but adding talent at the position is crucial for 2018 as well. And Smith is one of the best pure cover corners in the state.

This commit will look better and more important on paper for UGA when we re-rank in late May/early June, but with all the in-state losses and coming fresh off losing out on defensive end Brenton Cox to Ohio State, this one sends a message to others and will help in-state recruiting.

The other team that helped itself? Oklahoma. After losing quarterback Cameron Rising to rival Texas and their two 2019 commits decommitted, losing in-state defensive back Josh Proctor to Ohio State also hurt badly.

So the bounceback commitment from Florida defensive back Miguel Edwards is a big deal. He's a Rivals250 prospect who could play safety or cornerback for them and had offers from more than 30 schools. And while he’s not an in-state or local grab like some of the players they lost recently, you can’t go wrong recruiting the state of Florida - Sunshine State natives like Eric Striker and Ahmad Thomas have excelled for the Sooners. Neither of these commitments make up for the huge losses so far this spring for either program, but they can certainly stem the bleeding a bit.

All is right in the world of college football head coaching salaries again, at least at the top and at least for now.

No offense to Jim Harbaugh, who is as important to the Michigan program as any head coach is to any program in the country, but Nick Saban’s recent extension, which moves him to the No. 1 spot among college head coaches in salary, just makes sense. But apparently, it will only last a year. Saban will out-earn Harbaugh for the 2017 season but fall back behind him in 2018 as Harbaugh gets a boost after year three of his deal and Saban’s signing bonus won’t count in 2018.

Saban, as everyone knows, has won five national titles and is arguably the greatest head coach in college football history, so the fact that he wasn’t the highest paid and won’t be in 2018 is a tad ridiculous. While Harbaugh did an amazing job turning around Stanford and now Michigan (getting the 49ers to a Super Bowl in between), and his importance to the Wolverines program is immeasurable, Saban should never be No. 2 to anyone for the rest of his career.

Harbaugh is still ahead of Urban Meyer at Ohio State, a man with three national titles to his name, which is also unjust. But based on the culture change at Michigan and the way they are building toward a national title, I have no issue with him being in the top five or even top three.

The bottom line is that Saban got paid and paid in a big way, with a $4 million signing bonus just to sign a three-year extension. His salary for 2017 not only surpasses everyone in college football, but apparently every coach in every American sport, with the San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich coming in second.

But as ridiculous as it is for anyone to be paid more than Saban in college football, it’s also ridiculous that he makes so much more than New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. That’s when you know college football is a business and only a business, when a five-time college national champion makes more than a five-time Super Bowl winner.

There are always players that were expected to be first-rounder NFL Draft picks that fall to round two for whatever reason. Here are five that will be stars in the NFL despite waiting until day two to get the call….

RB Joe Mixon, Oklahoma – Character aside, he could be the next Le’Veon Bell in the NFL. He’s a high-risk for the Cincinnati Bengals and for your fantasy team next year, but worth the chance talent-wise.

RB Dalvin Cook, Florida State – Snub him for New York and the Heisman Trophy two seasons ago. Snub him for New York last season. Snub him in the first round. Some day people will learn, and the Minnesota Vikings will reap the rewards.

CB Sidney Jones, Washington – Only an injury kept him out of round one. It will take extensive rehab, but in the long run, he’ll be better than teammate Kevin King. The Philadelphia Eagles landed a first-round talent in round two.

DE Demarcus Walker, Florida State – Nag about his lack of athleticism all you want, but put in the tape and watch. The Denver Broncos defense has been nasty recently and it just got some additional help.

LB Ryan Anderson, Alabama – What if I told you that Anderson could end up being the best ‘Bama player drafted in 2017? You’d call me crazy, right? The Redskins got a hybrid guy who is simply an animal, and I think he has a great career.