TAKE TWO: Can the Buckeyes land the top four prospects in Ohio in 2020?
Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with his list of the five coaches that are most likely to win their first national title soon, his breakdown of the most impressive performances at the NFL Scouting Combine by position and compares combine standouts to 2020 prospects.
1. THE NEXT HEAD COACH TO WIN A NATIONAL TITLE
Mack Brown has one, Les Miles has one, Jimbo Fisher has one, Dabo Swinney has two and Nick Saban has a half dozen. Those are the current head coaches that have won FBS national titles. But who will be next to join that list? Here’s my top five in order:
1. Kirby Smart, Georgia – Georgia has already had one chance and lost in overtime, but the way he is recruiting, he will have other chances. You can’t recruit as well as Georgia has been and be left out of the national title picture.
2. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma – This is a tough call between Riley and Tom Herman, but Oklahoma is in slightly better shape to make a national title run before Texas is fully back.
3. Tom Herman, Texas – Herman is a great fit for the Longhorns and has them well on the way back to national prominence. The Big 12 is an interesting path to the title game because it’s always going to be either Oklahoma or Texas, at least in the short term. Texas will break through eventually.
4. Ryan Day, Ohio State – Ohio State is a juggernaut and Day can recruit and coach with the best of them so a national title is eventually in his future.
5. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan – This was a tough call between Harbaugh and Dan Mullen at Florida and this could be the wrong choice but I still think Harbaugh will put it all together one season and win it all.
2. BEST COMBINE PERFORMERS BY POSITION
After four awesome days of watching the NFL Scouting Combine, one of my favorite things, here are the guys by position who had their best day.
QB Drew Lock, Missouri – I love his arm strength and release. His footwork still needs some work but he moved into the first round for sure after the combine.
RB Jordan Scarlett, Florida – The running back group isn’t a great one and Scarlett made a statement and showed off his explosiveness in Indianapolis.
WR Paris Campbell, Ohio State – The knock on Campbell has been route running but he did well at the combine and his 40 time of 4.31 pushed him clearly into the first round.
TE Noah Fant, Iowa – Fant might have passed his teammate, T.J. Hockenson, as the No. 1 tight end in the draft with his great performance.
OL Andre Dillard, Washington State – Dillard showed off great athleticism and secured his spot in round one in a pretty deep offensive tackle group.
DE Montez Sweat, Mississippi State – In a loaded group at defensive end, Sweat stood out with his amazing 40 time and overall numbers and he looked great in drills as well. He pushed into the top 10 with his performance.
DT Quinnen Williams, Alabama – The 300-pounder had a great 40 time and showed off his athleticism and squarely put himself into contention for the No. 1 overall pick.
LB Devin White, LSU – He secured himself as the No. 1 linebacker in the draft, at least for now, with great times and workouts.
CB Byron Murphy, Washington – Murphy tested well and is so smooth in drills he became the No. 1 cornerback on my board.
S Zedrick Woods, Ole Miss – He had the best 40 time of anyone in the combine and is a freak athlete for a safety. He’s going to be a great one in the NFL.
3. COMPARING 2020 PROSPECTS TO COMBINE STANDOUTS
With freaky performances by several players this weekend at the NFL Scouting Combine, who are the prospects from the 2020 class that remind me of this year's combine standouts? Here are a few comparisons…
DK Metcalf – Leonard Manuel would have to get a lot faster to approach Metcalf’s times, but remember that Metcalf wasn’t a burner coming out of high school. He was a big wide receiver who struggled to get separation at times, which is the knock on Manuel right now.
Montez Sweat – This is a tough projection because Sweat was a two-star tight end coming out of high school and a three-star defensive end out of JUCO. So who could be a freak of nature in three years at defensive end like Sweat? Jordan Burch could be. He’s an amazing athlete already.
Rashan Gary – How about a big man who can play defensive tackle or defensive end at the next level and can test off the charts in a few years? Myles Murphy out of Georgia is that guy.
Devin White – White was a running back turned linebacker who had great size and was very aggressive coming out of high school. Justin Flowe is no running back but he’s a big, aggressive linebacker in the Devin White mold.
N’Keal Harry – He might have had a couple of drops but overall he had a very good combine and Julian Fleming reminds me a lot of Harry. He’s tall, athletic and can get downfield.
Byron Murphy – The top-ranked corners are all over six-feet tall and Clark Phillips is slightly undersized but as smooth as can be and has natural instincts.
Kyler Murray – Murray didn’t work out in Indianapolis, but he surely was the talk of it and Bryce Young could be the next great undersized quarterback to dominate college football.
