Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with thoughts on hot seat coaches (or coaches not working out), some random college football thoughts and some recruiting thoughts as well.
HIT OR MISS: How we ranked these recent CFB stars in HS
1. COACHES ON THE JUST-WON'T-WORK-OUT SEAT
Whether a coach is in his first or second season or nearing the end of his contract, there are a lot of situations in college football where it’s clear things aren’t going to work. Here’s a different version of the hot seat – I call it the “just won’t work out” seat, where it should be clear to everyone involved that their coach isn't the answer their program needs.
Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee – Does anyone really think this is going to get better? In a world where buyouts didn't matter, would this even be a question? It could be time for the Vols to move on and find their next head coach.
Manny Diaz, Miami – This may seem a bit premature and arguably very unfair as Diaz is only five games into his stint at Miami, but he appears to be a better fit for a job like Temple, the job he had for a few weeks before leaving for the Hurricanes, than to re-invent The U.
Chip Kelly, UCLA – Oregon was great, but Kelly has been a disaster since then with the Eagles and 49ers in the NFL and now the Bruins. His recruiting strategy is odd and getting blown out by Oregon State is a sign that this isn’t going anywhere.
Willie Taggart, Florida State – The Seminoles are about to lose to Clemson by about 30 or 40 points and Taggart has a losing record in two seasons in Tallahassee. Does anyone think this is going to turn around? Search deep inside yourself for the answer.
Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech – Yes, his team just beat Miami, which is a big reason why Diaz is on this list, but the Hokies are a shadow of their former selves and the players don’t seem to be fighting for their coach when things get down.
Jim Harbaugh, Michigan – This is always a controversial one, but I don’t believe in Harbaugh anymore and I wonder what Michigan fans think. Yes, the Wolverines beat Iowa, but the Wisconsin embarrassment was enough to show me they aren’t going to break through with Harbaugh at the helm.
Lovie Smith, Illinois – Let’s just call this what it is, a bad hire. Smith is now 4-25 in the Big Ten. Yep, you read that right.
Kevin Sumlin, Arizona – Arizona is 4-1 this season and 2-0 in the Pac-12 so why is Sumlin on this list? Because the Wildcats have beaten no one this year and losses are coming against Washington, USC, Stanford, Oregon, Utah and Arizona State. Last year was a joke and Sumlin was out coached often. I just don’t see this working out.
Clay Helton, USC – A 3-2 record isn’t good enough at USC and 35-19 overall is very bad for a program that can usually pick and choose in recruiting. Add in the fact that all the elite California players are leaving the state this year and you have a bad fit.
Will Muschamp, South Carolina – Recruiting has been OK, but when Missouri and Kentucky make better runs in the SEC East than the Gamecocks, it’s time to move on. Kentucky was better last year and Missouri is better this year and I’m not even talking about getting ahead of Georgia or Florida.
Chad Morris, Arkansas – He hasn’t won an SEC game yet and do we really see that win coming? If the Razorbacks don’t win at Kentucky, it will likely be a second-straight year without a conference win. And his record at SMU makes you wonder how he got hired in the first place.
2. COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCATTERSHOTS
Some random college football thoughts….
... With all due respect to Texas, Florida State, Alabama and any other program that claims to be DBU, the game this weekend between Florida and LSU is the real battle for the DBU title. The secondaries determine the outcome of this game more than anything.
... Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins should be getting more Heisman love. Not ahead of Jonathan Taylor, but not far behind either. When did this simply become a quarterback award?
... The best NFL prospect in college football among those who will be eligible to be drafted next April is defensive end Chase Young from Ohio State. Forget the quarterbacks, Young has the freaky ability to change a team’s defense immediately if the right team picks him.
... The fact that Oklahoma won’t be doing “Horns Down” this weekend against Texas is an example of how fragile we have become as a society. Does that really hurt anyone?
... The best defense that no one is talking about? Penn State. Just watch the Nittany Lions for a game if you haven’t yet and be wowed by Micah Parsons, Yetur Gross-Matos and the rest of the group.
... Jarrett Guarantano is an example of a quarterback picking a school at the wrong time. This kid had it all in high school and should be at least to the level of Kellen Mond by now, but instead he’s about to become a full-time signal caller from the Tennessee sidelines.
.... Speaking of Mond, I’ve given up on the notion that he’ll ever play like a five-star unless he comes back next season and really takes a huge step forward.
... Texas has a very good chance of beating Oklahoma this weekend because of Sam Ehlinger who is the kind of guy who can just will his team to a win. I expect a close, high scoring game, but I still pick the Sooners.
3. FOUR RECRUITING NOTES
Some recruiting notes…
... What if home state recruits had to stay in-state in college? Can you name a team that would benefit more than the Maryland Terrapins? Think of all the amazing talent in Maryland and D.C. that have left home. Sure, strong recruiting programs like USC, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and LSU would remain powers, but Maryland might turn into one as the only Power Five option in the state. The team that would be hurt the most? Oklahoma by far.
... The two classes most likely to fall apart this season down the stretch? Miami and Tennessee . The Canes have a top-10 class, but each loss will be ammunition for other programs to swoop in and steal some players. Tennessee has only 14 commitments and while I don’t see a ton of them decommitting, the Vols are falling behind for some of their biggest targets left on the board.
... You’ll notice most of the top-ranked running backs from the 2019 class haven’t made much of an impact on college football yet, starting with the injury to Trey Sanders at Alabama and average starts by guys like Devyn Ford and Zach Charbonnet. That will not happen next year as guys like Chris Tyree (Notre Dame), Bijan Robinson (Texas), Tank Bigsby (Auburn) and MarShawn Lloyd (South Carolina) will hit the ground running and make a huge impact.
... Who is this year’s Chase Young, a potential generational talent at the defensive end position? Jordan Burch has had an up and down senior season, so far but he reminds me a lot of Young coming out of high school. Whoever gets him will have a superstar on their hands in a couple of years barring injury.
