Three-Point Stance: Commits of the week; California; Vols
Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here ranking the week’s biggest commitments, breaking down the out-of-state programs that recruit California the best and the Vols' hot start under Jeremy Pruitt.
MORE: Is Willie Taggart turning Florida State into a recruiting power?
1. LAST WEEK'S BIGGEST COMMITS
Commitments continue to heat up and it’s getting harder already to name the top commits of each week. Here’s my best crack at it this week …
1. OL Anthony Bradford, LSU – Pulling an offensive lineman out of the Midwest has worked well in the past for LSU (e.g. Ethan Pocic) and Bradford has a high ceiling and a ton of talent.
2. CB Tayvion Land, Maryland – He may be small but he feeds off the doubters and plays much bigger than his size. Could this be Will Likely 2.0?
3. CB Keontra Smith, Miami – He’s tall, filled out and plays with aggression so he will fit in perfectly with what Miami does with their cornerbacks.
4. LB Avery Huff, Miami – He plays at a high level in high school, can run sideline to sideline and is from a power program, so this is a big grab.
5. DB Giovanni Biggers, North Carolina – He’s not the biggest safety, but he flies to the ball and has a good frame to build on.
6. TE Brayden Liebrock, Texas – A big target who can get downfield, he’ll be a very good fit in the Texas offense.
7. DT Tayquon Johnson, Clemson – A sleeper of sorts with a ton of talent, he could end up being ranked much higher in the end.
8. LB Jestin Jacobs, Iowa – Tall and rangy, he’s a good strongside linebacker candidate for Iowa whose length allows him to cover a lot of space.
9. TE Patrick Herbert, Oregon – The younger brother of the star quarterback Justin Herbert, he keeps the family pipeline going and can run.
10. DE Jason Bargy, Minnesota – He has good size, an excellent motor and could grow into a defensive tackle before all is said and done or stay as a huge end.
2. OUT-OF-STATE PROGRAMS THAT RECRUIT CALIFORNIA THE BEST
Last week I took a look at out-of-state programs that do a good job of recruiting Texas and Georgia. I might as well round it out this week by checking out California and Florida. We'll start with the Golden State and see which out-of-state programs do the best luring four- and five-stars away from home.
1. Oregon – The Ducks do the best job raiding the state, landing 23 four- and five-stars since 2013, including two in the 2019 class. Under new head coach Mario Cristobal, this shouldn’t change much as he’s an elite recruiter and has the Ducks on the right recruiting path.
2. Washington – Washington isn’t far behind with 20 four- and five-stars since 2013 and are the biggest threat aside from Oregon to USC, UCLA and the rest. The Huskies don’t have the same momentum, although they did land four prospects last year including Marquis Spiker.
3. Arizona State – With 12 four- and five-stars signed since 2013, Arizona State is next in line. They also have a bit of momentum with four in 2018, the best year since 2015 when they landed five. Will this continue with former high school coach Antonio Pierce on staff? It looks that way to me.
4. Oklahoma – The Sooners do a great job recruiting California and have landed 10 four- and five-stars since 2013 with huge names like Joe Mixon and Caleb Kelly. OU will always be a threat in California because of the work the Sooners have done there, the contacts they have made and the fact that others are inclined to follow. Brendan Radley-Hiles doesn’t count towards this number because he played his senior year in Florida but he’s another great example of their west coast pull.
T-5. Nebraska – Aside from Terrell Newby in 2013, all of the work done by the Huskers has been since 2016 when Mike Riley focused on the state. In 2016 the Huskers lured three four-star prospects from Cali and in 2017 they landed another three. The most important however could be under Scott Frost as Adrian Martinez signed last year and could be the program's star quarterback of the future. They are tied with Notre Dame with eight prospects ranked four stars or higher since 2013.
T-5. Notre Dame – Notre Dame is known for recruiting California well, so it’s no surprise to see the Irish on this list with eight four- and five-stars since 2013. Notre Dame will always be in the hunt for academic minded prospects who are also interested in Stanford and others.
3. VOLUNTEERS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE UNDER PRUITT?
Tennessee has attracted the attention of five-stars Quavaris Crouch and Darnell Wright, the top two prospects in the 2019 Rivals100. That’s heady stuff for new head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
The Vols have also landed one of the top offensive lineman in this class in Grayson’s Wanya Morris and are expected to get a commitment this week from Rivals250 wide receiver Ramel Keyton. And let’s not forget recent tight end commitment Sean Brown out of Georgia who could be a super sleeper. Tennessee's class only boasts six commits at this point, but it's still ranked No. 25 in the country and has a solid 3.33 average star ranking. With players like Lance Wilhoite, Kane Patterson, Andrew Booth, Khris Bogle, Jalen Curry and others showing great interest, there are a lot of opportunities for the Vols' class to climb the rankings.
Pruitt has a direct approach to recruiting and it’s a good fit for Tennessee. He's done a great job of getting some big-name guys on campus. Pruitt wants players who will run through a wall for him and I think that approach will benefit him in the long run. The Vols may not land either Crouch or Wright, who knows, but I like the way things are unfolding for Tennessee in 2019 and especially in 2020.
