Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with a look at the week’s biggest commitments, why the father of Jalen Hurts is sending the wrong message and the 'Let Shea Play' campaign.
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1. Commits of the Week
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's:
LB Shane Lee, Alabama – This was a surprise as many felt Penn State would be the team to beat. Lee is a downhill hitter who could also be an outstanding blitzer.
DE Mase Funa, Oregon – A great 1-2 punch with Keyon Ware-Hudson on the defensive line, the defensive recruiting at Oregon has been excellent so far.
OL John Olmstead, Notre Dame – A big, tall tackle with a nasty streak, he should fit into the Notre Dame offense quite well.
OL Caedan Wallace, Penn State – He’s surprisingly athletic for a huge guard and he’s an accomplished run blocker and road grader.
DB Litchfield Ajavon, Notre Dame – A rangy defender who is known as an aggressive, downhill hitter in run support who will bring toughness to the table.
DB Sheridan Jones, Clemson – A smooth and fluid cornerback with excellent ball skills, he will keep the tradition on the outside going as an elite ball tracker.
WR Kenyon Jackson, Texas A&M – A huge receiver from SEC country, this is a big commitment for A&M and a kid who could be a mismatch down the line.
DE Demarvin Leal, Texas A&M – An important in-state commitment, he’s a big end who could also play inside down the road and should be a terror.
WR Dazalin Worhsam, Alabama – A big in-state get for 2020, the Tide like this kid a lot and he has some serious upside.
DE Howard Cross III, Notre Dame – With NFL bloodlines, he’s well coached, smart and relentless at his position.
QB Taulia Tagovailoa, Alabama – The right-handed version of his brother? Could be. He could have a stronger arm.
OL Jason Rodriguez, USC – Important offensive line commit and a kid who could grow into an absolutely massive offensive tackle.
OL Michael Tarquin, Miami – Could play tackle or guard at the next level and likes to mix it up. Miami needs OL recruits and he’s an important one.
2. Hurts drama
Jalen Hurts' father, Averion, made headlines this past week when he commented on his son's standing in the quarterback battle at Alabama. Hurts is in a battle with Tua Tagovailoa for the starting job after the latter replaced Hurts in the national title game and led his team to the title. Averion said one thing I agree with, but also stated something I disagree with completely.
“I told Jalen you f— up, you opened the door and put yourself in this situation,” Averion said of his son’s poor performance in the title game against Georgia that led to a second-half benching.
This is the part I agree with and I like that there are no excuses being made or political comments that often accompany the benching of one quarterback for another. Hurts did screw up. He looked awful, couldn’t move the team in the air and gave Tagovailoa a golden opportunity to come in and be a hero.
But here’s the part I disagree with ...
Averion inferred that if his son doesn’t win the starting job, something that appears unlikely based on his play in the spring and how excited everyone is about Tagovailoa’s future, that he'd "be the biggest free agent in college football history," meaning he’d just transfer out of Alabama.
That bothers me.
What happened to fighting through adversity and not quitting at the first sign things aren’t going well. Anything can happen and a backup quarterback is one snap away from being the starter. In this day of quarterbacks just transferring out the moment they don’t win the job, I’m surprised that a competitor such as Hurts would consider such a thing.
And let’s clear up one thing -- he would not be the biggest free agent in college football history. You have to consistently complete passes downfield as a quarterback to hold that title. So let’s chill a little.
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3. Let Shea Play
Let Shea play.
We should get a decision from the NCAA regarding Michigan transfer quarterback Shea Patterson, who apparently wrote a nine-page letter to the NCAA claiming former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze lied and stringed him along to keep him with the Rebels.
I don’t care what Freeze did – he’s already done enough to slur his name forever, but I think Patterson should be an exception simply because of the sanctions against Ole Miss. Don’t make the guy sit out an extra year because he felt he had to transfer due to indiscretions in Oxford.
Ole Miss has a really talented quarterback to replace him, it landed two four-star quarterbacks in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and Michigan could use Patterson now to boost its offense. This is called a win-win, something the NCAA is usually against or blind to.
Hopefully Patterson will be approved to be on the field for Michigan this upcoming season. Anything less would just be punitive and the NCAA has already done enough of that in regards to the Ole Miss situation.
