REPLACING THE STARS: Who will fill the big shoes next season?
Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with the hottest programs in football recruiting, some former two-stars in the news and some Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas selections he can’t wait to see.
1. HOT 11 HEADING INTO SPRING
Recruiting for 2020 is starting to heat up as we head towards the commitment/decommitment period formerly known as the spring evaluation period. Based on talking to recruits, the buzz on social media and the impressive lists of unofficial visitors, here are the programs I see having the most momentum heading into this crucial time. Let’s call it the Hot 11.
Florida – I may be the only one who thinks so, but the Gators have clearly been one of the programs in the Southeast being talked about the most and the list of unofficial visitors has been off the hook. The Gators are in the national top-10 in recruiting right now and things are getting better and better under Dan Mullen.
Clemson – When players visit Clemson, they come away changed and that’s the best compliment I can give a program. They haven’t had as many visitors as Florida it seems but the Tigers make up more ground on visits than any other program in the country.
Alabama – ‘Bama is ‘Bama and the Crimson Tide currently rank No. 1 in the nation in recruiting and are still the gold standard in college football recruiting when it comes to being “the big offer."
Ohio State – Not much has changed when it comes to recruiting at Ohio State under Ryan Day, who is replacing a legend in Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes are still the talk of the Midwest among recruits from all over the country.
Georgia – Back-to-back recruiting titles and excellent results on the field have the Bulldogs as one of the top visit destinations in the country and they can get involved with almost any big-timer.
LSU – Ed Orgeron has LSU rolling and it’s not just in the state of Louisiana. The reach for LSU is stronger than it was last year at this time and that’s impressive because they were no slouch in 2019.
Michigan – The Wolverines are in the top-10, recruiting at a very high level and attracting many top players to Ann Arbor as usual.
Notre Dame – Notre Dame recruits nationally as well as anyone and they have been hosting a ton of talent and have prospects talking after an undefeated regular season last year.
Texas – This is a tough call between Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M as all three are on the minds of prospects in Texas and other places. Texas has been mentioned more and more out of region this spring.
Oklahoma – Two Heisman winners and playoff appearances will seriously help recruiting and they easily overcome the one disadvantage they have – not being in a talent-laden state.
Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher can recruit and I’ve heard more buzz about the Aggies than I have in years.
2. FORMER TWO-STARS MAKING NEWS
There have been some big-time former two-stars in the news recently. Remember these guys?
Antonio Brown – The former two-star that no one wanted stole the headlines the last many weeks by forcing his way out of Pittsburgh and landing in Oakland. Arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, Brown has obviously come a long way and the sweepstakes for him was in the daily national news.
Le’Veon Bell – Bell, a former two-star who was either going to be a linebacker or fullback it seemed out of high school, sat out last season and cashed in with the New York Jets with a big contract.
Jordy Nelson – The former walk on at Kansas State (as a defensive back if I remember correctly) just retired from the NFL after an amazing career.
Eric Weddle – The two-star cornerback only Utah seemed to want turned into a star in the NFL and his move to Los Angeles to play for the Rams for millions was one of the bigger moves in free agency.
Adam Humphries – The Tennessee Titans gave him a four year deal worth $36 million which is good scratch for a former two-star cornerback out of high school with pretty much one big offer. Another great job by Clemson scouting a future star.
3. LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FIVE-STAR CHALLENGE
We are about at the halfway point of the Rivals Camp Series presented by adidas and we have selected 40 players for the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas to be held in June in Atlanta. Here are a few guys I’m really excited to see at the Benz:
WR Koy Moore – Moore is a Rivals100 wide receiver from Louisiana with great ball skills and amazing film. I want to see if he’s this year’s Trejan Bridges who earned his fifth star at the Five-Star Challenge last year.
RB Kendall Milton – It’s a great year at running back around the nation and Milton has great size, but I want to see how explosive he is and how his speed compares to Zachary Evans.
TE Darnell Washington – I’ve been told he’s the biggest and best looking tight end I’ll see since Austin Sefarian-Jenkins who was an absolute monster out of high school so I want to see if he moves as well or better.
The 2021 offensive linemen – Hayden Conner, Bryce Foster, Donovan Jackson and Tommy Brockermeyer are all 2021 offensive linemen who earned invites already, not an easy thing to do. That’s half our offensive line group so far. Will 2021 be the year of the offensive lineman?
LB Noah Sewell – I’m very curious to see how a 6-foot-1, 260 pound linebacker moves in space.