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Three-Point Stance: Mayfield's Heisman pose, decommits, more

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here ranking the recent de-commitments, his weekly look at some outstanding freshmen and an updated Heisman list with a couple of new entries.

MORE: Farrell's Monday Three-Point Stance

1. Big decommitments

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Cade Mays
Cade Mays (Rivals.com)

During the season I usually take a look at recent commitments and rate them by national importance, but with the early signing period looming there have been many huge de-commitments in the last few weeks. How do they rank? Here is my list from the ones that hurt the most to the least.

Cade Mays, Tennessee – An in-state five-star who dreamed of playing for the Vols all his life de-committing? Yeah, that’s No. 1 in my book.

Brendan Radley-Hiles, Nebraska – The face of the Nebraska recruiting class backs off after a great visit to Oklahoma and sees the writing on the ball with Mike Riley. This is a potential five-star loss.

Jarren Williams, Kentucky – Kentucky got Williams to commit twice and he was the key to the recruiting class as the quarterback of the future. This one hurts.

Ja’Marr Chase, Florida – A catch-and-run threat as well as a long-ball receiver, Florida needs guys like this badly and it just lost a dynamic one.

James Foster, Missouri – Because he’s a quarterback, this one hurts a lot despite the fact that he’s the only three-star on this list. Mizzou loved this guy and he was a key Southeast recruit.

Alontae Taylor, Tennessee – Skill position players, especially in-state guys, don’t seem to be in abundance at Tennessee and losing Taylor is a blow just behind that of losing Mays.

Marquez Ezzard, Florida State – The 'Noles need wide receiver help badly and this kid is powerful and has very good hands. They need players like that and it hurts their influence in Georgia.

Dominick Anderson, Texas – A tight end that Alabama has compared quietly to O.J. Howard is a big loss for Texas regardless of having Malcolm Epps, who is a far cry from Anderson.

Emil Ekiyor, Michigan – The Wolverines knew they were losing him for a while but interior linemen with his size and feet are valuable and it hurts to lose him.

Jarrett Bell, Alabama – De-commitments from Alabama don’t hurt that bad because of how it recruits, but this kid is an athletic freak and won’t be easy to replace.

2. The Farrell Freshman Five

The Farrell Freshman Five is back this week with a look at the best true freshman performances from the past weekend (or the ones that stood out to me at least). And I’m skipping Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor for a week because he’s just on here every time (JK Dobbins, too).

Trajan Bandy, Miami – The pick six was a huge play and he was excellent in coverage throughout the big win over Notre Dame. He’s been overlooked a bit this season as a key true freshman, but that’s starting to change.

Devonta Smith, Alabama – The game-winning score against Mississippi State to keep Alabama’s drive for the national title alive is a big deal for a true frosh.

Travis Etienne, Clemson – If you told me the true freshman would rush for 97 yards on 14 carries with two TDs against FSU before the season, that would be hard to believe. It’s not his fault FSU isn’t good.

Louis Dorsey, Illinois – He set the school’s freshman record for receiving yards by a tight end and his 77-yard TD catch against Indiana was one of the few highlights for an awful Illinois team.

Colin Schooler, Arizona – Watch out for Arizona in a couple of years as it has some amazing true freshmen. His two sacks and three tackles for a loss were big in a win over Oregon State.

3. Heisman Watch

Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Let’s go back to the Heisman Watch for a week. Even though Baker Mayfield may have it wrapped up, you never know what will happen down the stretch and I have a few new names making an appearance on the list.

Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (last at No. 1) – Mayfield is the clear No. 1 and it would be hard for him to lose the Heisman at this point. He’s not going to regress in that offense.

Bryce Love, Stanford (last at No. 4) – Love is putting up amazing numbers and deserves the respect of an invite to New York. A huge game against Notre Dame could clinch an appearance.

Kerryon Johnson, Auburn (last NR) – His numbers may not be as eye-popping as other running backs, but he’s the MVP of one of the best teams in the country and his 17 touchdowns is an impressive stat.

Lamar Jackson, Louisville (last NR) – The numbers are similar to last season except for fewer touchdowns and wins.

Khalil Tate, Arizona (last at No. 6) – The leading rusher in the country since early October, Tate has more rushing yards than everyone but Love and Taylor on this list.

Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (last NR) – He has 1,500-plus yards and 12 scores for a true freshman? That’s beyond impressive and he needs to be in consideration for an invite at least.

Saquon Barkley, Penn State (last at No. 2) – Being stuffed by Rutgers drops him behind another running back in the Big Ten. Who would have thought?

Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State (last at No. 7) – Rudolph hangs on because his numbers are stellar but he will fall off with another loss and isn’t New York worthy.

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