Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with early predictions on where the remaining five-stars will land, a look at the Big Ten’s Early Signing Period and five teams that need a strong January/February.
MORE FARRELL: Freshman 15 | Farrell 50 | Farrell Awards for Early Signing Period
1. Predictions on remaining five-stars
There aren’t many five-stars left after the Early Signing Period but there are still some big names that haven’t made their decision. Here are early predictions on where they will end up:
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. Prediction: USC. With JT Daniels re-classifying to 2018, St. Brown will team up with his high school quarterback again in college.
DB Patrick Surtain. Prediction: LSU. This is a tough call because I think Florida State could steal him or Alabama could put on the full-court press but LSU has been his leader for so long I’ll stick with it.
DB Isaac Taylor-Stuart. Prediction: USC. He will look around, especially out of state, but in the end he stays home and plays for USC.
DB Brendan Radley-Hiles. Prediction: Oklahoma. Florida State gave him a lot to think about and could be the pick as well, but Oklahoma has been linked to Radley-Hiles the most.
ATH Devon Williams. Prediction: Oregon. Williams is so quiet about recruiting that it’s tough to guess where he will go but he’s been linked enough to Oregon to make me think this is a safe bet.
WR Justyn Ross. Prediction: Clemson. Originally I thought he’d stay in-state but Clemson has such a lead right now it seems that he’s destined to play for the Tigers.
2. Early Signing Period Awards: Big Ten
Now that the Early Signing Period is over, I’ll take a conference-by-conference look to see how things shook out. Today I look at the Big Ten.
Biggest Get: Micah Parsons – Parsons was once a Penn State commitment then de-committed and looked sure to go to Ohio State or possibly someplace else before the Nittany Lions turned the tables. Parsons re-committed and signed with James Franklin and is easily, at least to me, the best grab for any Big Ten team.
Biggest Loss: Jackson Carman – Carman, an Ohio five-star, isn’t supposed to say no to Ohio State, that’s not the way things work. So when he did and chose Clemson, we were all a bit stunned. Clemson is recruiting as well as anyone so it’s not surprising it won a huge battle, it’s just surprising the Tigers charged into Ohio and stole such a coveted prospect away.
Biggest Surprise: Josh Proctor – Going into Oklahoma and stealing Proctor is a big deal for Ohio State and hanging onto him was an even bigger deal. As hard as it is to steal prospects from the state of Texas, it’s tougher to get a kid from Oklahoma that the Sooners really covet.
Future Star: Jaelin Gill – I like the running back out of Ohio a bit more than others. He could be an absolute superstar at Ohio State. He can run between the tackles despite a lack of great size, he has amazing outside speed and he can catch the ball like a receiver. Curtis Samuel’s role could be his sooner than later.
Highest Ceiling: Blue Smith – This kid could be a five-star, he’s that talented and big. You can’t teach his size, he runs routes pretty well and he has huge and reliable hands. He will be a red zone nightmare to cover for Ohio State's opponents.
Project To Watch: Daniel Faalele – At 6-foot-9 and 390 pounds, he has some work to do on his feet and ability to move, but he could be an absolute dominator in a few years. I’m enamored with his potential and Minnesota could have landed the steal of the class.
Tackling machine: Otis Reese – This kid is a whirling dervish who reminds us of Alec Ogletree. He’s committed to Michigan but didn’t sign so it has some work to do to keep him but if it does, watch for him to be part of an amazing linebacker group in a year or so in Ann Arbor.
Surprising Team: Maryland. After a 4-8 season, the Terps are No. 18 in the nation in recruiting and signed all but two of their commitments. They’re also still involved with some key names down the stretch so any finish in the top four in the conference and top 20 in the nation has to be considered a pleasant surprise for the Terps.
Must Keep: Rasheed Walker – I could go Tyreke Smith, who hails from Ohio, but I’ll go with Maryland’s Walker, an offensive lineman who has been linked to Penn State forever. The Big Ten needs to keep a talent like this within the conference and the Nittany Lions seem to have the best chance.
Do-or-Die January – Nebraska. Scott Frost will get the job done in Nebraska on and off the field but the transition class is a tough one with an Early Signing Period. Nebraska finished with the lowest number of commitments in the Big Ten and still needs to sign a couple of committed guys. Frost can find talent and he will need to do so to finish strong before that first Wednesday of February.
3. Surprisingly low rankings
What teams need to finish strong this year to reach their usual ranking? I have five of them here:
Florida State – The Noles are sitting at No. 45 right now. The good news? They have only 10 commitments so every addition will mean added points as they climb upward.
Stanford – The Cardinal are No. 71 right now and we’ve seen them as high as the top 10 or 15 in recent years. They have only 12 commitments but they need to close strong to crack the top 25.
UCLA – We are used to seeing UCLA finish around second in the Pac-12 each year and into the top 15 often but right now they are 42nd with only 11 commitments. Like FSU, the Bruins are going through a transitionary class so it’s not an easy task, but they need to close on some big California talent.
Texas A&M – Currently 35th overall with 15 commitments, the Aggies are usually a top 20 program and often crack the top 15 so a strong finish is needed. Once again, another transitionary class.
USC – The Trojans are always No. 1 in the Pac-12 and always in the top 10 when they have numbers so seeing them at No. 29 overall is odd. But as you can see by my five-star predictions, they will land some big names and I expect them to finish near the top 10 as usual. They could be in the best shape of any of the schools I’m mentioning.
