Three-Point Stance: Ranking coaching hires as recruiters

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here ranking the new hires by recruiting prowess, some potential flips and additional predictions as we head into the Early Signing Period this week.

MORE FARRELL: Predictions for early signing period | Podcast | Farrell 50

Last week I graded the new Power Five hires by how they fit their new program overall with Chip Kelly, Jimbo Fisher and Scott Frost on top. But how do they rank, from 1-12 as recruiters?

Here you go ...

1. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M – One of the top five recruiting head coaches in the country should have a major impact on the Aggies' recruiting.

2. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee – Pruitt is well known for his recruiting prowess so I expect his first few classes to be similar to that of Butch Jones and that’s a high bar that is set.

3. Mario Cristobal, Oregon – He was a recruiting juggernaut at Alabama and has done well at other stops. Oregon recruiting will be tough to deal with moving forward.

4. Willie Taggart, Florida State – He’s known as a good recruiter and was off to a great start at Oregon so in his home turf he will be even better. However, I’m not sure he can be an upgrade to Jimbo.

5. Scott Frost, Nebraska – A great talent evaluator and a guy who understands recruiting and loves it. Frost should do very well in Nebraska.

6. Dan Mullen, Florida – Mullen likes recruiting, unlike Jim McElwain, and he’s been handed the keys to a Ferrari compared to the Honda Civic he took to great heights in Starkville.

7. Chip Kelly, UCLA – Kelly isn’t known as a great recruiter, but his name alone will draw talent to the other school in L.A. How long will they be the other school? That remains to be seen.

8. Chad Morris, Arkansas – Morris has recruited well at numerous stops and is a good talent evaluator as well, but there’s a dropoff from Kelly to this next group.

9. Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State – Moorhead’s offense lured some talent to Penn State but he hasn’t proven he can recruit at a high level long enough to be higher than this.

10. Johnathan Smith, Oregon State – He was a key recruiter at Washington and did a solid job, but it’s not what he’s known for.

11. Matt Luke, Ole Miss – He’s recruited well here and there in his career, but is not in the same group as some others on this list.

12. Herm Edwards, Arizona State – He hasn’t recruited in 100 years. End of story.

As we head into the Early Signing Period, I’ve already predicted where the uncommitted five-stars will land, but how about some potential flips and additional four-star predictions? Here are some that stand out to me:

DB Jaiden Woodbey – The Ohio State commitment will sign on Wednesday after flirting with just enrolling instead. Does that bode well for USC and Florida State, his two most recent visits?

QB Emory Jones – Another Ohio State commitment set to sign Wednesday, Jones has been linked to Alabama but has now visited Florida and Florida State last weekend.

UPDATED: RB James Cook – Now that he's confirmed to sign early, things are looking very good for UGA here.

DB Corione Harris – The Kansas commitment is expected to flip to Mississippi State to play with his buddy and former Kansas commitment Devonta Jason (below).

DE Ayodele Adeoye – Could he flip from Texas to Oklahoma? There are some rumors out there and it wouldn’t be a stunner.

WR Jahan Dotson – The UCLA pledge is rumored to be flipping to Penn State this week due to his unfamiliarity with the new Bruins staff.

DE Brenton Cox – Georgia beats out Alabama for this one and we could be talking about a future five-star depending on how he finishes our rankings cycle.

DB Trey Dean – This should be a huge recruiting win for Florida over Alabama and others if they reel in the former Tennessee commitment.

WR Devonta Jason – LSU or Mississippi State? All signs point to the latter, which may raise Joe Moorhead’s recruiting stock above.

OT Penei Sewell – Will he go far from home to Alabama or stay closer? I think ‘Bama wins on this on

Ok let’s make a new rule, shall we?

If a player such as Royce Freeman decides to skip a bowl game because he doesn’t want to get injured and wants to prepare for the NFL Draft, that’s his right. But let’s not let these guys travel with the team to the bowl game, okay? And let’s certainly not let a guy who won’t suit up with his teammates and play give an inspirational in-game speech, shall we?

What a joke that was to watch as Oregon was preparing for the Las Vegas Bowl. To see Freeman, who is supposed to be a leader on the team, stand front and center and try to hype up his teammates while wearing street clothes was embarrassing and awkward, and I fully believe it had to do with part of the poor start the Oregon Ducks had in the loss to Boise State.

After Jaylon Smith’s horrible injury a couple of years ago that cost him a first-round NFL Draft slot, I understand players sitting out worthless bowl games. But it could set a precedent that trickles to the high school world as kids start skipping all-star games or even season-ending games at that level because they don’t want to get hurt before heading off to college.

Guys like Freeman are role models to recruits and role models to teammates, and to see a great player like that skipping a game but STILL getting a trip to Vegas and being the guy to give the rah-rah speech makes me a little bit ill.

Let’s hope Derwin James, Connor Williams and others are just left home like Freeman should have been.