Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with a look at some recent commitments and how they impact their teams, Clemson’s excellent out-of-state recruiting and some small classes that have some star power.
MORE: Comparing top 5 2020 QBs to this year's NFL Draft picks
1. Miss a commit? I've got you covered
As usual during this time of year there have been numerous commitments across the country. Here are some of the ones that impressed me and why.
OL Altrique Barlow, TCU – Barlow is a powerful road grader with great size who is a nice get out of Virginia for TCU.
RB Demarkus Bowman, Clemson – Another five-star for Clemson, ho hum. Bowman is a powerful runner with speed who can also catch the ball. This is a huge recruiting win over Florida, his longtime leader.
OT Jimmy Christ, Virginia – Christ has a great frame and plenty of room to fill out and he’s so long he’ll be tough to get around at the college level. This is a great in-state pickup for the Cavaliers.
DE Fadil Diggs, Texas A&M – The Aggies came all the way to Jersey to land a talented and long defensive end who can get after the passer. This is another example of a team recruiting nationally.
LB A.J. Mathis, Miami – Mathis isn’t the biggest linebacker in the world but he’s fast and sudden and covers a ton of ground.
LB Jayion McCluster, Florida State – McCluster is a hitter who covers a lot of space and can add weight. We have him as an inside linebacker but he’s athletic enough to play outside or inside.
OT Aaryn Parks, Penn State – Parks is an athletic tackle who can add good weight to his frame and has good technique. Another good commitment for Penn State as they put together a really nice class.
CB Andru Phillips, Kentucky – Another nice out-of-state get for Kentucky in Phillips who has good size and can grow into a safety if needed as well.
QB Evan Prater, Cincinnati – Prater has a very high ceiling as a tall, skinny dual-threat who is a good fit for the Bearcats offense. He could be a guy who emerges as a talent higher than his ranking down the line.
OL Josh Priebe, Northwestern – Priebe has tackle size and a guard’s mentality so he could play either at the next level and is a big pull for Northwestern over some bigger programs.
CB Myles Slusher, Oregon – The Ducks are recruiting well around the country and went into Oklahoma for Slusher, who has length and is very instinctive.
LB Antoine Sampah, LSU – The Tigers are recruiting so well out of state it’s one of the storylines of the 2020 class. Sampah was a surprise from Virginia heading to LSU but with Devin White going so high in the draft you can see what they are selling.
ATH Drew Sanders, Alabama – A nice flip from Oklahoma and another bit of a muscle flex from Nick Saban and company. He can play many positions but I see him as a rush end with excellent athleticism.
OL Peter Skoronski, Northwestern – Skornonski and Priebe are a great 1-2 punch at offensive line and his ceiling is very, very high. He’s one of those undersized linemen who is athletic and that we could hear big things from down the road.
QB D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson – The No. 1 player in the country and the No. 1 quarterback in the country chooses Clemson. Sound familiar? Uiagalelei is not Trevor Lawrence but he’s a great player in his own right.
WR Malachi Wideman, Florida State – Wideman wants to play both football and basketball at FSU and obviously has great hops as a receiver.
QB Eli Williams, TCU -- A powerful dual threat quarterback with a live arm who is hard to tackle, he will fit in nicely at TCU.
QB Beau Allen, Kentucky -- Allen is a heady quarterback with good accuracy and a strong arm and it will be interesting to see how he fits in Kentucky's offense after so many dual threats.
RB Dominic Richardson, TCU -- A tall, filled out running back Richardson can bowl over people and has good receiving skills.
DE Rylie Mills, Notre Dame — big defensive end who could play tackle at the next level and is scheme versatile. Great get for Notre Dame.
2. Clemson sets the out-of-state standard
Last week I talked about how scary it would be if LSU continues to recruit at a national level like they are in the 2020 class. How scary? Clemson scary. Landing the No. 1 player in the country from California is only the latest in a long string of five-stars Clemson has lured from out of state. There’s a reason they have won two national titles in three years and why they will be in the hunt to win many more. Here are some of the big wins.
QB DeShaun Watson, 2014 – It all starts with Watson as most fans will agree. And there was zero drama in his recruitment as he chose Clemson over programs local and far away and led Clemson to the promised land. The Georgia product was beyond important to the success Clemson is having now.
DT Christian Wilkins, 2015 – The leader of the defense for the last many seasons, Wilkins came down to Clemson and Boston College and obviously made the right choice. He played in Connecticut but hailed from Massachusetts.
WR Deon Cain, 2015 – Cain had a very solid career at Clemson and made some big plays and was a quarterback converted to wide receiver out of Florida.
ATH Ray-Ray McCloud, 2015 – McCloud not only impacted as a wide receiver and on special teams but the Florida product helped keep the Tampa connection going along with Cain.
OL Mitch Hyatt, 2015 – Okay I’m cheating. Hyatt was a five-star who lost his fifth star late in the process but the Georgia lineman was key for the Tigers from day one. How on earth he wasn’t drafted is beyond me.
DT Dexter Lawrence, 2016 – The No. 2 player in the country chose Clemson over many locals and had offers from all over. He teamed up with Wilkins and they did pretty well, no?
LB Tre Lamar, 2016 – Lamar was a five-star get out of Georgia and a key to the defense as he got better each year. It’s still puzzling to me why some NFL team didn’t take a chance on him like Hyatt.
LB Rahshaun Smith, 2016 – Okay they can’t all be home runs but Smith, who committed to Clemson twice, was a huge get out of Maryland via IMG in Florida.
DB AJ Terrell, 2017 – A huge and speedy cornerback, Terrell was coveted by everyone and chose Clemson over a ton of offers. The Georgia product will be a star this year and began showing that promise last season.
WR Tee Higgins, 2017 – The Tennessee wideout should have his breakout season this year and has been a huge part of the passing offense.
QB Hunter Johnson, 2017 – Had a guy named Trevor Lawrence not come along the five star from Indiana would be the starter this year. Instead he had to transfer to Northwestern.
QB Trevor Lawrence, 2018 – A dynamic quarterback from Georgia who had zero drama in his recruitment? Sounds familiar and Lawrence is even better than Watson.
WR Justyn Ross, 2018 – Dabo Swinney went right into Alabama and stole the top player in the state away from Saban and we all saw impact he had last year.
OL Jackson Carman, 2018 – Swinney went right into Ohio and stole the top player in the state away from Urban Meyer and we will see his impact soon.
DE Xavier Thomas, 2018 – Okay, I’m cheating here as well. Technically he was landed out of Florida and IMG Academy but the home-state product is already a star at Clemson and he hasn’t even started.
DE KJ Henry, 2018 – Henry will be the next great defensive end for Clemson if he continues to develop. He’s another huge get from North Carolina.
CB Andrew Booth, 2019 – Another five-star out of Georgia, Clemson has made it a habit of stealing five-star prospects out of the Peach State.
WR Joe Ngata, 2019 – This was as big a surprise as any as Ngata hails all the way from California. This is the type of player who would normally end up at USC but not the way Clemson is recruiting.
CB Fred Davis, 2020 – Another great five star get from Florida, Davis is an elite corner and follows the tradition of players like Mackensie Alexander and Trayvon Mullen who were high-level four-stars.
DE Bryan Bresee, 2020 – This was a no brainer from the start as the Maryland defensive end fell in love with Clemson. And why not after putting three defensive linemen in the first round.
RB Demarkcus Bowman, 2020 – An elite running back from Florida choosing Clemson. It’s kind of like C.J. Spiller except Bowman will have so much more talent around him.
QB D.J. Uiagalelei, 2020 – The top quarterback in the nation picks Clemson. Oh and he’s from California? No surprise.
3. Some small but starry classes
The top of the 2020 recruiting rankings is loaded with teams with double digit commits. But here are five teams with just a few commitments that are also off to a good start.
Texas – Only five commitments, but four of them are four-stars led by quarterback Hudson Card.
Stanford – Myles Hinton leads the way and the national recruiting with academic restrictions is good so far for Stanford.
Michigan – With six commitments and five of them being four-stars, Jim Harbaugh is recruiting well and quarterback JD Johnson leads the way for me.
Nebraska – The Huskers have only three commitments, but two of them are four-stars and highly rated four-stars as well, led by in-state recruit Zavier Betts.
Washington – The Huskies have only three commitments, but Ethan Garbers and Mark Redman are a really nice 1-2 punch at quarterback and tight end.
