Three-Point Stance: Ryan Switzer, Alabama's class, lost battles

Today’s edition looks at North Carolina receiver Ryan Switzer, Alabama's impressive 2017 recruiting class and several five-star battles that I thankfully lost.

RELATED: Clemon's resilience, Charlie Strong, regrets | Rivals.com Five-Star Club

I remember the first time I saw North Carolina wide receiver Ryan Switzer in person. It was at a Rivals/VTO Camp at Gateway High School outside of Pittsburgh. Switzer had just committed to the Tar Heels over a ton of offers and I was anxious to see him in action.

He walked into the gym where registration occurred and, as he was getting his height and weight measured, I was sure this couldn’t be the Ryan Switzer. He was so little. Switzer checked in at 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds, but he looked even smaller than that. How could this be the kid who had offers from Florida State, Penn State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia and, of course, North Carolina? How could this be the player that scored 40 touchdowns as a junior? I was really stunned.

That day at Gateway High School, Switzer finished as our No. 3 overall performer behind a little known defensive end named James Conner (now a well-known running back for Pitt) and a guy named Tyler Boyd who was a dominant wide receiver and is now with the Cincinnati Bengals. Following the camp, we wrote about Switzer's ability to cut on a dime and gain separation, but also that it was hard for quarterbacks to hit him because he wasn’t a big target.

Fast forward to now and Switzer is making me look stupid. When he set the ACC record for punt returns for a touchdown as a freshman, I still felt justified with his ranking because we always thought he’d be a good special team’s player. After solid but not spectacular sophomore and junior seasons, where he caught 61 and 54 passes respectively, I thought we might have pegged him properly. But with 47 catches already through five games for 587 yards in one of the most prolific offenses in the country, I am now seeing what everyone saw out of him in high school. And now I believe.

Not only is Switzer playing like a four-star prospect, but he will carve out a very good NFL career in the future. Size be damned, Switzer is special.

Alabama, in a stunner, is No. 1 in the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings, followed by Ohio State at No. 2. It's fitting as the two programs have emerged over the last several years as arguably the top two in the country.

Our Rivals.com points system takes out any perceived bias and simply compares the top 20 prospects in each class. But what about the human element? That’s what I’m here for and, right now, I would agree with the current order of Tide and then Buckeyes.

Offensively, I like Alabama's offensive line 1-2 punch of Alex Leatherwood and JUCO stud Elliot Baker slightly better than Ohio State's duo of Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis. At wide receiver, I give the edge to the Buckeyes with Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey over Jerry Jeudy. I like the Tide's combination of Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones at quarterback more than the dynamic Tate Martell. And at running back, Najee Harris is one of the top four most gifted backs I’ve ever seen, which gives Alabama the edge despite how much I like J.K. Dobbins.

On defense, the edge goes to the Buckeyes at defensive back with a great group led by five-star Shaun Wade while the Tide have the edge at linebacker with Vandarius Cowan, Markail Benton and newly committed Dylan Moses. Ohio State gets the edge at defensive line with Chase Young and Haskell Garrett as the 1-2 punch but Alabama has more athletes and versatile players overall.

It’s tight and the Tide have a shot at many more difference makers down the stretch to increase their lead. But when it comes to classes that could impact the national title picture, both programs are assembling that kind of talent.

It's Five-Star Week so here’s another quick list for you. Here are five prospects that I pushed to be five-star prospects but was out-voted – and rightly so it turns out.

1.) S Antwine Perez – One of the biggest hitters I’ve ever seen, Perez destroyed kids in high school and I thought he’d be a superstar at USC. He ended up transferring to Maryland and ended up a step too slow as some others on our staff had predicted. He was No. 29 for us in 2006.

2.) CB Cliff Harris – The No. 41 player in the 2009 class didn’t have great size but he had the best set of feet I've ever seen on a cornerback. He was on his way to stardom at Oregon before being pulled over for his infamous 118 MPH driving spree and telling cops “we smoked it all” when asked why the car smelled like marijuana. He never played for Oregon again.

3.) RB Carlos Brown – The No. 39 player in 2006, Brown played wildcat quarterback for the most part in high school but was such a dynamic runner I felt he would be dominant at Michigan. His film is still amongst the best I’ve seen for an option quarterback who projected to running back, but he never panned out in Ann Arbor.

4.) QB Jeff Driskel – Yep, that was me. I was that guy. I felt Driskel, who was No. 32 overall in 2011, was a five-star talent because of his arm and ability to run. His failure at Florida was legendary.

5.) DT Kade Weston – Weston was No. 33 overall in 2005 but I thought he should be a five-star, he was just so big and talented. He had his moments at Georgia but never emerged as the dominant star I thought he would be.