Three-Point Stance: Second chances, top classes, out-of-state grabs

National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with a look at 10 coaches that deserve another Power Five chance, a breakdown of the top 10 classes based on average star ranking and a ranking of the top 10 out-of-state recruiting grabs so far in the 2021 cycle.

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Last week I listed 10 coaches that are out of football that I’d like to see back in the game. But what about former Power Five coaches who deserve a second chance? This is my list.

1. Steve Sarkisian — Sarkisian had a winning record at both Washington and USC and is currently the offensive coordinator at Alabama. He left USC due to personal issues but if those are past him, he’s clearly qualified for another chance.

2. Larry Fedora — Things didn’t finish well at North Carolina with a 5-18 record in his last two years, but the current offensive coordinator at Baylor had some serious injury issues to deal with. He led the Tar Heels to an undefeated conference season and a berth in the ACC title game, so he can coach.

3. Randy Shannon — Shannon was a disappointment at Miami, where he failed to return The U to prominence, but the UCF defensive coordinator is well-liked and is a good coach. Another chance at the Power Five level is warranted.

4. Butch Jones — Tennessee fans might not agree but Jones, currently a special assistant at Alabama, showed he could recruit at an elite level and a chance at a smaller Power Five program is warranted. He had two nine-win seasons at Tennessee and that’s not bad.

5. Charlie Strong — This may seem like an odd choice, but I’m thinking back to the Louisville days when Strong was 37-15 overall. Texas was a disaster and USF should have been a fit and wasn’t, but he’s still good enough to be a Power Five coach. He’s currently an analyst at Alabama.

6. Rich Rodriguez — Rich Rod was great at West Virginia, not so good at Michigan and certainly up and down at Arizona, but he’s a good coach. He has 118 wins at Power Five schools and can clearly coach at the level. Workplace sexual harassment accusations at Arizona might have finished his head coaching career, but time will tell.

7. Bo Pelini — The current defensive coordinator at LSU, Pelini is a polarizing personality. At Nebraska he was 67-27, a record the fans would love to have now, but he’s so abrasive on and off the field that someone hiring him at the Power Five level is unlikely. But he’s a good coach, no doubt about it.

8. Bret Bielema — The Arkansas version of Bielema was iffy, but the Wisconsin version was excellent. He was 68-24 at Wisconsin and is a Power Five level coach for sure. Just maybe not in the SEC West.

9. Kevin Wilson — Wilson is the offensive coordinator at Ohio State and did a solid job at Indiana, but allegations of mistreatment of players will hurt him. He’s a Power Five coach though.

10. Paul Rhoads — Things didn’t go that well at Iowa State for Rhoads as he finished 3-9, 2-10 and 3-9 in his last three years, but he started off strong and deserves another shot. The defensive coordinator at Arizona now, he should get another shot.

The way the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings work is that we rank the top 20 prospects in each class, assign them points based on their rankings and then rank classes based their number of points. Larger classes can skew the rankings early, so during the summer it can make a lot of sense to look first at the average star rankings for each class.

Here’s a look at the top 10 classes in the country by average star ranking:

1. Ohio State — The Buckeyes are No. 1 in points and average star ranking as well, which shows their dominance this cycle. With three five-stars, they are just ahead of the completion.

2. Clemson — Clemson has fewer commits than some others, so being ranked No. 8 by points can be misleading. This class is just shy of Ohio State when it comes to talent. But oddly they don’t have a five-star yet after the decommitment of Korey Foreman. That will change.

3. Georgia — The Dawgs are just outside the top-10, but with only 11 commitments, they are in great shape when it comes to average star ranking. At 3.82 they are very close to Clemson (3.86) and Ohio State (3.94)

4. Alabama — You’d expect Alabama up here, but there are no five-stars yet which is rare. However, a 3.73 average star ranking is pretty solid and better than their No. 17 ranking overall.

5. North Carolina — The Tar Heels are No. 9 in the team rankings with 17 commitments but No. 5 when it comes to quality with a healthy 3.71 average star ranking.

6. Oregon — Oregon, North Carolina and USC all have a 3.71 average star ranking, but UNC ranks above the others because of five-star Tony Grimes. And Oregon gets the slight nod over USC with more players ranked in the Rivals250.

7. USC — The Trojans are back and are right in the mix with the national powers where they should be. The addition of assistant coach Donte Williams has helped, but Clay Helton is doing a much better job as well.

8. Oklahoma — The Sooners are killing it and have the second-most five-stars, just shy of Ohio State. And two of their gets are impressive long distance commits. A 3.64 average with a state less than loaded with talent is very good.

9. LSU — The defending champs are just getting rolling in recruiting and have 16 commitments with a 3.63 average star ranking. And they are involved with many five-stars left on the board. We all knew Ed Orgeron could recruit, but now we know he can coach too. That’s dangerous.

10. Florida — The Gators continue to have a nice year in 2021 recruiting and have the best star average in the state at 3.55. With 20 commitments, they are higher than some in the team rankings but it will all even out.

Some odds and ends: Tennessee, ranked No. 2 in the team rankings, has an average star rating of 3.43 which is solid but would put them in the 14-15 range when it comes to quality. ... Michigan (3.4) and Miami (3.35) are the other teams in the top 10 of the team rankings that did not make this list. ... Penn State, Notre Dame and Texas are three other schools that just missed this top 10 all with a 3.5 average star ranking.

Finally, a piece that Rivals.com is running this week about local recruiting during the coronavirus pandemic got me to thinking: Who has landed the best out-of-state commitments so far in 2020? This isn’t about who’s the highest-ranked per se, but impressive grabs.

1. QB Caleb Williams to Oklahoma — I rarely say an out-of-state quarterback is the best grab because it's not unusual for top signal callers to leave their home state. But because the Sooners lost five-star Brock Vandagriff and then rebounded and landed the highest-ranked QB in the country in Williams, this is beyond impressive.

2. CB Tony Grimes to North Carolina — Virginia isn’t far from North Carolina, but this is impressive because everyone wanted Grimes. So for North Carolina to pull the five-star out-of-state and away from Georgia, Ohio State and others is an important get. Even if Grimes will soon be in the class of 2020.

3. WR Mario Williams to Oklahoma — An argument could easily be made for this to be No. 1 on the list because OU pulling a five-star receiver from Florida without a visit is amazing. This speaks to the Sooners' offensive prowess.

4. LB Terrence Lewis to Tennessee — Lewis is a huge get from Florida for the Vols. Originally thought to be a lean to in-state programs like Miami and Florida, Lewis surprised many with his commitment to Jeremy Pruitt and staff.

5. DE Tunmise Adeleye to Ohio State — The Texas to Ohio State pipeline continues but Adeleye is a double dip as an IMG prospect who can help work others in Florida as well as send a message to Texas prospects about the Buckeyes.

6. WR Quay Davis to USC — Davis is a standout in Texas who has many options closer to home and with more established coaches, but he chose to head to USC and play for Clay Helton and continue a very good USC wide receiver tradition.

7. OL Donovan Jackson to Ohio State — See Adeleye at No. 5 except minus the IMG part.

8. WR Troy Franklin to Oregon — This one is so big, it scared off some other wide receivers looking at Oregon. Franklin is another massive get from Cali for Mario Cristobal.

9. WR Jacorey Brooks to Alabama — Alabama continues to raid Florida for elite wide receivers and Brooks could be the next in line.

10. OL Landon Tengwall to Penn State — A Maryland kid going to Penn State isn’t a huge surprise, but Tengwall has become a very important piece of this Nittany Lions class.