Advertisement
football Edit

Three-Point Stance: Top coaches, disappointing players, Frankenstein

Rivals National Columnist Mike Farrell is here with the five best coaching jobs so far this season, 10 players who have disappointed in 2021 and the perfect college wide receiver, tight end and offensive lineman.


*****

FACT OR FICTION: The SEC will get two teams into the playoff

CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

RIVALS TRANSFER TRACKER: Stories/coverage | Message board

RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series

*****

Advertisement

1. FIVE COACHES THAT HAVE IMPRESSED IN 2021

Mike Leach
Mike Leach (USA Today Sports Images)

These five coaches have impressed me the most so far this season.

Mel Tucker, Michigan State — Some people, like myself, didn't even predict a bowl appearance for the Spartans this season and look at them now. He’s the hottest name in coaching for a reason.

Dave Aranda, Baylor — I doubted him — a lot — after his first season but he has shown he can step into big shoes left by Matt Rhule.

Dave Clawson, Wake Forest — Anyone have Wake Forest making a playoff run this season? Anyone? He’s the best coach you’ve never heard of.

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan — Just his luck, Tucker at Michigan State is outshining him a little bit. It doesn’t matter though. This Michigan team was not supposed to be this good this year. Not even close.

Mike Leach, Mississippi State — Don’t let the 6-4 record fool you – there are some massive wins in here that no one really expected.

*****

2. PLAYERS THAT HAVE DISAPPOINTED IN 2021

Spencer Rattler
Spencer Rattler (USA Today Sports Images)

The season isn’t over yet but looking back at preseason expectations there have been a ton of players who have disappointed in 2021. I’ll detail the stars who have emerged this season later this week but let’s focus on the negative for now.

1. QB Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma — Maybe the biggest fall from grace of any player in college football history. Rattler was so bad that he was benched for true freshman Caleb Williams. His completion percentage is actually much better than last year, but his yards per attempt have been way down, and the Sooners' offense just struggled when he was in there. His return this past weekend did nothing to give hope.

2. QB Kedon Slovis, USC — Slovis has not changed as a passer at all in his three years on campus. In fact, he's gotten worse each year in terms of completion percentage, TD-to-INT ratio, yards per attempt and passer rating. This year, he has 11 touchdowns to eight interceptions and has completed only 65 percent of his passes, down from 72 percent as a freshman.

3. CB Derek Stingley, LSU — The top corner in the country entering this season, Stingley will still be drafted very highly because of his measurables and what he put on tape as a true freshman. But in the three games he played he was awful. He missed more than 36 percent of the tackles he attempted, was torched by UCLA and just generally felt out of sorts.

4. QB D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson — A preseason Heisman contender, Uiagalelei showed immense promise last season in his spot starts but has been nothing short of a catastrophe this year. He's completed less than 55 percent of his passes, has only eight touchdowns to seven interceptions in 10 games and can't even get anything going with his legs.

5. QB D'Eriq King, Miami — Even before he got injured, King was not fully himself this season and the Miami offense struggled with him under center. In his three games Miami was 1-2, he had more interceptions (four) than touchdowns (three), was sacked nine times and he averaged 2.4 yards per rush. Could he be back for a seventh season? I'm not sure if anyone wants to see that.

6. WR Justyn Ross, Clemson — Part of Ross' struggles stem from the overall issues that Clemson has faced as an offense, but even still his comeback has not been what we anticipated. He's a guy we expected to be able to overcome a lot of deficiencies elsewhere. He has registered 46 catches for 514 yards and only three touchdowns and only gone over five receptions in a game twice.

7. CB Kaiir Elam, Florida — Elam and Stingley were supposed to be the two best corners in the country and they've both massively underperformed. PFF has Elam as the 283rd corner in the country registering only one interception and four passes defended. This past weekend against Samford they were actually targeting him, throwing the ball his way 11 times and getting six catches and three penalties called against him.

8. RB Tank Bigsby, Auburn — One of my preseason All-Americans at running back, Bigsby currently sits at 52nd in the country in rushing. He might not even be the best running back on his team with the early season emergence of Jarquez Hunter. Auburn's line isn't doing him any favors, but he's not breaking tackles at the same rate he did last season.

9. LB Christian Harris, Alabama — I had Harris on my preseason All-American team and he's been one of the weakest pieces on Alabama's defense this season. PFF has him graded out as the 334th best linebacker in the country this season. He's really struggled in coverage, hasn't been an effective pass rusher and just seems a step slow.

10. QB JT Daniels, Georgia — This was supposed to be Daniels' year to finally break through in a meaningful way after he looked promising at the end of last season. But injuries derailed him yet again and Stetson Bennett IV has done a good enough job that Daniels is not going to be getting his job back.

3. FRANKENSTEIN RECEIVERS, OFFENSIVE LINEMEN AND TIGHT ENDS

David Bell
David Bell (USA Today Sports Images)

Finally, it’s time to Frankenstein some more offensive positions and come up with the best possible WR, TE and OL in college football.

WIDE RECEIVER

Speed: Chris Olave, Ohio State. Olave's straight-line speed is unmatched in college football as I’m talking game speed. This isn’t a 40-yard dash this is flying on a football field. He accelerates so smoothly that you don't even notice that he's pulled five yards in front of his defender in the blink of an eye.

Open Field Ability: Jameson Williams, Alabama. Williams is simply devastating in the open field with a combination of great top speed and amazing jukes. He's one of the best players in the country at any position once the ball is in his hands.

Size: Quentin Johnston, TCU. Johnston comes in at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds but plays even bigger than that size. And what makes him so special is that he is able to leverage his height and wingspan advantage in so many situations and is still great after the catch. He's going to be one of the top receivers in the 2023 draft.

Hands: Drake London, USC. Even though he's injured now, there's no denying that London has some of the best hands we've seen. He also uses his 6-foot-5 frame extraordinarily well, which makes 50-50 balls more like 80-20 balls in his favor. He catches everything thrown near him.

Route Running: David Bell, Purdue. Despite not having what most people would consider ideal measurables, Bell is consistently getting open and getting the ball. Why? His routes are as crisp as anyone, and he can find space and get separation in all situations.

Strength: Jahan Dotson, Penn State. What? Yep. The somewhat smallish receiver is sneaky strong for his size and that makes a huge difference after the catch.

TIGHT END

Size: Michael Mayer, Notre Dame. "Baby Gronk" stands 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 251 pounds, making him the prototypical dual-threat in today's game. He's fantastic in the open field, and, outside of Kyle Pitts maybe the best TE prospect we've seen in the past decade.

Blocking: Ko Kieft, Minnesota. Kieft leverages his mammoth 265-pound frame with the best of them at the position and is more often than not asked to single block ends and outside linebackers in the run game. and He's PFF's second-highest-rated blocking TE, and is a critical component to the Gophers' ground attack.

Hands: Jake Ferguson, Wisconsin. One of the more unheralded tight ends in the country, Ferguson has recorded a catch in every single one of his 46 career games and routinely makes borderline impossible catches look routine. He's as reliable as they come.

Route Running: Isaiah Likely, Coastal Carolina. The top graded TE according to PFF, Likely is also the nation's leader at the position in receiving yards and touchdowns. He's Grayson McCall's favorite target and gets open over the middle with ease.

Open Field: Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M. He’s not a wiggle guy but he has subtle moves after that catch that allow him to gain some key extra yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Size: Evan Neal, Alabama. At 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds, Neal has prototypical size for a left tackle, and yet is unbelievably nimble and light on his feet. He's a mountain of a man.

Awareness: Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa. The country's best interior lineman for two years running, Linderbaum might be the best center we've seen at the college level in years. What separates him from everyone else is his ability to recognize and diagnose defenses pre-snap, get the rest of his line in place, and use leverage to get where he needs to go in a hurry.

Strength: Darrian Kinnard, Kentucky. Evan Neal probably could have captured this category too, but I wanted to give some love to the big right tackle for the Wildcats who is a freak in his own right. Kinnard is not only insanely strong but also knows how to make the most out of it, bullying and punishing opposing defenders.

Technique: Ikem Ekwonu, NC State. A technician if there ever was one, Ekwonu has improved drastically over the course of his career in Raleigh and at this point is one of the top linemen in the country at any position. PFF's top-rated tackle, he has allowed only one sack on 427 pass-blocking snaps at left tackle, despite almost always being left on an island against opponents' top edge rushers.

Advertisement