Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s Three-Point Stance is here with thoughts on the other side of the transfer portal, some big games that will impact recruiting and some early-season overreactions.
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1. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRANSFER PORTAL
Everyone talks about the good part of the transfer portal. We saw that over the weekend as quarterbacks such as Jalen Hurts, Justin Fields, Jacob Eason and others dominated at their new schools.
But what about the bad part? With USC quarterback J.T Daniels going down with a season-ending injury in the opener against Fresno State you have to wonder what Jack Sears, who left the team in August, is thinking and if there is a chance he returns to the Trojans. Right now, the starter is freshman Kedon Slovis, but many are wondering if USC and Sears will kiss and make up. Sears entered the transfer portal after falling down the depth chart, but now there seems to be an opening for a quarterback with experience in that offense. Head coach Clay Helton is under tremendous pressure to win the Pac-12 this season or perhaps be fired, and having Sears on his roster would have been a boost.
If Sears ends up elsewhere, the former four-star recruit could regret leaving USC so soon after not winning the job. Heck, by the time you read this, Sears could be back with the USC football team and all could be well. But if he isn’t, perhaps this is an example of a prospect who should have stuck with his team, supported them and waited for his turn.
Ironically, former five-star quarterback Davis Mills for Stanford could be a key to the Cardinal season after K.J. Costello suffered a head injury in the season-opener. Mills came off the bench and played well replacing Costello and could be the starter this weekend when he could have easily entered the portal. It would be interesting to see a Stanford team led by a patient Mills beat a USC team without a patient Sears, no?
For every success story we hear about the transfer portal, there are many examples of how not waiting can have a negative impact as well.
2. THREE WEEK 2 GAMES THAT HAVE MY ATTENTION
The first week of the year wasn’t great for football games with recruiting implications, but that’s not the case this weekend. Here are three games that I’m watching this weekend that will have interesting recruiting implications down the road.
LSU at Texas – This one is obvious as Tom Herman is recruiting very well, better than Mack Brown did in Austin, but Ed Orgeron is always looking to steal prospects from the state of Texas. LSU is also recruiting very well and is branching out into different areas, but Texas, and especially the Houston area, will always be an area the program recruits heavily.
Winning this clash could boost recruiting quite a bit for the side that comes out on top. It’s more important for LSU to win so the Tigers can continue to lure kids out of Texas, but the Longhorns also need a win to keep the momentum going. This is a great recruiting rivalry with two very good recruiting head coaches.
Texas A&M at Clemson – This one may seem odd, but remember Jimbo Fisher has great recruiting ties not only to the Southeast but to the Mid-Atlantic as well and he’s competing with Dabo Swinney often for prospects on the East Coast. Clemson spot recruits Texas, but it’s not a focus for the program, so this is a more important game for the Aggies and their national recruiting efforts. However, if the Tigers win in a romp on Saturday, they just might pick and choose a few prospects from Texas moving forward.
Stanford at USC – While Stanford has some academic restrictions that force it to recruit more nationally, the program still goes head-to-head with USC here and there for big-name recruits. USC recruiting is down and hasn’t been good under Clay Helton, so a win here is a must for the Trojans in many ways on and off the field.
Meanwhile the state of California is wide open for the taking and a Stanford win would go a long way towards making the Cardinal an attractive in-state option for those with the grades to get in.
3. OVERREACTION REACTIONS
Everyone loves overreactions these days, right? Here's my reaction to a few that I have heard recently.
Jeremy Pruitt has lost control of the locker room at Tennessee – DISAGREE – It would take a special kind of coach to have his entire team bail on him so early in his tenure even after such a horrible loss. Some have even said there are rumors that Pruitt could be gone this season. While nothing surprises me anymore, I would be stunned if the heat is on Pruitt this soon.
Willie Taggart doesn’t know how to get his teams prepared – AGREE – Okay this might sound harsh, but if you’re complaining about conditioning and hydration as a Florida team at home in the season-opener, there’s something wrong. I know Taggart wasn’t blaming the loss on these factors and his comments went viral, but this should never be in the discussion when it comes to a home loss for a team that prepares in the heat. How did Boise State handle it?
Jalen Hurts can take Oklahoma to the promised land – AGREE – Well, sort of. I still think Clemson wins it all, but Hurts will be a huge factor for the Sooners and he will be dominant in that offense. I can see Oklahoma making the title game if he’s indeed taken the next step and I love how nothing satisfies him.
Bo Nix will be an Auburn legend – AGREE – One game? A legend? Yes, he will be one of the best quarterbacks to ever play for Auburn and go down as one of the SEC’s best ever when all is said and done. This kid has intangibles we loved that pushed him to five stars and he’s going to be a special talent.
Clay Helton is done with JT Daniels out – AGREE – Daniels is a special quarterback talent and the drop off to backup Slovis is a huge one. With what USC wanted to do with their offense this year, losing Daniels is a crushing blow and will secure Helton’s ouster by season’s end.
Penn State will push Ohio State and Michigan – AGREE – Everyone forgets about Penn State for some reason when talking about the Big Ten East and think this is a battle between Ohio State and Michigan. But I like quarterback Sean Clifford a lot and there is a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, so the Nittany Lions should not be counted out at all especially after an impressive opener.
Trevor Lawrence will have a sophomore slump – DISAGREE – Lawrence threw two interceptions in the opener against Georgia Tech and many are freaking out. Don’t worry about it. Clemson will be just fine, Lawrence will put up monster numbers and the Tigers will win it all again.
