Two and done: Sophomores ready for NFL
Advertisement
The skinny: No. 2 overall, the No. 1 weakside defensive end and the No. 1 recruit from Texas in 2014, Garrett committed to Texas A&M over TCU after making playing closer to home a priority. Garrett comes off the bus looking like a playmaker and has proven those abilities on the field during his time in College Station. His unique combination of speed, quickness, strength and intelligence is rare, and is what has NFL scouts excited for the day he declares for the draft.
Farrell's take: Garrett is a physical freak similar to Jadeveon Clowney coming out of high school, but what he lacks that Clowney had was the ability to set the edge and play the run. In passing situations, he's an animal and almost unstoppable with his length and athleticism, but he can be sealed off too easily in the run game. That being said, knowing how much NFL teams covet rush ends, he is a guy you could have projected to be a possible two-and-out as a high school star.
3
WR
Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, 2014, Five-star
The skinny: No. 24 overall, the No. 2 safety and the No. 3 recruit from California in 2014, JuJu Smith-Schuster (John Smith in high school) committed to USC over UCLA after favoring the Trojans for the majority of his recruiting process. Smith-Schuster had the physical looks of a safety or even outside linebacker in high school, so when he began to use those attributes at wide receiver, he quickly became a matchup nightmare for cornerbacks. While he is already excelling at USC, it's scary to think what his game will look like in a few years as he continues to refine his fundamentals at the position.
Farrell's take: We had him as an impact safety prospect, but his offensive abilities were evident as well. However, if he progressed to defense, there's no way he'd be a two-and-out player, as it's much harder to project as a defensive back right away to the NFL. But as a receiver, he had great size out of high school and a physical nature, and now he's shown polished skills at wideout. Wide receiver is the easiest position to progress from college to the pros because you can dumb down the route tree and athleticism can take over, so this is a position to watch if a two-and-done rule is ever passed.
4
RB
Miami (Fla.) Central, 2014, Five-star
The skinny: No. 18 overall, the No. 2 all-purpose back and the No. 3 recruit from Florida in 2014, Cook flipped his commitment to Florida State during the week of the Under Armour All-American Game after originally committing to Florida early in the process. Because of his speed, athleticism and abilities in the open field, sometimes people forgot that Cook was actually an impressive 5-foot-11, 192 pounds coming out of high school. He was a home run threat any time he touched the ball at Central and has continued that at Florida State, while gaining 10 additional pounds of muscle.
Farrell's take: Cook has good but not great size, but coming out of high school he was dynamic playmaker in the running game and showed soft hands as well. Again, running back is on the short list of positions where you can make the jump after two years, especially a guy like Cook, who could start off as a third-down back and progress to every-down status.
5
OT
West Monroe, La., 2014, Five-star
The skinny: No. 17 overall, the No. 1 offensive tackle and the No. 3 recruit from Louisiana in 2014, Robinson spurned his home-state LSU Tigers and committed to Alabama after a fierce recruiting battle between Nick Saban and Les Miles. Robinson arrived at Alabama at 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds and as one of the top offensive line prospects over the last decade. While he was raw, his development in Tuscaloosa has already been quite impressive. Consistently refining his technical abilities, while enhancing his already impressive strength and quickness, Robinson is every NFL franchise's dream at left tackle.
Farrell's take: Aside from quarterback, offensive tackle is probably the hardest position to make an early jump to the NFL simply because the athleticism of the rush ends and linebackers at the NFL level is off the charts and the schemes are disguised so well. But Robinson stepped into a pro-style offense at Bama immediately and became a star. Even with an up-and-down year, there's no doubt in my mind that if he were able to declare for the draft, he'd be a first-rounder based on potential.
Mike Farrell
National Recruiting Director
Click Here to view this Link.