Hit or Miss? How we ranked these recent CFB stars in HS
Did we get it right or did we get it wrong? Each week during the college football season we will pick five players who had outstanding weeks and look at their career so far and determine if our ranking was a hit or a miss. Here are this week’s stars.
Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.
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CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals100 | Position | Team | State
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Trevor Lawrence – Clemson
The skinny: Lawrence committed to Clemson in December after his junior season and never wavered on his word. With plenty of Heisman talk surrounding him heading into the 2019 season, Lawrence’s play in September and the majority of October was somewhat disappointing. However, over the last four games he has played at an elite level, including Saturday, when he completed 21 of 27 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns during an easy victory over Wake Forest.
Farrell's take: HIT. There is no doubt Lawrence was ranked properly as the No. 1 player in the country because he was the best quarterback I ever scouted. He's won a national title already, could win another one this year and should probably win a Heisman and perhaps a third national title before he heads off to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL. This was a no-brainer.
Brady White – Memphis
As a recruit: White had plenty of options from coast to coast, but eventually committed to Arizona State over Oregon and Cal in the spring after his junior season. He saw some action in Tempe, but after suffering an injury he decided to transfer to Memphis, where he reunited with former Arizona State offensive coordinator and current Tigers’ coach Mike Norvell. Now in his second season in Memphis, White has excelled in 2019 for the one-loss Tigers. He continued to roll on Saturday in Houston by completing 22 of 33 passes for 341 yards and five touchdowns and added a sixth touchdown on the ground.
Farrell's take: MISS. White had been very good and has resurrected his career at Memphis, but we had him ranked as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country behind only Josh Rosen in 2015. That means we expected him to be a star at Arizona State and likely a first-round pick. Transferring is OK in this day and age, especially for quarterbacks, so that doesn't have much to do with this "miss." It's more about the projections of stardom on the college level. This is a close call, however, as White has put together very impressive back-to-back seasons. He was just slightly over-ranked out of high school.
Shea Patterson – Michigan
The skinny: Patterson initially committed to Arizona before re-opening his recruitment and committing to Ole Miss over LSU. NCAA sanctions against the Rebels resulted in Patterson’s transfer to Michigan.
In Ann Arbor, while he has experienced some success, the overall results have not met expectations. However, his performance on Saturday against Michigan State was more what many were hoping for out of him. Completing 24 of 33 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain this level of play against Indiana and Ohio State in the next two weeks.
Farrell's take: MISS. While I debated whether or not we missed on White, there is no doubt we were too high on Patterson. As a five-star and top-five player nationally he has fallen well below expectations at Ole Miss and now Michigan. And it's puzzling.
Patterson had a lot going for him coming out of high school -- mobility, arm strength, field vision, toughness and an ability to win games late. Why that hasn't translated to the college game is odd because I especially thought he would have success at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. Patterson could end up finishing his career strong and go on to become a good NFL quarterback, but so far it's been a roller coaster.
To be clear, Patterson has not been a bad quarterback, he just hasn't lived up to the No. 3 ranking in his class.
Chase Claypool – Notre Dame
The skinny: Claypool took several visits during the spring after his junior season before trimming his list of top schools down to Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington, Rutgers and Michigan. He then committed to the Irish at The Opening. Currently enjoying his best season in South Bend, Claypool had a monster game on Saturday at home against Navy with seven receptions for 117 yards and four touchdowns.
Farrell's take: HIT. This is another tough one. Claypool was the No. 22 wide receiver in his class and No. 109 overall, so expectations were high. And while it has taken a few years, Claypool is now the receiver we thought he'd be for Notre Dame. He'll approach 1,000 yards receiving this season and will have double-digit touchdowns. So, for a Canadian prospect, who are very hard to project, he's finishing very well and living up to the hype.
Jonathan Greenard – Florida
The skinny: In the summer before his senior season, Greenard committed to Louisville over Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State. He played three seasons for the Cardinals, including a breakout 2018 campaign that saw him finish with 48 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He then took his talents to Florida as a grad-transfer, where he has established himself as one of the top defensive ends in the SEC. He continued his impressive level of play on Saturday at Missouri with six tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks during the Gators’ victory.
Farrell's take: MISS. Greenard was a three-star unranked defensive end coming out of high school who has turned himself into one of the best pure pass rushers in the country. We liked his speed and agility, but he was very thin and not very strong against the run. He's added bulk, as you would expect, but he's handling 300-pound tackles much better than anticipated. He's going to be a very good NFL player.