Home Football Ranking the 2020 Recruiting Class

Ranking the 2020 Recruiting Class

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Here are my annual rankings. As always, there is the star rating but the order the guys are listed matters as well (e.g. the first three star guy on my list is the best. The last 3-star the worst. Etc). Let me know your thoughts and/or who I got wrong and why.

*****

Charles Moore — I’m not sure if he’s a psycho, but he looks to be a legit game-changer. Check out the film. He was the 69th recruit in the nation in 2019. He sounds like a bit of a prima donna, so that’s a concern. “Auburn wasn’t the place initially that I wanted to go to because it’s in a secluded, country area. I wanted to live a flamboyant lifestyle. But actually, going to college isn’t about that life. When you go to college, that 3-4 years is to set you up for the rest of your life…” Let’s hope that’s behind him, and he can live up to his talent.

****

Chance Nolan — I really like this guy, and he should give Gebbia a run for his money. I see a guy with legit wheels, a strong arm, and a fluid throwing motion. He had offers from Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Utah. Big get.

Jake Overman — Nice blocker and pass catcher. Very fluid and a motor. I can see this guy being a captain one day. That type of heart somehow shows on film. Hope he stays at TE because he looks elite there.

Shane Kady — Legit. What am I missing? Not sure why he’s only a 3-star, and his offer sheet isn’t great. Extremely explosive pass rush and finishes plays. Probably the most under the radar guy in the class.

Sione Lolohea — Mean pass rusher with range and agility. Future game changer on defense.

***

Isaiah Newell — Surprisingly difficult to rate since we don’t know his position for sure, and there isn’t a lot of film on him (strange given his prestigious offer sheet). I’d put him low 4-star/high 3-star. If I had a 3.5 rating I’d put him there. So I’ll just make him my #1 3-star prospect. Rare combination of size, agility, and nimble feet (looks like Fred Astaire out there!). Speed looks good. Maybe not breakaway, but good speed.

Alton Julian — Big, rangy…good ball skills and pretty good coverage skills. Lacks top end speed and agility. Looks a lot like Jordan Poyer with a similar skill set. Seems to have a fiestiness and a lot of heart to his play. Winning personality, too.

Ben Gulbranson — Really long windup where he drops the ball down low before throwing. That said, it works for him. Pretty good wheels and elusiveness. He should be a productive QB in a few years.

Zeriah Beason — With his offer sheet I was expecting to see greatness on film, but he doesn’t have breakaway speed and goes down pretty easily. Still a nice looking player. Not sure he’s a “game changer” as his offer sheet suggests.

Taliese Fuaga — Big body but needs to work on his technique and form. Bumps and pushes opponents to the ground, which isn’t going to work in the PAC.

Silas Bolden — Runs exactly like Victor. Very strange. Nice looking complimentary player.

Junior Walling — He’s intriguing on film. Pretty decent speed and takes good angles tackling. Offer sheet of Utah and then mostly Ivy League schools.

Rejzohn Wright — His film is old, so it’s hard to say, but in the first few clips we see (a) a guy celebrating a pick six around the 20 yard line and (b) a guy targeting. He has a good offer sheet, so maybe I’m missing something or he matured at JC. Can’t know these things from watching 2017 film, though. Coach him up, Smith.

Ron Hardge III — My lowest 3-star. Early in his film he seems to have good awareness and ball skills, but as it goes on you see some PI and other problems. Overall looks okay. Might contribute early on if he can learn PAC level play early in camp. Very low 3-star ability, but I’m hoping he can be coached up with some of the issues. Hiding him at safety would be smart, and his future would be a bit brighter there.

**

Cooper Darling — Fringe 3-star. Has serious strength, but he’s slow and not the most agile blocker. I’d say he’s a project who could go either way depending on coaching and desire.

Tavis Shippen — Really weird film. He seems to just bang guys with his shoulder. Not sure that plays well in the PAC-12. Technique flat out sucks. Looks to have a good body. I’m not sure you can teach a JC guy technique. At least he has good physical gifts to work with if they can teach him some form. I don’t understand the high rating, but maybe it’s a me issue.

John Miller — Very stiff athlete. Hard hitter. Looks like a special teams type of guy who can maybe work into the rotation as he matures. He looks to have taken big strides between Sophomore and Junior year. I couldn’t find Senior film. Possible late bloomer? Possible 3-star just having a hard time being fair on how productive he might be and how long into his career to do so given how stiff he looks. Intriguing.

Trevor Pope — Doesn’t look like a PAC-12 athlete. Think he projects best in the secondary and as a backup player.

Tommy Spencer — Slow moving TE. Looks to be the 2nd guy in two TE sets and maybe a blocking TE.

Jacob Ferenczi — Not seeing a ton of talent here. He’s super smart, so maybe with that talent and some development by senior year he’ll be a contributor.

Johnathan Riley — Not much film on him. All I’m finding are clips from a Spring practice or scrimmage. Hard to say. He looks alright in the video. 5-star name, though!

Korbin Sorensen — I can’t find any video on him, and I’m skeptical a PSU player can come in and contribute.

*

Joe Quillen — No video. He’s not necessarily a 1-star, but given his lack of offers and lack of video that’s where he’s going.

165 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks Angry.

    On the coaching and teaching technique, I’m cautiously optimistic the current D coaching staff can do that. I was concerned that much of the current roster had terrible habits from Andersen’s tenure that couldn’t/wouldn’t be corrected, but there was marked improvement in pursuit and tackling this past year.

  2. OT, gals up to 3rd in the AP rankings with 4 first place points. I think this is again the highest we’ve been with the most first place points.

  3. Shippens film you posted was weird, every play he posted was a hold or a blind side pancake block on offense. It was just ok for his defensive plays. But as someone pointed out, it’s old film from highschool. With his offer sheet being what it is, somethings up. He has to have settled down and is playing better then that film.

    • Yeah. I’d like to see some new film, but I don’t think there’s any out there. Recruiters must see something that’s not on that film, but I don’t know what it is, so I’m going on that film that’s available. Based on that, he is super overrated.

  4. It should be interesting to watch nolan battle gebbia. Does nolan have 2 or 3 years? If we can reload on the offensive line I like the looks of the roster coming back. It’s been mentioned but I would definitely like to c a tall wr added.

  5. Moores comments you posted………I’m not sure if hes joking or just didn’t visit OSU?
    Nolan: at least we’ll have a competitive QB competition. Not the old “who sucks the least” challenge.

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    I can’t get behind Nolan. I hope I’m wrong, and I see the same things you guys do on film, but remember, he was a redshirt at Middle Tennessee State a year ago. I’m not sure how after a year at a JC, he is ready to be a starter in the PAC 12.

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        It’s how can a guy transform himself into a power 5 recruit after just one year?

        I think Nolan is a solid three star. He was a two star out of high school and now has made himself into a three star. He’s no four star player.

          • I’m curious what you see in his film. It’s almost entirely composed of him throwing the same vertical ball over and over again. He does it well, but that’s a throw he’s going to be attempting maybe 3-4 times per game. What else can he do?

            His HS film looks the exact same.

          • I have the same issue DE. The film seems to show a very simple offense where he either hits a simple read or scrambles. Works well against lower talent but in P5 idk. Tools are there to be a good qb I just don’t know how good he can read a defense and read in a more complicated system. Happy to have his talent on the team regardless.

          • I already said what I see in the comment next to his name:

            I really like this guy, and he should give Gebbia a run for his money. I see a guy with legit wheels, a strong arm, and a fluid throwing motion. He had offers from Oklahoma State, UCLA, and Utah. Big get.

            Those schools I mention are consistently good at QB evaluation. So if they’ve seen him even more recently than the film and offered then he’s probably even better than on film. My guess is he’s a late bloomer. Let’s remember, Johnny Manzeil was a 2-star recruit at one point and bumped to a 3 by signing day (for those who are hung up he was a 2-star at some point). Smith said he’s a big time competitor, too. So he probably willed himself into a player.

  7. 12

    OT: Rashed Jr. coming back for senior season.

    “These past three years have been such a humbling experience. I’ve been blessed to play big time football, but I still have a lot left to accomplish. There is an opportunity to achieve so much more and create unforgettable memories with my teammates.

    After a long conversation with my family, I have decided to return to Oregon State for my senior season to capitalize on all opportunities, earn respect, grow as a player, and leave OSU better than I found it.”

    https://twitter.com/HamilcarRashed/status/1209210377214414849

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    I’m not too wrapped up on who played where, or who has offered or even if someone redshirted like Chance Nolan did at MTS. I am getting behind the coaches now. They have proven to me as a fan in 2 years time, that they obviously know what they are doing. Yes, it took the current guys 2 years to improve, but the current players seem to have better body type than previous classes.

  9. Zeriah Beason has 4.4 speed lol, plus he played on a top texas team with 5 star guys around him. He will be amazing. Also John Miller is better than walling. Jonathon Riley has updated film on hudl, he looks solid will likely be 2 deep. I agree in Shady he looks good way underrated, but I disagree on Darling looks good and should help in a year or 2.

    • He reminds me of that ASU WR. That guy is a beast.
      High 3-star is a good rating, so I’m not sure what you’re complaining about. You think he’s a 4-star?

  10. The problem with highlight film is it doesn’t tell the whole story and isn’t what the coaches use to judge a player. U cant tell things like if a receiver blocks downfield well or if a player takes plays off etc.

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    Thanks for taking the time and doing these reviews AB!

    Charles Moore —Dead on. If he can keep his head and school together I think this kid is gone in 3. Definitive 5.

    Chance Nolan — Slightly disagree on confidence not stars. Has all the tools so I’m interested to see what he does against P5 competition. I still think the air raid type offense he was in really simplified decisions/reads and I doubt he can scramble like that against top tier P12 D. Excited to see how he adapts.

    Jake Overman — Agreed.

    Shane Kady — Agreed, sleeper hit of 2020 and a long shot for an oscar. Redshirt him and get 20 lbs on that frame. Potential 4 year starter.

    Sione Lolohea — Agreed. See Kady.

    Isaiah Newell — Agreed. I have no idea what they will do with him but he has the goods.

    Alton Julian — Yup

    Ben Gulbranson — Needs Mechanics work, makes fast reads though.

    Zeriah Beason — Yup! Great Twitter user though.

    Taliese Fuaga — Yup. Redshirt and hit the gym. Learn from coach M and meet some guys he can’t push over and learn leverage.

    Silas Bolden — Good catch on that running style. Its not actually that weird. Its good sprinter technique that you often don’t see in football because it limits your ability to make cuts and leaves you more open for injury. Notice when Victor goes into contact he tucks his shoulders forward and drops his knees. As soon as he hits daylight he brings his eyes up, knees up and tucks his hips forward. This is what you see from a good 200m or 400m runner. Silas could actually bring his knees higher and tighten up his ankles and be a good deal faster in the open.

    Junior Walling — No idea, want to see full game film on him.

    Rejzohn Wright — Frame and stats alone I feel that hes a 3*

    Ron Hardge III — Safety for sure. Good call

    Cooper Darling — Not sure if his hips and core are strong at this point. Moves like he can squat 700 and bench 400 but has trouble tieing his shoes. I think with hard work and good strength/conditioning he becomes a monster though. Frame is massive.

    Tavis Shippen — Frame makes sense, I just have to assume the staff have seen him in action and know what they are doing.

    John Miller — I like him just for the respect he gets from other players and his community. I think he ends up being a captain, seems like a very hard worker.

    Trevor Pope — Agreed. Hope he has some break throughs cause if he can beef up his frame he would be a great size in the red zone.

    Tommy Spencer — Yes.

    Jacob Ferenczi — You think hes smart cause hes an engineering student huh? Its true though, we are smart!

    Johnathan Riley — No idea, good size for safety. See Shippen.

    Korbin Sorensen — Disagree here. I think he has a shot to start. He didn’t transfer just to ride the bench and he has the size to be a P5 athlete. If he starts it means he worked his ass off, if he doesn’t then atleast we know a young guy beat out established experience.

    Joe Quillen — D-Line rotation guy or practice squad. Can’t help but think hes a lure for his stud brother.

  12. If Silas Bolden carries the same running backwards trait his brother had, some of us are going to lose our damned minds.

  13. If Moore shows and stays on the field, and the D line and LBs from the current roster are healthy, they’re going to wreck some havoc and get lots of “surprise” rave reviews just because OSU Beavers has been so bad for so long. The D Line and LBs can do some damage, if the CBs can help out, even better. Coverage sacks would be nice.

  14. 6
    3

    Went to the Capitol City Classic at Willamette and watch Wilsonville play the team from Cali with the #1 player in the country (7 footer) and the kid was good but not great IMO. A little passive and timid on the inside but has all kinds of gifts just needs to be ore aggressive. I sat in front of Zach Reichle and that kid has a foul mouth to say the least. His brother, Gabe, starts for Wilsonville and he’s got a pretty good game. He’s different player than Zach (thank gosh) and has the potential to play at a place like Portland State or UofP. He could possibly be a Pac12 player as he’s 6’2″ and is pretty quick and smart. He held his own against a group of very quick and talented kids from Cali. I was tempted to tell Zach to tone down his language but his parents were there and they should have told him to tone it down. Drop the F-bomb and using GodD…. around young kids just shows a lack of maturity. I’m sure Zach is a nice kid, but he should clean up his language.

  15. 2
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    The only things we need to be selling these recruits on is that a: we beat Notre Dame 20 years ago and b: Chad ocho cinco. What most people think of as the best college game ever and who most consider the best receiver / overall player of all time! He even kicks!! Rare talent.

    Not sure why it’s been so hard for coaches to close the deal since. Time for them to get out, spread the word and close these kids on the Beavers now!

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    Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope you all have a blessed and delicious holiday surrounded by people that make you happy.
    And, here’s to a good year 2020 for OSU sports.

    – marco

  17. 6
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    Coach Miller says, open up a fresh pack of More 100’s and pour yourself a nice glass of Scotch and enjoy Christmas because tomorrow you’re going to have your asses back on the court learning how to play this game the right way!

  18. Ho ho ho….Merry Christmas to all, and to the party kind a good, raucous, belligerent, necessary night!!!!
    ….and for the non-party quiet types a peaceful lounge by the fire in smoke jacket and slippers with jack&coke in hand kind of night!!!

  19. 3
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    Anyone get any good presents? I got a pretty badass 9.5″ Japanese steel chef’s knife. On the instructions it says “not intended for mortal combat” and “keep out of reach of children and enemies.”

  20. Eastern Michigan easily covers and suddenly there’s a 5 way tie for the top of the BeavRecruiting Bowl Pool.

    E. Mich QB showed what good feet can do, which Beavs QB is most similar?

    BTW: He also showed what lack of self control can do, being ejected for throwing two punches on one play with 10 seconds left in the game!

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    OT looking at the 2002 season, OSU traveled to Philadelphia to play Temple and won 35-3 (Temple was a garbage program back then.) Never got a home game in return.

    • 5
      5

      I hate our scheduling. We should not be scheduling these types of games under any circumstance. I don’t want to hear the $ argument, because if you care about money you’ll make a lot more making a bowl.

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        Angry, is there really any positives from playing tough out of conference games? Does your team get better because of it? I say no… I think it beats up your team with no real gain… You can make up for not scheduling these games by winning in your conference… That’s the way I see it

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          Agree I don’t see any positives. The idea it makes a team tougher is speculative mumbo jumbo. We’ve seen OOC teams destroy the Beavs physically and mentally. I can’t think of any that were a positive. The ranking system and bowl committee reward playing cupcakes, yet there are the Beavs trying to play renegade hero at the exact moment they shouldn’t.

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            Exactly, I just don’t get it… The sad part is these people are making a huge salary to make these dumb decisions… I imagine the coach signs off on this which is strange to me

          • I’m guessing the only positive is it gets a team that is rarely on national television, on national al television. This must appeal to someone. I’m not saying this makes it worth it but that is a positive when you get stuck on pac-12 or maybe fs1 which I believe is regional.

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            It’s even worse, we scheduled the series in 2015 when after Riley left, Andersen’s first year… They had a bowl win over Washington. Why schedule a program that is on the rise when your program is going down hill?

          • Why are people thumbing down these comments? There’s no reason to schedule these games if you want to build a sustainable program. Period.

          • Sounds like the GA War Daddy mentality.

            Also, no one thought the GA “rebuild” would be as bad as it was. I remember we were all envisioning an offense led by McMaryion taking on Michigan in the Big House (in hindsight, if we had him instead of Seth, we could have won that game.)

          • I always thought it was Riley’s way of giving the team an opponent, a bowl game if you will, he “knew” he wouldn’t get at the end of the season. He’d tell them to savor “the experience.” But if that’s your mentality, you’ll likely make it reality.

            As much as possible, non-con games should be progressively challenging but winnable, so the staff can work on aspects of the game that need improving and development. Build experience and mental confidence for the conference schedule.

            The “soft scheduling” complaints can go out the window, because everyone else is doing it and there’s no disincentive to the practice.

            Look at how the SEC schedules weak opponent late in the year. Its like a practice and an opportunity to rest players before the big push at the end of the season. And even though such games are fresh in people’s memory (unlike game 1 – 3 of the season), they don’t suffer for the practice.

  22. 3
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    USC football has become an absolute joke under Clay Helton. It’s one thing for a coach to phone it in, but what we’re seeing down there is what happens when the entire administration phones it in. What a waste.

    • I mean any program on a third string qb is going to have a hard time winning that game. But overall the Program is going to be in shambles moving forward. The cupboards are slowly refilling with lesser and lesser talent. You hire a new AD and can’t get a great coach. I don’t see how next year will be any different when Helton is gone.

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    Air Force has twice stopped Borgi at the goal line. We had zero chance to keep him out of the end zone on the exact same play. Our D Line has been horrible forever.

  24. Watched the cheez wizz bowl for a bit last night. Thought the cougs were fairly disinterested in the whole thing. My son-in-law, who is a WSU grad, thought the team was mentally weak the whole season.

    • Good coaching hires.

      Justin Fuente (current VT coach) turned them around and made them solid. Norvell (former wunderkind ASU OC) has taken them to the next level. Geographically, they’re surrounded by HS talent.

      Their QB was a former GA recruit that supposedly picked Memphis over OSU at the 11th hour because he felt like OSU had started ignoring him late in the game. He was pretty well thought of at the time. I believe that was the year we got the late Seth Collins commitment.

  25. So I’m just going through the comments, and there aren’t a lot of on-topic comments or others’ analysis of these players. Do people not like these rankings? I hate doing them because it takes a ton of time, so if nobody cares I just won’t do it next year. Anyone actually enjoy reading these? Anyone agree/disagree and want to add their opinions? Only person I saw give their opinion is Nuclear who did a nice writeup of his own.

    • I don’t think you need to be obliged to do them. It’s the kind of thing some of the users would do for fun (weirdo a like me) and maybe just throw your hat in the discussion where you think it’s valuable. Looking back at past evaluations I think you have a really good take on player evals that seem to hash out in the 60%+ region.

      I think it’s valuable but only if you enjoy it haha. Realistically it’s just a record to look back on to prove that you are good at it and a possible conversation starter while we wait for spring.

    • I actually refer back to them a fair amount. I think your track record is slightly better than the recruiting services and it can be helpful to have a historical record of what we all thought about guys when they were recruits.

    • Okay, as long as people gain value I’ll do them. It just seems quiet so I don’t know if anyone is reading them or watches the film and comes up with their own opinions. It would be cool if more people did the latter so we can discuss players.

      • My guess is most people have gotten fed up with following recruiting for a number of reasons:
        -MR-era “stars don’t matter” mantra
        -GA-era complete lack of success
        -OSU 4/5-star commits have a below average track record of living up to their designation as recruits.
        -The good OSU players are rarely the recruits we were excited about on signing day. That being the case, why put stock in following along at home?
        -Recruiting is a narrative gray-area the media tries to make more objective. Even hearing “OSU beat out USC for player X” only tells you so much.
        -LOI day matters less now with all the transfer portal activity.

        Personally, I used to be really into following recruiting, but ended up concluding it was a waste of energy for a combination of the reasons above. Now, I’ll get a little more excited if my perception of a guys’ film lined up with yours and he looks like a good get. Overall, it’s just too difficult for even the above average fan to glean anything meaningful from the information that’s out there (e.g. our commits with no public film from this season.)

    • I too, do read them. I’m not football knowledge deep to comment extensively.

      You could always make an announcement beforehand and read responses from those who may indicate interest in commenting to gauge whether or not you decide to do it, then make a separate post like you’ve done and allow ppl to add their commentary over time.

      Ppl seem to appreciate them, at same time it’s completely understandable if you feel it does not generate discussion at levels you like why you may feel less inclined to do it.

    • I enjoy them but I like to look at them in 2-3 years to see who under/over perform expectations. Not as Angry was right or wrong but what were people saying when the class was signed.

      Putting your opinions down in writing opens you up for criticism but as along as you are a attention whore like Steve A or Cowherd and saying thing to get a reaction or clicks I can respect it.

  26. I don’t understand the ND/Iowa State line. Why is it so close? ND is ranked 15th and has superior team stats across the board. Very odd line.

  27. Maybe this has been covered before but if a hs player is Planning to go on mission for two years, why do they “commit” to a program out of hs? Sometimes they don’t follow through with that commitment which I don’t blame them for changing their mind. But why not just go on your mission and when you are done determine which school is the best choice? Maybe it would be hard if your mission is over seas? Mauve I’m missing something.

    • Maybe something can change and they don’t go on mission? Not sure. I can’t think of any other reason. But if that is the reason it’s pretty selfish because the school has to waste a scholarship. I wouldn’t mess with those types of players unless it was just a luke-warm relationship or an elite guy worth waiting for.

    • They probably intend to follow through on the commitment, but then life happens and things change. They wouldn’t be the first people to see the world differently at 20 than 18, but it’s hard to know that will be the case when you’re 18.

  28. Did y’all notice that angry has posted a new thread?
    The new system here is pretty slick, shows the title of the previous and next thread in bold near the top close to the comment counter.

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