Five-Star Geography: Breaking down five trends at DT
There have been plenty of five-star defensive tackles in Rivals history dating back to 2002. Today, we ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell five questions about the position after analyzing some surprising numbers and breaking down the states.
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1. Is Texas the best state for defensive tackles?
Overview: The list of five-star defensive tackles from Texas is incredibly deep and filled with big-time hits over the years. Ed Oliver is the most-recent standout as he had a dominant career at Houston before being the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft a few months ago. Other big names include A’Shawn Robinson and Mario Edwards. This could be the season that Marvin Wilson emerges as a huge standout in the ACC, if not nationally, at Florida State. Rodrique Wright, Franklin Okam, Malcom Brown and DeMarcus Granger are also on the list.
Farrell’s take: Texas is up there for sure and I love the way defensive tackles are developed in the Lone Star State. They all seem to be very athletic but also have great motors and I expect Wilson will be the next one coveted by the NFL. You think of the Southeast when you think of defensive linemen, but Texas does as good a job as any state developing them, especially the inside guys.
2. Do the Longhorns need to do better with in-state five-star DTs?
Overview: There has not been a five-star defensive tackle from the state of Texas since 2017 when it was Wilson and the Longhorns have done decently with elite players at that position over the years, but should the in-state power do even better? Wright, Okam, Brown and Granger all picked Texas, but only Brown was a first-round selection (Okam went in the fifth, Wright went in the seventh and Granger was undrafted). Oliver, who picked Houston, was a first-round pick and then Robinson, who went to Alabama, and Edwards, out of Florida State, went in the second round.
Farrell’s take: Robinson, Edwards, Wilson and Oliver all came around when Texas was down in recruiting either at the end of the Mack Brown era or under Charlie Strong. Before that, Texas did a good job keeping them in-state for the most part and that will pick up again under Tom Herman but there is plenty of competition with Oklahoma and Texas A&M and others all hitting the state hard.
3. DTs have fared well at Alabama but only Daron Payne is from the state. What does that say about coach Nick Saban’s ability to develop at every position?
Overview: There are seven defensive tackles in the NFL that played at Alabama and the only five-star, in-state prospect was Payne, who picked the Crimson Tide over Mississippi State, Auburn and others. Saban and his coaching staff have gone all over the country for elite defensive tackles and others like Quinnen Williams were in-state prospects who the Alabama staff developed into first-round talent.
Farrell’s take: I think you could say the same thing about Saban when it comes to ends, linebackers and defensive backs as well, so it’s not a surprise Alabama does so well with defensive tackles. The Tide coach players up as well as anyone and there aren’t a ton of five-star busts that end up at ‘Bama. Alabama can recruit anywhere and luring top defensive tackles has not be an issue.
4. Is New Jersey an up-and-coming state for elite DTs?
Overview: There have only been two five-star defensive tackles from New Jersey in Rivals history dating back to 2002, but both have been since the 2016 class and beyond in Rashan Gary from Paramus (N.J.) Paramus Catholic and then Antonio Alfano from Colonia, N.J., last recruiting cycle. Gary played at Michigan and was the No. 12 overall pick in the NFL Draft a few months ago. There aren’t any five-star DTs in the 2020 from New Jersey but Isaiah Raikes out of Richland (N.J.) St. Augustine just had a strong performance at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas and Tywone Malone is a top-three DT in the early 2021 rankings.
Farrell’s take: Gary and Alfano are such great athletes that they could play end or tackle at the next level and beyond, so I wouldn’t put them down as tackles alone. I’m not sure if this is a trend or not for New Jersey but I know they’ve produced some talented defensive linemen over the years. The Garden State is an underrated state for talent.
5 What do you make of the Louisiana five-stars?
Overview: Some of the best-looking defensive tackles over the last several years have come from Louisiana, but those players have come with mixed results, which is surprising because they were all dominant players on the high school level. Anthony Johnson had 67.5 sacks in high school but went undrafted out of LSU and then bounced around the NFL for a few years. Al Woods was a fourth-round selection. Chris Davenport transferred to Tulane but then fell off the map. The fourth one is Tyler Shelvin, who was hotly debated as a five-star prospect and he played in six games last season at LSU as a redshirt freshman.
Farrell’s take: LSU used to be known for producing great defensive tackles and the state has always had some talented big men, but overall the five-stars have not panned put as expected and I’m not sure why. It’s a tough position to project because a lot of guys max out their potential early. I’m stunned that Johnson didn’t become a star but I still think overall the state produces some very talented linemen.