Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
MORE: Why 2021 QBs are elite | Class of 2021 QB rankings | Big Ten team rankings
THE STORYLINE
There is only one five-star quarterback in the initial 2021 rankings in Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian’s Brock Vandagriff, but it’s early and many more five-stars will get added.
Two prospects under serious five-star consideration - and who have a lot of Ohio State and Michigan fans watching - are Buckeyes QB pledge Kyle McCord and Wolverines commit J.J. McCarthy.
McCord, from Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joseph’s, seems to have the slightly clearer path to five-star status since he’s ranked ninth nationally and McCarthy, out of La Grange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy, is at No. 11 but both are well within striking distance of getting bumped up.
The 2021 quarterback class is shaping up to be one of the better ones in Rivals history and there could be others that will fall into five-star consideration as well.
Could Ohio State and Michigan each end up with a five-star quarterback commit in this class?
FIRST TAKE: MARC GIVLER, BUCKEYEGROVE.COM
“Both guys are clearly among the best at their position nationally, which at a premium position like quarterback should automatically put you in five-star consideration. On Ohio State's end, if you look at what Ryan Day did with Dwayne Haskins and what Mike Yurcich did at Oklahoma State with Mason Rudolph, McCord is that style of quarterback. He is a big, strong-armed kid who is at his best throwing in the pocket and stylistically he is just a perfect fit for what the offensive brain trust at Ohio State has excelled with recently.
“But I think you can probably say the same about McCarthy and Michigan, who closely resembles Shea Patterson as someone who can run around and extend plays and take advantage of play action bootlegs and throwing outside of the pocket.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“They both have five-star potential. We want to see how they develop because it’s still very early in their career. We felt comfortable with Vandagriff as a five-star, the other two are right on the cusp.
“I’m more of a McCord guy at this stage, but it’s close. I like McCarthy a lot as well and I think it’s going to be determined on how they mature and develop. The physical skills are there. It’s all going to come down to how they read defenses and make decisions. Both of them should be highly-ranked by the end of the process.”
