Rival Views: Pick your cornerstone player

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate around which 2017 prospect they would build a program.

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Farrell’s view: This is an interesting question because our No. 1 player is a running back and teams can certainly rely on a back to win it all (Derrick Henry last year). However, while I like Najee Harris better than any running back since Leonard Fournette, running backs rely upon the offensive line. If you have a great line, you have a great back. If your line is average, he could struggle.

With that being said you’d think I’d then go with an offensive lineman, especially an elite blindside protector such as our No. 3 player, Foster Sarell. Wrong. While I like Sarell quite a bit, I’m still not convinced he’s the No. 1 player at his position and I’m more of a defensive guy overall. That’s why I’m going with Marvin Wilson, our No. 2 player and a defensive tackle.

Why Wilson?

First and foremost I love his work ethic and motor, two things that are very hard to teach defensive tackles. Last year we saw similar traits in Rashan Gary and Dexter Lawrence, who finished 1-2 in our final rankings, and we see the impact they are already having in college. Throw in Ed Oliver, who has made such a different for the Houston defense, and you can see the immediate impact a great defensive tackle can have.

Defensive tackles like Wilson, who can stuff the run, push the pocket, shoot the gap and run plays down, are rare and do so much to free up the rest of the front seven. They can even change an offensive gameplan if they are good enough. The quarterback is the most important position on any team, I’m not debating that, but having an elite defensive tackle can be every bit as important.

Five-star quarterback Hunter Johnson is the perfect prospect around whom to build a team for many reasons, but let’s just start with his ability.

The Brownsburg, Ind., standout can make all the throws, he’s cerebral in the pocket and can move offenses downfield. That’s why so many top receivers will want to play with him because they have confidence that he can deliver the ball and make the offense run smoothly.

After an early commitment to Tennessee, Johnson flipped to Clemson and I can’t think of a better offense for his abilities. The Tigers have no problems recruiting skill players and Johnson’s pledge can only help lure others.

High four-star receiver commit Tee Higgins and Johnson could form a pair like Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams now.

Every program wants to land a top quarterback, especially early in the recruiting process. Clemson got Johnson and it’s a phenomenal fit for so many reasons. There probably isn’t a better prospect to work a recruiting class around than Johnson because he’s so talented and fits Clemson’s offense so well.

The Tigers will lose Watson. But getting Johnson, the top-rated QB in this class, in the fold means Clemson should remain a national contender for many more years.