Potential 2015 Prospect: S Arrington Farrar

Submitted by alum96 on

Thanks to "Jack Daniels" for bringing this guy up in comments section - worth noting him in a solo thread as a "potentially interested" in Michigan guy.  While not quite edge of the internet supposedly he got a C in a class, so Stanford backed off on him (sheesh) and he wants to go to a well thought of academic institution so both Michigan and our top rival for coaching services Duke should be in the mix. 

I will no longer be going to Stanford University. I am completely reopening my recruitment.

— Arrington W. Farrar (@_CharlemagneIII) January 12, 2015

Based on his offer sheet - Vanderbilt, Duke, Boston College, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin among others - this focus on good academic institutions sounds real.

We have massive needs at DBs in the next 2 classes (2015-2016) so this 4 star (all 4 services it appears) S prospect would be a great fit.  Already 6'2ish, 195ish lbs.  Let's see if his name comes up with Webb soon.

In depth free scouting report from August 2013 here.

Summary

  • Great athleticism
  • Covers a lot of ground when closing on run plays
  • Sure tackler in open field and closed space
  • Flashes good range, but coverage evaluation is inconclusive due to few pass highlights
  • Currently projects best as a strong safety

Ratings Overview

Arrington Farrar's early ratings are consistently indicative of an elite profile. All major services that have published ratings for the 2015 class have Farrar as a four-star prospect and one of the top 20 players in the football-rich state of Georgia.

Arrington Farrar is a large defensive back who has already established himself as a solid run defender with great range as a sophomore. From a deep safety position, he closes quickly when he recognizes run and generally takes good angles to the football. When he does get caught slightly out of position, his exceptional athleticism kicks in, as he is able to use his feet and agility to quickly maneuver his body back into position to make a tackle. Once he is in position, Farrar does a good job of securing tackles, which is very important as the last line of defense. Additionally, Farrar displays great savvy when playing closer to the line. He often uses his quickness and acceleration to run behind blocks and finish plays near the line of scrimmage with solid tackles. Farrar's size, alongside this consistent ability to wrap up, are reasons colleges and services are evaluating him as a linebacker prospect.

Given these skills, Farrar will need to be careful to not rely too much on his athleticism with respect to beating blocks. Occasionally, safeties are put in a position in which it is best for them to take on a block directly to hold a point or set an edge to funnel the runner to the pursuit as opposed to beating the block with speed – the latter option being more of a risk.

There is not much footage of Farrar in pass coverage, but the footage that is available shows that he is more than capable of the center-fielder role in a defense. As he goes through his junior season and possibly the 2014 summer camp circuit, we will likely see much more of Farrar putting his athleticism on display in man-to-man coverage.

Farrar is a prospect who could end up playing linebacker in college or, more likely, playing as a jumbo defensive back. His mixture of size, speed and agility can make him extremely successful at either position, with his ultimate destination depending on whether he ends up at around 220 pounds by the time he graduates from high school. At any weight less than that, Farrar will likely find his home at safety, where he can develop into an elite college player.

Everyone Murders

January 12th, 2015 at 5:34 PM ^

Well, given that Cutcliffe slammed the door in our face during the coaching search and we had to settle for Harbaugh, it will be interesting to see the football programs compete for Mr. Farrar. 

(Kidding aside, it's obvious that academics are a big part of this young man's focus, which is always great to see.  And a solid safety playing for Michigan - and Arrington appears to have the potential to be just that - would be even better to see.)

alum96

January 12th, 2015 at 5:05 PM ^

Note his very cool twitter handle.  I doubt there are many football players in this country at any level who are going with ancient European emperors as their handle.

Ryanonymous

January 12th, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^

Harbaugh makes comments while at Stanford about academics referring to us vs. them etc. and here we are with a decommit from Stanford, seemingly over academics. Is it slightly ironic if Harbaugh swoops in and snatches the kid Stanford cooled on, now that Harbaugh is with Michigan?

I'm for it but would JH do it? I'll hang up and listen, thanks for taking my call.

getsome

January 12th, 2015 at 9:54 PM ^

as long as he can run and can change direction then sign him up.  

after edge rushers and QBs, id agree S is biggest immediate need.  it helps depth that i think S is peppers natural position and where he could make biggest impact (and where pro future lies).

but yeah they desparately need to stock up on quick athletic DBs in 2015-16.  and hopefully the new staff will sacrifice size for speed / agility (if necessary to sacrifice)  when recruiting and molding their squad.  most kids can bulk up 10-20 lbs on campus but S&C only marginally increases speed / quickness (aside from rare late bloomers and rare exceptions).  

simply cant coach speed and hoke mistakenly priortized size at DE, RB, WR, etc and now michigan really needs lacks freak athletes at those positions (like those flying around tonight for OSU and oregon)

AnthonyThomas

January 12th, 2015 at 6:09 PM ^

Would also be great to do some early work in Georgia. You never know what younger guys he's friends with, who his coaches know, etc. M's best teams during the '90s always had a contingent of Southerners - Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas specifically. 

Magnus

January 12th, 2015 at 6:30 PM ^

I'm not hugely impressed with his athleticism. He's kind of a safety/linebacker hybrid, and probably not someone you want playing back deep very often. Michigan could use some safety help, though. Nobody outside of Jarrod Wilson has really shown that he belongs on the field.

Ryanonymous

January 12th, 2015 at 8:06 PM ^

Kid has a nose for the ball and closes quickly. Get him in the weight room and see what happens. If he bulks up, move him to OLB. If he more tones than bulks up and continues to gain speed, SS it is.

Either way you take this kid.

UMaD

January 12th, 2015 at 10:16 PM ^

as far as 'transition' class safety types

...

From the sounds of it he could project to LB down the line. Typically when I read about big run-oriented safeties I think college LB.  I'd rather convert bigger CBs to Safety, bigger Safeties to LB and so on.

MP48

January 12th, 2015 at 10:33 PM ^

Over the top. Needs to put his pads on the ball carrier more. He has this strange hit then snare the leg thing going on. Almost an arm tackle, effective for High School. In College a RB would run through some of those. He does get to the ball!