Cal Football: Forty percent of ESPN's List of Top-50 Players Won't Play in Fall

Fifteen of 50 come from the Big Ten or Pac-12, five others have opted out

Photo by Scott Clause, USA Today

ESPN released its latest list of the top-50 players in college football, and at least 40 percent of them won’t be playing when the fall season gets under way.

Fifteen of the 50 players — nine from the Big Ten and six from the Pac-12 — come from conferences that have decided not to play this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, five others from teams and conferences that will play in fall have opted out, either to prepare for the 2021 NFL draft or simply out of health and safety concerns.

That includes LSU's Ja’Marr Chase, who is rated No. 4 on the list and is expected to be the first wide receiver selected in the NFL draft.

ESPN explained its rationale for including all of the best players, even those who won’t be on the field Saturdays this fall:

We're keeping everyone on this list, even if they opted out or their conferences postponed the season. We don't know exactly when the missing will return to the College Football Cinematic Universe, but they will be on the field again.

The top Pac-12 entry on the list, predictably, is Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell, ranked No. 3 behind Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

Here’s ESPN’s comment on Sewell:

If it plays this spring, Oregon has a new quarterback and four-fifths of a new offensive line. That would be a bit scarier if the other fifth up front wasn't one of the best offensive line prospects of the 21st century. Sewell nearly broke Pro Football Focus' grading scale. He's ridiculous.

Cal had no players selected to the list. The only other top-10 pick from the Pac-12 is Oregon defensive end Trayvon Thidobeaux, pegged at No. 6. ESPN's analysis:

You never quite know how long it will take a blue-chipper to reach his potential. It took Thibodeaux a couple of months, at most. The all-world freshman recorded 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in the last six games of 2019.

Alabama leads the way with six selections — as many as the entire Pac-12 — led by cornerback Patrick Surtain II at No. 10.

Here’s the top-10, plus others in the top-50 from the Pac-12:

1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson QB

2. Derek Stingley Jr. LSU, CB

3. Penei Sewell, Oregon, LT

4. Justin Fields, Ohio State, QB

5. Ja’Marr Chase, LSU, WR

6. Kayvon Thidobeaux, Oregon, DE

7. Travis Etienne, Clemson, RB

8. Marvin Wilson, Florida State, DT

9. Micah Parsons, Penn State, LB

10. Patrick Surtain II, Alabama, CB

23. Walker Little, Stanford, LT

26. Kedon Slovis, USC, QB

35. Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Oregon State, LB

49. Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC WR

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*** SI's Pat Forde discusses in the video below what else will be different about college football this fall, and it's a lot.

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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