🏈 National championship features matchup of two former unknown recruits

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One is a former overlooked three-star recruit; the other wasn’t even that lucky. Nonetheless, Alabama running back Josh Jacobs and Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow will play an instrumental role for their respective teams in next week’s national championship game.

For a fourth straight year, Alabama and Clemson will meet in the College Football Playoff. The two perennial powerhouses have dominated college football both on and off the field in recent years. Not only will the schools face off for a national title for the third time in four seasons, they’ve also spent the past several years battling on the recruiting trail.

Next week’s national championship game will be littered with four-and five-star talent on both sides of the ball. Alabama’s first-team offense and defense feature a combined nine former five-stars, while Clemson’s starting lineup features a combined five. Then there are players like Jacobs, a former three-star running back, and Renfrow, a former two-star athlete.

Despite putting up huge numbers as a Wildcat quarterback during his senior year of high school, Jacobs didn’t start receiving major college offers until a few weeks before signing with Alabama on National Signing Day in 2016. Through 14 games this season, he has 593 rushing yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns to go with 231 yards and three more scores through the air. In Alabama’s last two games, Jacobs has piled up a combined 241 yards and three touchdowns.

"Josh has been a really good player for us, very consistent player in all phases of the game in whatever he's been asked to do,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said during the national championship teleconference Monday. “He's one of our best special teams players, and he's really played well for us all year long, especially in these last few games. He's had some outstanding performances. We've always been really pleased with Josh and what he's been able to contribute and his contribution has certainly helped us be successful offensively. I think our offensive staff here has done a really good job of utilizing his talents, and his production has reflected that.”

Like Jacobs, Renfrow played quarterback in a run-based offense during high school. The two-star athlete turned down a few offers from FCS schools to walk on at Clemson in 2014. After redshirting his first year, he earned a scholarship in 2015. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound receiver has tallied 490 or more yards in each of his four seasons at Clemson. He’s been particularly prolific against Alabama, recording 22 receptions for 211 yards and four touchdowns in his three previous meetings with the Crimson Tide. Through 14 games this season, Renfrow has caught 47 passes for 534 yards and a touchdown.

“I think he's a great representative of everything we want our program to be about: Grit, heart, toughness, perseverance, belief, just character and class in everything that you do,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “And that's exactly who Hunter Renfrow is. He's just an amazing young person. He just graduated. He's getting married in April. Just a wonderful story. I mean, he's what makes college football special, stories like Hunter Renfrow, and just really proud of him, and glad we've got him for one more game.”

While Alabama and Clemson both benefitted from their respective diamonds in the rough, Saban said it’s becoming more difficult for bigger programs to avoid letting late-developing players from slipping through the cracks.

“I think that probably even more so now than ever before because of early signing date, Saban said. “And what some of this does is for a player who maybe is undersized or develops a little later or has a great senior year, maybe a lot of programs have already signed a lot of guys, and they're not really going back looking for players like this because they've already made all their decisions in recruiting.”

After tallying 158 combined yards against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, Jacobs said he hoped his story would serve as “an inspiration to kids and showing them that regardless of their situation they can come out and do anything they put their mind to with hard work and faith.” The junior’s relentless work ethic has also made an impact inside Alabama’s locker room.

“I'm grateful that Josh has got his opportunity,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “You know, I think he's a person who comes in day in and day out, working really hard, and he does everything the right way. I mean, it's nothing that surprises me, nothing that surprises my teammates, but Josh could be the first to tell you that his success could never have been done without the people that surround him. I think he's done a tremendous job for us up to this point, and I think he will continue to keep doing that.”

No. 1 Alabama will play No. 2 Clemson on Jan. 7 inside of Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif

National championship features matchup of two former unknown recruits | BamaInsider.com