It was one of the best roles of Jeff Bridges’ career.

The 1993 movie Fearless, where Bridges plays a survivor of a plane crash who suddenly has fear absent from his life is quite a case study on how approaching anything in life- including your work- has extraordinary benefits.

There are parallels in college football recruiting.

When acquiring talent for a college football program, it pays tremendous dividends to operate without fear. The same can be said for any type of sales and since essentially, you are selling your program, operating with no abandon can pay off. These guys boldly go and recruit whoever they want wherever they want and it pays off.

Here's my top five.

1. Clemson

The Tigers are among the best programs in the ACC and have posted double-digit wins the last four seasons, thanks in large part to Dabo Swinney and his staff going into highly-contested states (like Florida and Georgia) and landing highly-contested prospects (like Sammy Watkins, etc.). This staff stays on point and sells the positives of Clemson to the best of its ability. One non-Clemson coach called it a “machine” when praising the Tigers’ efforts. Simply put, it doesn’t matter if they are battling Florida and Florida State on a five-star from the Sunshine State or in-state UGA on a kid from Georgia, Clemson is going to go “all in” and attempt to land the prospect and it has paid off. Perhaps the most impressive signee was in this past class (2015) when the Tigers went to Connecticut and beat Ohio State and Penn State on five-star defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who has future star written all over him. Within the staff, co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott has been responsible for landing several of the big time out-of-state prospects (including five-star receiver Deion Cain in 2015) and defensive coordinator Brent Venables (who landed Wilkins) is among the best recruiters in college football.

2. Ole Miss

Ole Miss isn’t supposed to go into the state of Florida and land the top offensive tackle in the country (Laremy Tunsil). Ole Miss isn’t supposed to go into Texas and Tennessee and get stud receivers Damarkus Lodge and Van Jefferson. But that’s happened and more since Hugh Freeze took over in Oxford. Freeze and his staff arrived at Ole Miss with a mandate- the Rebels will recruit the best players in the country and will not apologize for doing so. They have an excellent staff- guys like defensive line coach Chris Kiffin will go into any school or living room anywhere, sell the Rebels program and come out typically with a 50-50 or better chance to land the prospect. It’s impressive what Ole Miss has been able to do in such a short time in terms of landing elite recruits and it’s due in large part to the fearless approach that they take on the recruiting trail.

3. Arizona State

Arizona State is among the most resourceful recruiting programs in the country. The Sun Devils hit the junior college ranks hard and even though California and in-state are priorities, they cast a wide net. You’d expect Arizona State to be active in Texas- Todd Graham is a Lone Star State native and it’s a state away- but the Sun Devils also have experienced success in Louisiana and up and down the eastern Seaboard (Virginia to New Jersey) in recent recruiting cycles. The staff believes it can sell Arizona State nearly anywhere in the country and takes the personality of Graham and what is one of the more underrated coaching staffs overall in the college game on the recruiting trail with it. Give them a couple of more recruiting cycles and the Sun Devils will have a roster that is second-to-none from a raw talent standpoint with representation from coast-to-coast.

4. Florida State

In may ways, Florida State doesn’t have to be fearless. The Noles won the 2013 National Championship and are among the best programs in college football. Plus, the state of Florida will always provide a steady stream of talent to Tallahassee when things are going as well as they have been. But you look closer and Florida State is not afraid to go anywhere in the country to land players. Tidewater of Virginia? They go get it done. California for quarterback Malik Henry (who has since transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.), no problem. This is the personality of recruiting coordinator Tim Brewster coming through. He’s one of the best recruiters in college football and is one of the most confident recruiters in college football. Never count him or the Seminoles out regardless of where the talent is from.

5. Wisconsin

Multiple coaching changes. It doesn’t matter. Wisconsin’s staff, regardless of its makeup, goes across the country and sells the success of the Badgers. It may not be a high-profile commit, but they work their way in on some very good out-of-state talent (North Carolina running back Antonio Williams comes to mind in this class) and it’s worked for them quite well as Wisconsin is one of the top programs in the B1G overall and may be the class of the B1G West, even with their third head coach in four seasons coming in (Paul Chryst). Every recruiting cycle, you hear recruits talk about the way the Wisconsin staff recruits and every recruiting cycle that talk grows. That entire program is fearless and it starts with the groundwork laid on the recruiting trail.