A lot is made of recruiting rankings. Heck, I’m one of those crazy people who pay $100 annually to get the latest information on recruiting. College football recruiting has turned into a multi-million dollar industry. It provides entertainment just the same as a TV show does. Recruiting has more sudden plot twists than LOST. Yet, it is still a very inexact science. Every year, highly touted guys like Ron Powlus turn into disappointments. Similarly, lowly-ranked recruits become superstars. This year’s NFL Draft provides some great examples.
Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
2-star prospect – NOT RANKED by Rivals.com. Held ONE offer from Wake Forest.
2008—101 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT
Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
2 – Star Prospect – NOT RANKED by Rivals.com. Held THREE offers from Baylor, Minnesota, and Kansas.
Projected Top 5 pick
Curry and Smith are by no means alone. Plenty of recent First Round NFL Draft picks were not very highly recruited.
Jake Long, OT, Michigan
Ranked the 21st best OT in the country by Rivals.com. Not in the Rivals Top 100 HS Players.
#1 overall pick in 2008
Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
Ouch.
Ranked the 25th best QB in the country by Rivals.com. 3 star prospect.
#3 overall pick in 2008
Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State
NOT RANKED by Rivals.com, 2 star prospect.
#12 overall pick in 2008
Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
NOT RANKED by Rivals.com, 2 star prospect.
#20 overall pick in 2008
Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
2- Star WR Prospect (that’s right, WR) - NOT RANKED by Rivals.com. Held ONE offer from Arkansas.
#8 overall pick in 2007
Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville
2- Star Prospect – NOT RANKED by Rivals.com as an Offensive Guard. Held ONE offer from Louisville.
#10 overall pick in 2007
3- Star Prospect – D’Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia
(No clue what’s happening here)
Ranked the 29th best OG in the country by Rivals.com. Held TWO offers from Virginia and Michigan State.
#4 overall pick in 2006
Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota
Ranked the 18th best RB in the country by Rivals.com. Held FOUR offers from Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
#21 overall pick in 2006
While these scouting websites do miss, they are also probably as accurate as is humanly possible when predicting the college futures of 18 year olds. If you ever really doubt these guys, go back through their top 10 rankings for basketball players from 2007 and before. Rivals’s predictions are uncanny good.
The Magnificent M
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