[h1]How top draft picks graded out as preps[/h1]
1. Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
2006 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 quarterback, No. 6 overall recruit)
Though dual-threat wonder
Tim Tebow outshined Stafford in his own conference, the latter always seemed to be the nation's best proprospect. His freakish arm strength and ability to make throws no one else could was plenty evident even when he was the quarterback at Highland Park (Dallas,Texas) High.
2. Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
2004 Rivals ranking: Two-star
Almost everyone whiffed on the offensive guard from W.T. White (Dallas, Texas) High. Kansas and Minnesota also showed interest, but Smith stuck with Baylor,where he started eight games at tight end as a redshirt freshman. He moved to right tackle as a sophomore and left tackle as a junior.
3. Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
2005 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 offensive tackle, No. 3 overall)
Everyone wanted the 6-foot-6, 320-pounder from Plainfield, N.J. Monroe wound up deciding between Maryland and Virginia.
4. Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
2005 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 pro-style quarterback, No. 7 overall)
Sanchez already had committed to USC when he blew away the field at the 2004 Elite 11 camp. Fellow campers that year included
Chase Daniel, RyanPerrilloux and
Jonathan Crompton.
5. Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
2006 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 16 athlete)
Oklahoma and Texas A&M also wanted the football/basketball star from Skyline (Dallas, Texas) High. Unfortunately for the Sooners and Aggies, theycouldn't compete against the one-two recruiting punch of
Mike Leach and
Bob Knight. Crabtree realized quickly his futurewas on the gridiron.
6. Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
2006 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 offensive tackle, No. 2 overall)
Four days before National Signing Day, fans at Florida's O'Connell Center chanted the name of official visitor Smith, who also was consideringAlabama, LSU and USC. The giant from Birmingham caused a lot of angst in his home state, but worry turned to joy when he slipped a houndstooth hat on his headon Signing Day.
7. Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
2006 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 24 receiver)
Maclin called himself a "soft verbal" when he committed to Oklahoma in August 2005. The speedy receiver from St. Louis changed his mind a fewmonths later, and his choice set the stage for Missouri's rise.
8. Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
2004 Rivals ranking: Two-star
Curry, from Fayetteville, N.C., hoped for offers from other ACC schools, but they never came. So Curry went to Wake Forest, put on 35 pounds of muscle andturned into one of the nation's best linebackers.
9. B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College
2004 Rivals ranking: Two-star
Raji, from Washington Township, N.J., flew under the radar until his senior season because he didn't go to the usual combines and camps the previoussummer. That was lucky for B.C. and Rutgers, which discovered him first and wound up being his finalists.
10. Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
2004 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 12 weakside defensive end)
A trip to a Nike camp in College Station in May 2003 put Orakpo on the recruiting map, but the Houston native held out for an offer from Texas. When he gotit that June, he jumped on it.
11. Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee
2004 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 10 inside linebacker)
Ayers, the No. 2-ranked player in South Carolina in 2004, knew he would play in the SEC, but he didn't decide where until the day before Signing Day.That's when he chose Tennessee over Florida and South Carolina.
12. Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
2004 Rivals ranking: Three-star (No. 14 strongside defensive end)
A late-January visit to Miami forced Jackson to rethink his commitment to LSU, but in the end, Jackson decided to head to Baton Rouge. The choice netted hima national-title ring.
13. Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
2005 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 7 offensive tackle)
Author
Michael Lewis made quite a leap when he chose Oher as the focus of
The Blind Side. Even at offensive tackle, it's toughto predict whether a high-schooler will become a first-rounder. Lewis nailed this one.
14. Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
2005 Rivals ranking: Three-star (No. 61 cornerback)
Jenkins, from Piscataway, N.J., also received offers from Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. The fact that the Hokies and Buckeyes wanted him should havebeen the tip-off that Jenkins was no three-star.
15. Brian Cushing, LB, USC
2005 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 5 outside linebacker)
It came down to USC, Boston College, Florida and Miami for the Bulldog of Bergen, N.J. Cushing chose Troy, where he would join Sanchez and Maualuga in theclass of 2005.
16. Beanie Wells, RB, Ohio State
2006 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 running back, No. 3 overall recruit)
If not for the distance, Wells might have chosen USC, where he would have taken his place among a legendary collection of backs. Of course, the Akron nativehad a fair program in his own backyard, and he helped the Buckeyes to two BCS title-game appearances.
17. Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State
2006 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 4 pro-style quarterback)
Freeman wasn't even considering Kansas State until the Wildcats hired
Ron Prince, who had been trying to convince the Grandview, Mo.,native to come to Virginia. Shortly after Prince was hired, Freeman decommitted from Nebraska and set a course for the Little Apple.
18. Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State
2006 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 7 weakside defensive end)
Practically every school on the eastern seaboard wanted Maybin, a 6-3, 211-pounder from Ellicot City, Md. In October 2005, Penn State coach
JoePaterno canceled all official visits the weekend of the Ohio State game so his players could concentrate. Maybin watched the Nittany Lions' upsetwin anyway, and he came away impressed.
19. Clay Matthews, LB, USC
2004 Rivals ranking: Zero-star (Walk-on)
Matthews, whose father,
Clay, was an All-America linebacker at USC, received only one scholarship offer. From Idaho. So he walked on wherehis father and uncle (offensive lineman
Bruce Matthews) starred, earned a scholarship and played his way into the first round.
20. Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
2005 Rivals ranking (prep school): Three-star
While at Hargrave Military Academy in 2004, Jerry played alongside 2008 first-rounder
Branden Albert and current Alabama linebacker
Brandon Fanney. Expect Jerry to be joined in the NFL next year by brother
John, an Ole Miss offensive lineman.
21. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
2006 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 10 running back)
Even though Moreno is from New Jersey, two of the SEC's biggest rivals wound up vying for his services. He chose Georgia over Florida, then burst on thenational stage as a redshirt freshman by gaining 188 yards and scoring three touchdowns in a 2007 win against the Gators in the World's Largest OutdoorCocktail Party.
22. Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
2006 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 overall recruit)
Though Tebow gets most of the credit for Florida's high-powered offense, Harvin was the X factor defenses couldn't contain. Durability issues havehurt Harvin's draft stock, but his 11.6-yard average from scrimmage -- with many of those touches coming as straight handoffs from the tailback spot --made him college football's most dangerous weapon.
23. Darius Butler, CB, UConn
2004 Rivals ranking: Two-star
This diamond in the rough started for four seasons after redshirting in 2004. Judging by
this YouTube clip, he should have gotten some playing time alongside
A.J. Price and
Hasheem Thabeet.
24. Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
2004 Rivals ranking: Two-star
A knee injury suffered during Pettigrew's junior season at Tyler (Texas) Lee High threw college coaches off his scent, but he drew plenty of interestgoing into his senior season.
25. Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
2006 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 22 receiver)
Britt appeared set to sign with Illinois, but the speedster from Bayonne, N.J., decided on Signing Day he wanted to play closer to home.
26. Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
2005 Rivals ranking: Five-star (No. 1 inside linebacker, No. 5 overall)
The rich got richer in January 2005. During the broadcast of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, this Eureka, Calif., star picked defending national champ USCover Oregon.
27. Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
2005 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 12 receiver)
This speedy receiver from Owing Mills, Md., considered heading south to Alabama, but just before his senior season at McDonogh High, he decided to stay homeand play for the Terrapins.
28. Eben Britton, OT, Arizona
2005 Rivals ranking: Four-star (No. 16 offensive tackle)
Much of the Pac-10 offered this giant from Burbank, Calif., but he considered Arizona a perfect fit.
29. Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
2006 Rivals ranking: Four star (No. 31 receiver)
Nicks caught passes at Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) High, from
Joe Cox, Stafford's likely successor at Georgia. Few schools knewabout him because, as a junior, he played in the shadow of future Bulldog
Mohamed Massaquoi. After Nicks racked up 1,524 receiving yards and15 touchdowns as a senior, several schools probably wished they had noticed Nicks as early as the Tar Heels did.
30. Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
2006 Rivals ranking: Three-star
Davis, from Dunbar High in Washington, had a tough time choosing between Illinois and Maryland. In the end, the brother of San Francisco 49ers tight end
Vernon Davis picked the Illini because he felt he had a better chance to play early. He was correct; Davis was named a freshman All-America in2006.
31. Donald Brown, RB, UConn
2005 Rivals ranking: Three-star
UConn's program has begun to produce NFL talent, but in 2005, Storrs wasn't a sexy destination in the eyes of recruiting analysts. Brown, who gained2,036 yards and scored 27 touchdowns as a senior at Catholic (Red Bank, N.J.) High, never stopped finding the end zone.
32. Max Unger, C, Oregon
2004 Rivals ranking: Three-star
The two Oregon schools were the only programs to offer Unger, then a 6-5, 280-pounder from Kamuela, Hawaii. The Ducks were the lucky winners of a brainy,athletic lineman. Unger started at left tackle as a freshman and sophomore and moved to center in 2007.
