Washington Post reviews 2007's top 100 football recruits

Submitted by LGenius on

I love looking back to see what happened to highly recruited guys, so this article is pretty fascinating.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/sports/wp/2017/01/29/following-the-signs/

Of note, Alabama and Michigan only had 3 players in the top 100 and OSU only had 2, while Florida had 11! Some things change, but some things stay the same. Unfortunately Meyer is still a ridiculous recruiter.  

MIchigan notables:

4. Ryan Mallett, QB

Commitment: Michigan

Mallett transferred from Michigan after one season and spent two years at Arkansas. A third-round pick in 2011, he has started eight games in six NFL seasons and last season was a backup in Baltimore.

25. Donovan Warren, DB

Commitment: Michigan

After leaving school early, he went undrafted in 2010. Warren bounced among four NFL teams but never played. He is involved in commercial real estate, according to his Twitter bio.

37. Jerimy Finch, DB

Commitment: Florida

Finch orally committed to Michigan and then Indiana before settling on Florida. He later transferred to Indiana -- and then transferred to Marian University. He was arrested in 2014 for burglary of a liquor store.

91. Toney Clemons, WR

Commitment: Michigan

Clemons transferred to Colorado and in 2012 was drafted in the seventh round by the Steelers. He appeared in four games that season and later bounced around the NFL and CFL.

Welp, at least Warren worked out. 

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bacon

January 30th, 2017 at 7:27 PM ^

They evaluate talent. Mallet had that, his problem was attitude. Donovan Warren was pretty good at Michigan and got bad advice to come out. Had he stayed another year he probably gets at least drafted. Finch, who knows about that dude. Clemons was a rich rod casualty. Maybe things end up differently if we had someone else at the helm.

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Elmer

January 30th, 2017 at 6:32 PM ^

Good thing the feedback from the NFL on where players might get drafted is better these days. 

Warren leaving early to not get drafted is a shame.  He obviously received bad counsel, but a more accurate draft grade might have swayed him to stay.

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stephenrjking

January 30th, 2017 at 6:41 PM ^

This article is actually really bad, in my opinion. It provides almost no information about the college career of the players (one or two have underwhelming careers that are mentioned, Cam Newton's Heisman season is discussed) and basically only details serious life problems and the pro careers or lack thereof.

And that's not what recruiting rankings are projecting. The 247 average is not an early NFL draft estimate; it is projecting players into college. 

But it's impossible to tell who had solid college careers but didn't turn into great pro prospects, and who were just bad. And, perhaps, which of a couple had mediocre college careers but were drafted on the strength of good measurables.

Ryan Mallett's writeup, for example, mentions the transfer and then tells us that he was a 3rd round pick and hasn't really found a niche in the NFL. But Mallett was a terrific QB for Arkansas, leading a scary-good offense. In this article there's almost nothing to differentiate between his outcome and, say, the career of John Brantley.

Issues like that all over the list. Not well executed.

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TrueBlue2003

January 31st, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^

between college productivity and pro draft position, so yes, it is fine for the article to talk about draft position and pro careers in the context of a top 100.  The top 100 ranking is essentially saying, if this guy doesn't get drafted, he was a college bust relative to his ranking.

There are some exceptions like spread n shred QBs or system guys that may have been productive but not NFL material.

What is missing is the extent to which the guy may have been a "bust". In the case of guys that didn't get drafted or have an NFL career, it would be instructive to know how many college starts he made or whether he made any all conference lists.  He may have been a Kyle Kalis-type bust that at least was the best at his position and played, but just never produced like a top 100 player, or he may have been a David Dawson type bust that just couldn't see the field at all for a power 5 team.

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Magnus

January 30th, 2017 at 7:24 PM ^

I didn't do all the top-100 guys, but I do go back and look at all the guys Michigan offered from the various recruiting classes. Here's the link to that 2007 class, if you care (LINK).

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alum96

January 30th, 2017 at 10:35 PM ^

Thanks for posting; I love looking at these and NFL drafts 4-5 yrs after the fact.  A lot of hyperbole that won't pan out including quite a few we are about to see Wednesday all across the country. 

OP - you realize Bama in 07 wasn't what it is today?  They were firmly a Brady Hoke program.  Prior 5 years were 4-9, 6-6, 10-2, 6-7, 7-6.

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LGenius

January 30th, 2017 at 11:45 PM ^

For sure. It's just amazing how drastic and immediate of a difference coaching can make. There are teams like Bama that have all the potential to be a dynasty, but need the right person in charge to unlock it.

Then again there are teams like MSU that will just never have the ability to compete on a national stage year in and year out, even with a legendary coach like Saban.

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BlueinPhilly

January 31st, 2017 at 9:52 AM ^

Interesting article. Seems like it would be a great tool for recruiting. You can have all the talent in the world, work hard, have good injury luck and still have a less than 10% chance of having a productive career in the NFL. A school with strong academics and extensive alumni network makes a big difference.

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Kevin13

January 31st, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^

that so few of them had much of an impact in the NFL.  Usually the top 100 kids are pegged as high upside, who can be difference makers in college and have a great chance to make it to the NFL. Not so much the case with that class.

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