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Rankings Rewind: Current NFL and college stars as recruits
Ahead of another loaded weekend of college and NFL games, take a look at where some of the biggest names in the sport were ranked as high school recruits and whether or not their ranking was a Hit or a Miss.
Dart began his career at USC as part of its 2021 recruiting class. That fall was the final season of the Clay Helton era for the Trojans, and Dart had a front row seat to the action. In fact, Dart played a lot for USC that season, logging three starts in six games of action where he posted 1,351 passing yards and nine touchdown passes.
Instead of sticking around for the Lincoln Riley era, Dart decided he wanted a fresh start and chose Ole Miss as his destination. He was immediately the starter for the Rebels at the beginning of the 2022 season and has since held onto that title. Dart has gotten better and better with each season and, despite the upset loss to Kentucky earlier this season, remains in contention for the Heisman Trophy and is a likely first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Dart was highly regarded as a high school prospect and finished at No. 107 in the Rivals250. That’s a respectable ranking given his background and skill set at the end of his high school career but it doesn’t necessarily reflect the potential that he seems to be fulfilling. As a first-round selection, No. 107 in the Rivals250 is just too low.
Verdict: Miss
Ewers’ recruitment has been well publicized. The native Texan was committed to the Longhorns in the early days of his recruitment but ended up decommitting and choosing Ohio State. Ewers also reclassified up one year from the 2022 class to the 2021 class, where he finished No. 1 in the Rivals250. After a brief stint in Columbus, Ewers transferred back to Texas where he ended up starting right away.
The Longhorns have returned to the national stage with Ewers under center. Last season Texas was a play away from playing for the national championship and it is currently one of the top teams this season.
Ewers has blossomed into one of the premier players in college football. The steady improvement in his game is encouraging given his status as a former No. 1 player in the nation. If he continues to string together elite performances on the field he could end up one of the first players chosen in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Verdict: Hit
Gabriel was originally part of the 2019 recruiting class. He signed with UCF and played three seasons for the nights, where he started 25 games and threw for 8,046 yards and 70 touchdowns. A few games into his third season at UCF, Gabriel sustained a season-ending injury. He transferred to Oklahoma prior to the 2022 season. He helped new head coach Brent Venables rebuild the Oklahoma program after the abrupt departure of Lincoln Riley.
During his tenure at Oklahoma, Gabriel threw for 6,839 yards and 55 touchdowns in 24 starters. He left Oklahoma after the 2023 season and landed at Oregon, where he’s playing for his best team in his sixth and final collegiate season. He has the Ducks ranked third in the polls and their most difficult opponent of the season is coming to town for a primetime showdown on Saturday.
Gabriel ranks second all-time in starts by a college quarterback with 54. Coincidentally, Bo Nix set the record for most career starts with 61 while playing for Oregon last season but if Gabriel starts the rest of the regular season games for Oregon he will tie Nix.
Coming out of high school, Gabriel was ranked as a high three-star prospect and the No. 15 dual-threat quarterback in the nation. He isn’t considered a high-end NFL Draft prospect right now but considering his performance throughout his college career and the sheer size of his statistical output, Gabriel was underrated as a high school prospect. It is likely he will be a mid-round selection in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Verdict: Miss
After just one season at Georgia, Harris decided to look elsewhere for more playing time. The Alabama native is benefiting from his transfer to Penn State. Harris has become one of the best cornerbacks in the nation.
According to PFF, Harris has the third-highest coverage grade among cornerbacks with at least 20 coverage snaps played. He won’t be eligible for the NFL Draft until 2026 so things could change before now and then but right now it looks like his ranking was accurate.
Verdict: Hit
Henry’s high school career is legendary. According to NFHS.org, he currently holds the all-time record for most career rushing yards (12,144), most rushing attempts (1,399), and has the sixth-most career rushing touchdowns (153). The Florida native was committed to Georgia early in his recruitment but ended up signing with Alabama in the 2013 class after committing to the Crimson Tide in September of his senior year.
Henry only played for Alabama for three seasons but during that time he won a national title and the Heisman Trophy. During his final season with the Crimson Tide, Henry rushed for 2,225 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Henry went on to be selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Now in his ninth NFL season, Henry has become one of the most well-known players in the league. He’s rushed for more than 1,000 yards five times in the previous eight seasons, including 1,985 yards in 2019 and 2,067 yards in 2020. In the 2019 and 2020 NFL seasons, Henry led the league in rushing and rushing touchdowns. The 2020 season was obviously the best of his career and he was recognized as NFL Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Pro.
Not ranking Henry as a five-star was controversial at the time but the feeling was that he would be too big to have long-term success as a running back in addition to the immense mileage he had already racked up during his high school career. That obviously didn’t hurt his case for the Heisman Trophy and it certainly didn’t hurt him once he made it to the NFL. However, his high four-star rating, just outside of five-star range, lines up with where he was selected in the NFL Draft.
Verdict: Hit
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