Now that the NFL draft is over, Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News takes a look at how the top-10 picks were rated by Scout coming out of high school. For every five-star player who actually blossomed into a top-flight talent, there is a player who wasn't even ranked at their position. More proof that if you're shelling out money to one of these sites for recruiting information, it's time to stop. Seriously.
First, credit Scout for getting it right with No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford. He was a five-star player coming out of high school and was rated the No. 2 quarterback behind Mitch Mustain.
No. 2 pick Jason Smith, the big offensive tackle from Baylor, was not rated or given two stars at best. No team was listed as having offered Smith. Wilner writes: "That doesn’t necessarily mean Smith’s only offer was from Baylor, but it might mean that — and it sure means that a bunch of elite programs missed out."
Some other misses: Aaron Curry of Wake Forest, B.J. Raji of Boston College and Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech.
Being a 5 Star recruit has nothing to do with being a n NFL draft pick. At best, the relationship is spurious, and at worse, non existent.
As to Jason Smith, he very well could be another Mike Mamamula or Tony Mandarich. Another big guy who impressed scouts with his performance in a t-shirt and shorts.
Posted by: bevo | April 27, 2009 at 06:17 AM
One of my favorite annual debates, and it gets at the underlying mission of the recruiting services. Is it to project talent or to baseline talent? I believe Scout and Rivals aim to baseline talent, measuring a player's current talent level versus projecting how he might be developed. If that is the case, then measurement against draft status is fun but ultimately meaningless
Posted by: Kevin @ Fanblogs | April 27, 2009 at 02:11 PM