They might not be the highest touted high school players, but these 10 underrated college football recruits will make a big impact
The big names in college football recruiting always seem to dominate the conversation. Fans know who running backs Najee Harris and Cam Akers are and that they’re bound for Alabama and Florida State, respectively. Players like Foster Sarrell on the offensive line don’t slip under the radar either as he’s heading to Stanford. What’s more college football fans all eagerly await the National Signing Day decision for a player like Marvin Wilson.
However, not every player who makes an impact in college football was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. In fact, recruiting is every bit the same type of crapshoot that the NFL Draft is. You’re basing decisions and evaluations largely on potential, which has tremendous variance in regards to outcome. After all, Lamar Jackson was rated as the No. 401 recruit in the 24/7 Sports composite rankings for 2015. In case you hadn’t heard, the Louisville Cardinals star just took home the 2016 Heisman Trophy.
Subsequently, college football fans would be wise to broaden their scope when it comes to looking at recruits and the recruiting process. The next star player or Heisman winner might not necessarily be among the five-star recruits that everyone’s talking about. Instead, they could be an underrated recruit that has all the tools, keeps progressing, and ultimately becomes elite at his position.
With 2017 National Signing Day approaching on Feb. 1, we’ll take a look at players who fit that mold. These are the top 10 underrated recruits in the country and that you need to know before they become stars in college football.
Note: All rankings, measurements and rankings are courtesy of 24/7 Sports and their composite profiles.