National Signing Day rewind: How No. 1 overall recruits fared through the years

From Vince Young and Adrian Peterson to Jadeveon Clowney and Trevor Lawrence being the top recruit often comes with unrealistic expectations.

Recruiting is an inexact science. Being a five-star recruit isn’t a guarantee of a Heisman Trophy, national championship of being a future first round pick in the NFL Draft. It does guarantee high expectations that are often impossible to meet and countless eyeballs watching your every move.

In the case of last year’s No. 1 overall recruit, the early results are promising for Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence who helped lead the Tigers to the National Championship, becoming the second true freshman quarterback to accomplish the feat.

Dating back to 2000, No. 1 overall recruits have won three total national championships, two have been Heisman runners-up and one was the No. 1 pick in an NFL Draft. In total, 10 of the draft-eligible recruits ended up being first round picks. 3019 No. 1 recruit, Nolan Smith, hopes to join that elite company once he finishes his college career at Georgia.

On the other side, one former No. 1 recruit went undrafted and another retired after two seasons due to medical reasons, proving that high school recruiting rankings can get you to college and set you up for a promising future, but it’s no guarantee of NFL success.

On National Signing Day, let’s have a little recruiting rewind and go back through the years to see who the No. 1 recruits were from 2000-2018 and how they fared in college and the pros.