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Tom Luginbill
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ESPN Analyst- Senior National Recruiting Analyst for ESPN.com
- Coached in four professional football leagues
- Graduated from Eastern Kentucky and Marshall
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Craig Haubert
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ESPN Staff Writer- National recruiting analyst and analyst for ESPNU
- More than a decade of college and pro coaching experience.
- Graduated from Indiana and Nebraska-Omaha
Evaluating college football prospects has proved to be an inexact science. It’s extremely difficult to predict how 18-year-old high school players will adjust to all the unknown variables at the college level.
But No. 1 talent level on tape will stand out to even the most inexperienced scout in the room. Each of the players listed here dominated the high school landscape and had the physical skills and transferable talent to project highly as college prospects.
We ranked our former No. 1 prospects from 2006 to 2019. (We had to omit Julian Fleming, the top-rated prospect in the Class of 2020. But he’ll qualify for this list once he suits up for Ohio State.)
Some maximized the elite potential they showed. Others failed to meet the lofty expectations set by the ESPN No. 1 overall ranking — whether the talent bar was simply set too high, they didn’t have the right circumstances or the lack of intangibles was simply too hard to mask when the competition stepped up. While some lacked that “it” factor, others possessed it to the highest degree. In the case of Myron Rolle, those attributes led to an even more impactful career off the field.
1. DE Jadeveon Clowney
South Carolina Gamecocks
Class of 2011
Clowney came out of South Pointe High in South Carolina as a 6-foot-6, 240-pound defensive end with an otherworldly first step and the ability to be a dominant edge rusher. After choosing South Carolina over Clemson and Alabama, Clowney was an impact player for the Gamecocks, earning SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC second-team honors in 2011.