Not sure where else to put this, but with the early signing thing happening today, this struck me as interesting. I like to occasionally look at the ESPN 300 and go back over the years to see how some of those top recruits panned out, how Bama's recruits did, and also to notice how many future superstars were barely on anyone's radar. I'm a firm believer that the more highly ranked recruits you get, the better your team will be, but there are definitely some can't-miss kids who miss and some unknown diamond-in-the-rough kids bound for future glory.
Look at this year's Heisman trophy finalists:
Kyle Trask was a 3-star recruit who ranked barely in the top 500 on most recruiting sites. He's spent much of this season as the Heisman favorite and will likely be a 1st or 2nd round NFL draft pick.
Devonta Smith, who's going to be a unanimous All American, win the Biletnikoff Award, likely finish 2nd or 3rd in the Heisman race, and be a high 1st rounder was 227 on the ESPN 300. He was a skinny, undersized WR with average WR speed. Lucky to get a scholarship to a big program and I remember that on signing day I felt bad for him knowing he'd likely never do anything beyond be cannon fodder on the scout team. I was just a bit wrong.
Mac Jones was the #18 PP QB in the country as a recruit and the #399 overall recruit in his class. Nobody was flying into his HS in a helicopter to beg him to sign with them. I don't even remember him from signing day and no Bama fan ever thought he'd be anything other than a scout team guy. He's probably going to win the 2020 Heisman.
I LOVE these low-ranked guys who blow up when they get to college. 5-star recruits are great and we need them on our roster, but some of those unheralded afterthought guys manage to "do OK" too.
I hope so, at least. I think if he'd missed the Georgia game it would've been a problem. Against Auburn this year? Probably won't make much difference. I just hope he doesn't have any complications and that he makes a full and speedy recovery.
