SEATTLE - Led by Ernie Sims of Tallahassee, Fla., who seems slated for stardom
on
either offense or defense, the nation's top college football prospects have
been assigned rankings by TheInsiders.com recruiting experts.
Rankings, overall and by position, of Sims and other top prospects can be
accessed via TheInsiders.com (www.TheInsiders.com) player database,
which is linked to on all of the network's college team and recruiting
sites.
Players also have been rated on a star system, with five stars being the
highest level. In a break with previous years, the number of players earning
one to five stars is not predetermined. "We will no longer have quotas on
the number of five-star prospects, four stars, etc.," explained Jamie
Newberg, TheInsiders.com's national recruiting editor. "In the past, we
only
had two five-star prospects per position. Now, if there are eight five-star
wide receivers, that is how we will rate them. If we do not have any
five-star-caliber prospects at a position, then no one will get that rating.
I think this will be a great change to the way we do things."
The first group to break the mold indeed are the wide receivers, who
recorded eight five-star ratings, led by Antonio
Cromartie, who like Sims is out of Tallahassee, Fla. Whitney
Lewis of Ventura, Calif.; Michael
Bush of Louisville, Ken.; Andre
Caldwell of Tampa, Fla.; Chad
Jackson of Hoover, Ala.; Robert
Meacham of Tulsa, Okla.; Steve
Smith of Woodland Hills, Calif., and Anthony
Hill of Jacksonville, Fla., were the other wideouts who earned five-star
ratings.
"Speed is the name of the game in the south, and the class of 2003 is loaded
with swift wide receivers from the southern states," said Scott Kennedy,
who
operates the acclaimed BorderWars.com with
Newberg. "Southern standouts such as five-star recruits Cromartie, Jackson,
Bush and Hill lead one of the deepest classes of wide receivers in recent
memory."
In addition to Newberg and Kennedy, the list of nationally recognized
recruiting experts who contributed to the rankings and ratings include:
Mike Bakas of TheInsiders.com.
Greg Biggins of PacWestFootball.com.
Brentt Eads of StudentSports.com
Max Emfinger of MaxEmfingerRecruiting.c
om.
Chris Fetters of TheInsiders.com
David Garvin of HeartlandRecruiting.com.
Chris Pool of PoolRecruiting.com.
The strength and versatility of the list this group produced is exemplified
by Sims, whom Newberg calls "the best overall high school football prospect
that I have seen in several years. First of all, he has that rare
combination of size, speed, strength and quickness. Sims is so good on both
sides of the ball he could play running back or linebacker at the next
level. He is the best prospect at either position that I've seen this year."
As usual, there is no shortage of top quarterback prospects. Regionally,
this position is dominated by California and the Deep South, according to
Eads of StudentSports.com, which operates the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp.
The
12 invitees to that camp will be announced by Student Sports on July 1.
"The Golden State contains three of the nation's top seven signal-callers
in
Kyle
Wright (Danville Monte Vista), Dennis
Dixon (San Leandro) and Tom
Grady (Huntington Beach Edison)," Eads said. "When you toss in T.C.
Ostrander and Sam
Keller, the San Francisco Bay Area alone is home to four of the nation's
top 22 quarterback prospects. The South is home to four of the nation's
top
five gunslingers in North Carolina's record-setting Chris
Leak, lanky Georgian Blake
Mitchell, the athletically-gifted Robert
Lane out of Louisiana and rifle-armed JaMarcus
Russell from Mobile (Ala.)."
The usual regional suspects emerged as power centers that will fuel future
college teams. Florida and Texas, no surprise, were front among them.
"Every spring college coaches from across the entire country flock to the
state of Florida for the May evaluation period when it gives them an
opportunity to get a first-hand look at the state's top prospects," said
Bakas, a mainstay expert in the Sunshine State whose coverage has expanded
throughout the Big East conference. "I also took advantage of that
opportunity and saw most of the state's top prospects in person this past
spring.
"Leading the way offensively was Andre Caldwell. At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds,
Caldwell is the younger brother of current San Diego Charger and former
University of Florida standout Reche Caldwell, who was named Mr. Football
in
the state of Florida his senior season. The younger receiver combines more
size, speed, and athleticism than his brother did at that age and it has
attracted scholarship offers from many of the nation's elite.
"The most talented team I watched this spring was Palm Bay, a Class 4A
powerhouse. The Pirates are led by two of the state's elite players in
fullback/defensive end Joe Cohen and strong safety Reggie Nelson. Both Cohen and Nelson have big time upsides and
will be key factors in Palm Bay's quest for its second state championship
in
three years."
Top Texas expert Garvin said of the Lone Star State, "Just mention the names
of Euless Trinity's Ofa Mohetau, Jasper's Jorrie Adams or Lewisville Hebron's Ian-Yates Cunningham, and you have D-I offensive line coaches
drooling. Ditto for defensive coordinators regarding Denton Ryan defensive
end Jarvis Moss and Lewisville safety Tony Cade, who could be the top players at their respective
positions nationally in 2002.
"Others garnering offers from all the top programs are Alief Elsik tight
end
Tony Hills, North Mesquite cornerback Tarell Brown, Brenham wide receiver Limus Sweed, Tyler John Tyler defensive end Tim Crowder, Duncanville defensive tackle Xavier Lawson-Kennedy and Pflugerville tailback Erik Hardeman.
"As always, there are many skilled players in the Lone Star State, but the
big men continue to lead the way."
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