With the mania that college football recruiting season has become now over, and labels put on the top classes and players, I thought it'd be interesting to look back four years ago to see how much of an exact science ranking high school kids is. I've gone back to the 2008 Rivals.com rankings to see where their top players at each position has ended up in terms of draft standing. Let's start with the quarterbacks.
Quarterback, 2008 Rankings
1. Blaine Gabbert - Missouri - 5 Stars
2. Dayne Crist - Notre Dame - 5 Stars
3. Mike Glennon - NC State - 4 Stars
4. Andrew Luck - Stanford - 4 Stars
5. Star Jackson - Alabama - 4 Stars
A mixed bag here. Gabbert of course went to Jaguars with the No. 10 pick in the 2010 draft afterstarting two years at Missouri. Luck is the assumed No. 1 pick this year and the man who is going to follow Peyton Manning's footsteps in Indy. Crist has been disappointing at Notre Dame and announced he was transferring to Kansas for his last season of eligibility in 2012 (he redshirted in 2009). Glennon, who will be a redshirt senior in 2012, sat behind Russell Wilson until 2011. Wilson had a very good 2011 season (31 TD to 12 Int), and is poised to be a middle-round pick in 2013. Jackson never cracked the starting lineup at Alabama, sitting behind Greg McElroy and AJ McCarron on the depth chart. He eventually transferred to Division 1-AA Georgia State after the 2009 season, but was never able to win the starting job there. He left the team after the 2010 season and has apparently never returned to college football.
Other interesting names on the list:
6. Landry Jones - Oklahoma - 4 Stars
7. Jacory Harris - Miami (FL) - 4 Stars
8. Jordan Jefferson - LSU - 4 Stars
9. Tyler Wilson - Arkansas - 4 Stars
17. Casey Kelly - Tennessee - 3 Stars
Jones and Wilson are potential first round picks in 2013. Harris and Jefferson both have been mild disappointments and Kelly never made it to Tennessee because he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft. He has since been traded to the San Diego Padres in the 2010 Adrian Gonzalez deal.
NFL
Jared Sherman has been providing CSNPhilly.com with draft analysis since 2000. E-mail him at feedback@firedforwinning.com and follow him on Twitter @Phillyjared.