Ja’Wuan James is the only consensus five-star player on Tennessee’s roster. (Photo from GoVolsXtra)
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — For most players who sign with a college team out of high school, their recruiting ranking is quickly forgotten. But for elite prospects, the burden or benefit of that high ranking doesn’t go away.
We reviewed the rankings for the Vols’ 82 scholarship players to see which high school prep stars were highly regarded and which ones were less acclaimed.
The numbers are from the 247Sports composite average, which aggregates the rankings of all the major recruiting services. In that sense, this is a good way to get a “consensus” ranking. Some services might have ranked players higher or lower.
It’s not fair to go down the list and rate each career in light of a high school ranking. Injuries happen. Coaches come and go. In many ways, juniors and seniors who are still around have already beaten the odds, given the degree of attrition in college football.
That said, let’s highlight a few notable rankings.
- Most of the sites use an NFL standard in their rankings. That is, the site project five-star players to be first-round NFL draft picks. Ja’Wuan James may or may not be a first-round pick, but if he has a solid senior season, most expect James will be off the board pretty early. Score a win for the recruiting sites on that one.
Another offensive lineman, Antonio “Tiny” Richardson, just missed being a consensus five-star prospect. Most expect he will go pro early and be drafted quickly as well.
- The only two-star players on the roster — linebackers Raiques Crump and Dontavis Sapp — are not stars, but they’ve both had very respectable careers. Sapp in particular could start as a senior and has earned praise from coaches for his leadership.
- The Vols likely have fewer four-star players than most current SEC rosters, but there are very few true busts in this group. Even those who haven’t reached the stardom predicted for them have still been solid contributors. (The jury is still out on many of the younger players, of course. In particular, receiver Drae Bowles and defensive lineman Danny O’Brien carry the burden of high rankings that might be difficult to live up to).
- Among the three-star players who form the bulk of the Vols’ roster, fewer players stand out. Daniel Hood and Zach Fulton, both mid-range three-stars, are looking to put the finishing touches on solid careers in 2013. Others are awaiting their first opportunity at real playing time, while others have largely been passed over on the depth chart.
Here’s the full list:
Five stars
1. Ja’Wuan James 0.9845
Four stars
2. Corey Miller 0.9701
3. MarQuez North 0.9574
4. Antonio Richardson 0.9564
5. LaDarrell McNeil 0.9554
Jacques Smith was a four-star prospect out of Ooltewah, Tenn. (News Sentinel photo)
6. Jacques Smith 0.9439
7. A.J. Johnson 0.9371
8. Curt Maggitt 0.931
9. Joshua Dobbs 0.9276
10. Marlin Lane 0.9272
11. Maurice Couch 0.9267
12. Marlon Walls 0.9222
13. Byron Moore 0.9207
14. Jason Carr 0.9197
15. Danny O’Brien 0.9181
16. Drae Bowles 0.9144
17. Jason Croom 0.9122
18. Alton Howard 0.9063
19. James Stone 0.9056
20. Jalen Reeves-Maybin 0.9051
21. Marcus Jackson 0.9011
22. Rajion Neal 0.9002
23. Alex Bullard 0.9002 (transfer)
Three stars
24. Nathan Peterman 0.8884
25. Kyler Kerbyson 0.8839
26. Ryan Jenkins 0.8832
27. Naz Oliver 0.8801
28. Justin Coleman 0.8801
29. LaTroy Lewis 0.8798
30. Austin Sanders 0.8793
31. Daniel McCullers 0.8785
32. Riley Ferguson 0.8741
33. Paul Harris 0.868
34. Corey Vereen 0.8678
35. Lemond Johnson 0.8656
36. Vincent Dallas 0.864
Michael Palardy was rated very highly for a kicker. (News Sentinel photo)
37. Michael Palardy 0.8632
38. Jordan Williams 0.8625
39. Cameron Sutton 0.8625
40. Greg King 0.862
41. Brendan Downs 0.8614
42. Mack Crowder 0.86
43. Brian Randolph 0.859
44. Tom Smith 0.8584
45. Justin Worley 0.8575
46. Jaylen Miller 0.8566
47. Marques Pair 0.8558
48. Alan Posey 0.8556
49. Alden Hill 0.8547
50. Zach Fulton 0.8537
51. Channing Fugate 0.8525
52. Geraldo Orta 0.8516
53. A.J. Branisel 0.8503
54. Justin Meredith 0.8497
55. Trevarris Saulsberry 0.8494
56. John Propst 0.8484
57. Matt Darr 0.8479
58. Justin King 0.8475
59. Devrin Young 0.8467
60. Tino Thomas 0.8438
61. Kenny Bynum 0.8425
62. Johnathon Johnson 0.84
63. Malik Brown 0.8387
64. Christian Harris 0.8379
65. Daniel Hood 0.8377
66. Dylan Wiesman 0.8352
67. Cody Blanc 0.8327
68. Brett Kendrick 0.8296
69. Malik Foreman 0.829
70. Allan Carson 0.8286
71. Riyahd Jones 0.8262
72. Josh Smith 0.821
Woody Quinn (center) was a volleyball player before returning to football at junior college. (Photo courtesy KNS partner 247Sports)
73. Woody Quinn 0.8091
74. Gregory Clark 0.8004
75. George Bullock 0.8
Two stars
76. Raiques Crump 0.7889
77. Dontavis Sapp 0.7778
Not ranked
78. Jacob Carter n/a
79. Joseph Ayres n/a
80. Brent Brewer n/a
81. Gregory Grieco n/a
82. Jaron Toney n/a
If you want to see the full roster with position, hometown and other details, click here.