Relationships, though, outweighed the brand names, and when former defensive line coach Brian Baker left Mississippi State for Alabama, Elliss chose to join his dad at Idaho. But a string of injuries ended up cutting his time in Westwood short. NFL Coaches. The Bison are an FCS dynasty, winners of nine of the past 11 national titles and purveyors of a unique brand of precise and physical play. Joe Flacco, Deleware. Micah Parsons was a five-star recruit out of Harrisburg, Pa., who mainly played defensive end and running back in high school. From that game forward, Strong ran his way to an invitation to the NFL combine. LSU was one of those schools, but the offer came too late in the process in December of 2016 when Orgeron was interim head coach. Lead Draft Writer. "When we were recruiting Tyson," McCook said, "we felt he could be a four-year starter for us. A look at how many Georgia football players were selected in the NFL He was so low on the depth chart at Michigan at one point that he considered transferring. The California native was set to enroll early at Alabama, but Michigan continued to stay in the picture. 2018 position ranking: No. Later on, though, Paye would attract more attention. But, every once in a while a few small guys will come into the NFL and wreak a little havoc. "When I first got into coaching 30-plus years ago, I remember recruiting a high school player, and the high school coach telling me he's a 'one in 10' -- a kid that you only get to coach one of these every 10 years," McCook said. Top 20 Elite Athletes Who Weren't Noticed in High School "I've always had the aspirations to play at the next level," said Elliss, one of 12 children in the family, including eight his parents adopted. Four high school athletes with metro ties drafted. At UGA, Stokes became a full-time starter in 2019. He recorded 76 tackles, 5 deflected passes, 2.5 sacks, and a couple of turnovers. Bateman made an immediate impact, catching 51 passes for 704 yards and six TDs as a freshman. Williams saw his entire 2020 season wiped out due to COVID, so while he kept working out, there was ground to be made up from a technical standpoint. But several players have navigated that route and are hoping to hear their name called during the 2022 NFL draft on April 28-30 on ESPN and ABC. Michigan Football 2023 NFL drafted players high school ranking Rodgers will one day have his day at Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he could, if he wanted to have a laugh, give a shout-out to all of the college coaches and scouts who passed on him when that night comes. Nick Fairley is an NFL defensive tackle, most recently with the New Orleans Saints. The three-star recruit chose the Wildcats over offers from Illinois, Kansas, Rice, SMU and Wyoming. 9 strongside defensive end. 10 and No. Flacco can be inconsistent during the regular season but come playoff time he is an all-time great. Even though he has had a very large number of injuries, Sanders has still managed to succeed. . This includes a man who was part of one of the greatest one-two punches in the history of the NBA and two of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. G. Newman Lowrance/G. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Luther Elliss said a competitive edge can often help compensate for what some players in the FCS might lack in physical evaluations. Just imagine that the ultimate bad boy of the NBA could have been just some short guy who wasn't able to make it. He plays the every-down back role that every team needs to have in their running back. 36 offensive guard. Check out the highlights from South Dakota State's tight end Tucker Kraft. In his final season at Princeton, Iosivas had 66 catches for 943 yards and seven touchdowns. In the open field he is unstoppable. (formerly Lee) High School. The 6-foot-5, 307-pound Strange has also showcased his versatility, as he worked at center during Senior Bowl week after playing left guard for most of his college career. Sproles absolutely exploded against the Colts, running for two touchdowns, one being the game winner. By early 2016, Jones was bumped up to a four-star grade by Rivals and began to attract attention from other schools. The Eagles realized this small rookie's talent and set him up for the starting role. Rounds 2-3. In 2009, he started at his role of Strong Safety for all 16 games of the season. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Sewell became Oregon's starting left tackle as a freshman and never vacated that role. But what really impressed were his perfect blend of rushing, receiving, and kick-return yards. Predicting the quarterbacks every move, he knows when to use his speed to make a move on the ball. 12. In other words, the lure of the transfer portal was never really a lure in his eyes. The NFL cares that you're talented and you have the DNA or the makeup to sustain and do well in the league.". College scouts and coaches were left wanting more for whatever reasons, though, and George was ignored by the top programs in the NCAA. 7 wide receiver. In his career so far, he has 740 tackles, 32 turnovers, 2 defensive touchdowns, 71 deflected passes, and even a few blocked field goals. Now Lance is headed to San Francisco. Once he established himself as a dynamic pass-catcher, he earned a four-star ranking from Rivals and was rated as the ninth-best player in the state of Pennsylvania and the 12th-best tight end in the nation. In the last two NFL seasons, he has played a total of eight. "It was a game that I was just thinking like, 'Yeah, this is that game that put me on,'" he said. Hailing from Amite, Louisiana, DeVonta Smith actually committed to Georgia early in his recruiting process. Ultimately, Chase opted to stay local by signing with LSU. But when he took up football, college coaches began swarming. He ended his career as one of the most celebrated players ever for a celebrated small-school program. Despite some of the medical concerns, the Dolphins grabbed Phillips in the first round. Jaelan Phillips was one of the top-rated recruits in the entire nation when he signed with UCLA in the class of 2017. He's 6-foot-3, 213 pounds -- he's not an undersized quarterback. They maul FCS defensive fronts and run the ball at will, and that colors the impression we get when a draft prospect bubbles to the surface. She has covered high school sports for TNT and The . Gardner has played for the New York Yankees since 2008, and he is an All-Star outfielder and a World Series winner. When Kraft finally hit the field in Brookings, he scorched it. Top current NFL players from small schools (FCS or below) Pick, Pos., Player, NFL team . Bagent hails from Martinsburg, a town of less than 20,000 in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, 10 miles from the Shepherd campus. He's got the physical tools an NFL passer is supposed to have, and he wasn't some wild "5-foot-8 in high school and enjoyed a late growth spurt" story. Kadarius Toney was a quarterback at Blount High School in Alabama, but colleges recruited him as an athlete. Oweh ended up picking PSU, where he ended up displaying his raw pass rush skills. "It's kind of more of an action thing. He started out in the nursing program before realizing that some of his classes and shift rotations would interfere with football practice. Penei Sewell was the top player from the state of Utah in his recruiting class and ranked as the fifth-best tackle in the country. He had the most receptions (103), receiving yards (1,563), and receiving touchdowns (12).