3 Stars and below from Tri-County who have done well

motorcitycane

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Do stars even matter in south Florida?

Some argue 4 and 5 stars are necessary and some argue that 3 and 2 stars can get the job done as well. Well in South Florida, which I call the Mecca of football, football is THE sport. I believe that if 2 and 3 stars from South Florida were in other parts of the nation. They would be 4 and 5 star players. Don't believe me? Here is a list of 2 and 3 star recruits who have performed from average to great that hail from South Florida, this list will be constantly updated every year for as long as CIS is around for all to see, debate, and think about the immense amount of football talent that hails from the area. So when we get into the arguments about star rankings let's come back to this thread.

The question I want to ask all is, Why are these guys ranked so low?

Anyway's here is the list, I didn't do the 2011 and 2012 classes yet because some guys are still in school, some guys haven't gotten their chance to start yet, I will update with players who have played well early in their careers tommorrow. But the rest of the guys I will wait and see how they perform to update the list.


Here is a list of players from the tri-county area who performed better than expected from their rankings. (Only doing 3 Stars and below)
I used scout and sports reference as my sources. I only used scout because they did rankings back to '02, and sports-reference to get stats and awards on certain players.

One thing I took into consideration was that even though a 3 star and a NR kid may have had similar impacts and numbers. I hold more weight for the NR kid that posts decent or great numbers.

2002:
3 Stars:
#52 QB Ryan Hart - Rutgers - Best Season: 2005: 60% Completion 2135 Yards 18TD 8 INT's Rutger's 2005 Record 7-5
#41 WR Darnell Jenkins - Miami - Best Season 2007: 672 Total Yards and 2 TD. He placed 4th in yards per reception with 20.0 YPR.
#51 WR Sinorice Moss - Miami - Best Season 2005: 669 total yards and 6TD's. 3rd in ACC with 6 receiving TD's.
#31 OL Davin Joseph - Oklahoma - Pro Bowler.
#39 DE Ray McDonald - Florida - Best Season 2006: 36 TT, 4.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks
#70 CB Terell Lemon - Syracuse

NR:
S Garland Heath - NCST
LB Tommy Richardson - North Carolina
WR Glenn Holt - Glen Holt


2003
3 Stars:
#40 WR Jimmy Sutton NCST
#72 DT Steven Cline - KSU
#59 DE Dwight Stephenson – ND
#42 LB Ali Highsmith – LSU
#62 LB Glenn Cook – Miami
#81 LB H.B. Blades – PITT
#20 S Miguel Scott – NCST
#61 S Garland Heath - NCST
#29 CB Patrick Lee – AUB
#65 CB Byron Garvin – KSU

2 Stars:
RB Yvenson Bernard – Oregon State (probably the most underrated of them all)
RB Jerry Seymour,
#102 WR David Clowney
WR Kennard Cox
WR Tim Sims
WR Willie Foster
DT Teraz Mccray
DE Louis Holmes
#118 LB Clint Session – PITT
#119 LB Stephen Tulloch – NCST
LB Quintero Frieson – RUTGERS
LB AnTwan Barnes – FIU
LB Eric Foster - RUTGERS
#76 S Chevin Pace – AKRON
CB Nick Sanchez – STANFORD
Derrick Roberson - RUTGERS


NR:
Eric Moncur (his production given the fact that he was a 1 star/NR kid was GREAT)

2004
3 Stars:
#60 WR Alphonso Smith – Wake Forest
#53 DT Antonio Dixon – Miami
#56 DT Pat Sims – AUB
#35 DE Willie Young – NCST
DE Frantz Joseph – BC
#43 CB DuJuan Morgan - NCST

2 Stars:
#62 QB Omar Haugabook – Troy (I believe he outplayed what most expect from a two star)
WR Branden Ledbetter – Western Michigan
#117 LB Stanley Arnoux – Wake Forest
LB Pat Maynor – Stanford
S Demir Boldin – Wake Forest
#62 CB Dennis Kennedy – Ohio State
CB J.J. Milbrook - ECU

2005
3 Stars:
#26 QB Jarrett Brown – West Virginia
#95 LB Darryl Sharpton – Miami
#42 S Quinton Andrews – West Virginia
#34 CB Chris Chancellor – Clemson
#42 CB Walter McFadden – Auburn

2 Stars:
RB Kevin Smith – UCF
WR Brett Hamlin – BUFF
TE JaeVery Mcfadden – Wisconsin
DT Rashaad Duncan – PITT
DT Gus Mustakas – PITT
DE Cody Brown – UCONN
LB Edward Bradwell - FAU
CB E.J. Biggers – Western Michigan
CB Derrick Smith – Louisiana

NR
WR Louis Delmas - Western Michigan

2006
3 Stars:
#45 QB Thaddeus Lewis – Duke
#56 WR Preston Parker – FSU
#41 DT Geno Atkins – UGA
#93 LB Antonio Lowery – Rutgers
LB Sabbath Joseph - USF
#45 S Brandon Heath – Louisville
CB Deandre Morgan

2 Stars:
WR Tim Brown – Rutgers
#55 TE Greg Romeus – PITT
#91 S Shannon Ballard – Ohio
S Kirkston Edwards – Central Michigan
S Myron Lewis – Vanderbilt
S Javon Walker – NCST
S Kito Poblah – Central Michigan
S Calvin Marshall – Bowling Green
#82 CB Joshua Moore – Kansas State
CB Jordan Delegal – NIU
CB Tommy Mama – Central Michigan
CB Brandon Thompkins
CB Chaz West – Central Michigan

NR:
WR Juan Nunez – Western Michigan
DL Douglas Westbrook – Toledo
LB Fred Davis – ULL
LB Michael Dominguez – FIU
S Bobby Seay – Central Michigan
CB Quinton Porter – UNLV

2007
3 Stars:
#98 RB Brandon Pendergrass – Wake Forest
#62 WR AJ Guyton – UCF
#74 WR Kamar Aiken – UCF
#55 TE Nick Provo – Syracuse
#63 DE Jabaal Sheard – PITT
#93 DE Uriah Frant – Ole Miss
LB Jonathan Freeny – Rutgers
#41 S Eain Smith – West Virginia

2 Stars:
#69 QB Wesley Carroll – Mississippi State and FIU
WR Jasper Howard – UCONN
WR LaVon Brazill – Ohio
#93 DT Jarvis Givens – FAU
DT Twyon Martin – UCONN
DE Justin Francis – Rutgers
DE Emmanuel Perez – Middle Tennessee
DE Pernell McPhee – Southern Miss
#45 Josh Hartigan – Colorado
LB Ronnie Thornton – Southern Miss
LB Antwan Davis – Middle Tennessee
LB Jarvis Wilson – FIU
CB Willie Geter – Bowling Green
CB David Lewis – Western Michigan
CB Anthony Gaitor – FIU
CB Rod Issac – Middle Tennessee

NR:
DE Jason Pierre-Paul

2008:
3 Stars:
QB Jacory Harris – Miami (say what ya’ll want he wasn’t too bad for a 3 star)
#104 WR Travis Benjamin – Miami
#14 OG Brandon Washington – Miami
#31 DT Micanor Regis – Miami
LB Rob Sands – West Virginia
#24 CB Travis Howard – Ohio State
#64 CB Donovan Varner – Duke

2 Stars:
#154 WR T.Y. Hilton – FIU
#95 DT John Williams – Central Michigan
DE Jorge Wright – WVU
DE Seam Ferguson – Mississippi State
LB Lavonte David – Middle Tennessee, then Nebraska
LB Devon Lewis –Buchannan – ULL
LB Darin Davis – Middle Tennessee
LB Winston Fraser – FlU
LB Derrick Crumpton – Middle Tennessee
S John Carr – Central Michigan
#145 CB Antonio Fenelus – Wisconsin
#152 CB Dominique Battle – Cincinnati
CB Dwight Bentley – ULL
CB Rodney Gillis – ULL
CB Sidney Saulter – Kent State


2009:
3 Stars:
#50 WR Xavier Rhodes – Florida State
#64 WR Steadman Bailey – WVU
#39 DE Ed Stinson – Alabama
#92 DE David Gilbert – Wisconsin
LB Shane Gordon – PITT
LB Roderick Blunt – Middle Tennessee
#29 S Kayvon Webster – South Florida
#35 CB Ricardo Dixon – Minnesota
#54 CB Charles Sawyer – Ole Miss
#56 CB Jayron Hosley – Virginia Tech
#58 CB Josh Robinson – UCF


2 Stars:
RB Branden Oliver – Buffalo
#174 WR Gary Bush – Purdue
#190 WR Conner Vernon – Duke
#216 WR Kemal Ishamel – UCF
WR Andrell Smith – Louisville
TE Nexon Dorvilus – FAU
#176 DE Cory Henry – FAU
DE Caesar Rodriguez – Central Michigan
DE Paul Hazel – Western Michigan
LB Devon Butler – Miramar
LB David Hinds – FAU
LB Randell Johnson – FAU
S Dezmen Southward – Wisconsin
S Jonathan Cyprien – FIU
#128 CB Phillip Thomas – Syracuse
#171 CB Wayne Times – FIU

2010
3 Stars:
#61 QB Stephen Morris – Miami
#53 RB Jeff Scott – Ole Miss
#70 RB James White – Wisconsin
#68 OLB Zachary Allen – Wake Forest
#128 OLB Christian Henry – Middle Tennessee
#133 OLB Jamaal Bass – Northern Illinois
#31 S Willis Wright – FIU
#68 CB Merrill Noel – Wake Forest
#96 CB Keon Lyn – Syracuse
#115 CB Jabari Price – North Carolina


2 Stars
#143 RB Donnell Kirkwood – Minnesota
#145 RB Dareyon Chance – Western Michigan
#124 DE Dezmond Bozeman – Western Michigan
S Justin Halley – FIU
S Whitney Sherry – Buffalo
#126 Richard Leonard – FIU
#182 CB Garrett Smith – Western Michigan
CB Khari Burke – Middle Tennessee
CB Deven Drane – Cincinnati

2011
3 Stars

LB Denzel Perryman - Miami
CB Andrew Johnson - Louisville
WR Phillip Dorsett - Miami
DT BJ Dubose - Louisville (actually got drafted)
S Jeremy Cash - DUKE
CB Charles Gaines - Louisville
KR Spiffy Evans - BC
QB Jake Rudock - Michigan
DL Elkino Watson - USF
DL Deontrez Mount - Louisville
DL Miles Pace - UCF
S Jermaine Reave - Louisville
S Rontavious Atkins - WMU (230 career tackles)
WR Tommy Shuler - Marshall (3560 career yards)
QB Rakeem Cato - Marshall
S Durell Eskridge - Syracuse
RB Jerron Seymour - Vanderbilt (700y,14TD in 13)
WR Robby Anderson - Temple (1700, 16TD 2 seasons)
DL Luther Maddy - VT career (175 tackles, 29.5 for loss, 14 sacks)
DB Corey Tindall - Marshall

2 stars
DB Ritchy Desir - Syracuse
DB Richard Leonard - FIU
DL Keith Bowers - Maryland (Career 119 tackles, 14 TFL 5 sacks)
DB Eaton Spence - Illinois
WR Rannell Hall - UCF
WR Tommylee Lewis (currently in the NFL)

2012
3 stars

OL Danny Isadora - Miami (NFL)
WR Jaime Wilson - WMU
DL Bryan Cox - UF
WR McGarrett Kings - Mich State (#3 WR)
RB Brandon Radcliff - Louisville
LB Jakarri Thomas - Vanderbilt
DB Daniel Gray - Utah State
DB Fabian Moreau - UCLA
DB Cre’von Leblanc - FAU
LB Errol Clarke - UCF














Please let me know If I'm missing anyone I'll have no problem adding other productive 3 stars and below to the list.
 
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Stars do matter no matter anyone says. The kids who have produced the most & shown the most potential are rated the highest. That doesn't mean stars are definitive of talent. Too many kids are late bloomers or never get the right exposure. You can't fix the system so that's why you can't evaluate off of stars or you're doomed to fail. Stars don't account for work ethic, character, & many other factors either.
 
Pretty much where I would expect 3 stars to be. Some decent role players, a few breakouts who were underrated, and some guys I have never heard of. Staff evaluation always wins out, but recruiting sites do a decent job of projecting how 17 year olds will turn out. There will always be some variability because information is incomplete at that age. Knowing nothing else I always take a 5* over a 4* and a 4* over a 3*.

Not sure I buy that SFla 3*s are better than other recruiting hotbeds like Louisiana, Ohio, California, Georgia, Alabama, etc...
 
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could there be some accolades next to the players you are naming? i dont know what is the basis of "better then expected" some player aren't ranked because they dont have exposure. great list thanks for your time but just wondering
 
could there be some accolades next to the players you are naming? i dont know what is the basis of "better then expected" some player aren't ranked because they dont have exposure. great list thanks for your time but just wondering

No problem.

Some guys break out late or not real productive until they're junior or senior seasons. So when I post the stats do you guys prefer career stats or should I just post the best year of their career's?
 
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I know that was alot of work but 90 percent of that list sucks and proves that stars matter also its not 1995 alot of people put alot of money into this recruiting so its def harder to find under radar kids. Guys like Reed Taylor Vilma would not be unknowns and the SEC would be all over them. What hurt UM is now the exposure for kids is equal and we cant get everyone because the magnitude of how big this has become....this social media and youtube never benefitted miami it hurt us.
 
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Why stars don't matter
 
I'm still laughing over Johnny Football rated as the 397 best prep in America along with his star rating..Qudo's on star ratings being under/overvalued...
 
could there be some accolades next to the players you are naming? i dont know what is the basis of "better then expected" some player aren't ranked because they dont have exposure. great list thanks for your time but just wondering

No problem.

Some guys break out late or not real productive until they're junior or senior seasons. So when I post the stats do you guys prefer career stats or should I just post the best year of their career's?

which ever you see fit, this is your list
 
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Multiple Chaminade guys on that list and a few from my class. Kamar Aiken was a good College WR but could've been a GREAT Safety. Eain Smith could always play too. Got drafted by the Skins.
 
Stars do matter or Coaches would totally disregard it. The NFL wouldnt have the combine etc etc. What matter more than stars is talent development. Ron Zook is a good example of poor talent development.....Randy Shannon and Coker as well. BTW if stars was the be all end all..... Texas would have won every single Big 12 and NT. They constantly out recruit OU but get their butts handed to them. The star argument is less valid with Golden imo simply because he has done it with less talent than what Miami attracts. And am confident once guys has the physical tools he will make most of them realize their potential
 
It's kind of goes both ways. Success and Fail stories for both sides. As far as not meaning as much this early before their senior seasons, has more legs. Bakas and others have admitted that most the time, this early, stars are based on only kids that do the camp/combine circuit, which colleges are recruiting them, & which HS they go to (powerhouses or not). For example, same kid at MNW is gonna get ranked higher than he would at Braddock. We've seen under golden, our low ranked kids jump up by the time their senior season is over. By then, they've grown, ball'd out and more schools started offering... just gotta trust our coaches eval's....
 
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I remember playing against Conner Vernon in the state championship (2008). Frankie Telfort -- at the time a much higher-rated player -- was on that team, but it was clear to everyone there that Vernon was probably going to be a better player in college. Telfort didn't exactly get a fair shake, but lo and behold, Vernon was awesome at Duke.
 
Looking at the recent years and the lack of Miami kids shows how much our previous two staffs lacked an eye for talent. Then they were poor at developing the ones they got too. Hope Golden is starting to hit on some of the under the radar kids he has started to take from down here.
 
Stars do matter no matter anyone says. The kids who have produced the most & shown the most potential are rated the highest. That doesn't mean stars are definitive of talent. Too many kids are late bloomers or never get the right exposure. You can't fix the system so that's why you can't evaluate off of stars or you're doomed to fail. Stars don't account for work ethic, character, & many other factors either.

There is a big problem with your statement. Ofcourse the star system works... It's because the services attach value to the schools that sign players... Case in point, last week we had 2 kids commit that were not rated at all... and suddenly they get 3 stars attached to their name ONLY BECAUSE MIAMI OFFERED. The system is backward. Value is pegged to the Universities, which is pegged to Subscriber base + winning tradition. So a school like USC or Texas, consistently will ALWAYS have 4 and 5 star players because the services figure if Texas or USC likes them, they are a sure thing.

Miami on the other hand, has a small subscriber base and has been in the dumbs lately, so our commits don't get bumped up as much.

You are fooling yourself if you think most of the kids they evaluate they see first hand. They don't... They don't have the manpower to do it.

Better to stick with local recruiting guys like Blustein and Fisch who see these kids day in and day out and know what they are talking about.

The best example of the Star System being a complete crock of **** is Darrell Langham... Probably top 3 WR in the State and they have him as a 2 star... What a joke.
 
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