After what took place on National Signing Day, many people are ready to crown Florida next year's national champion or the national champion two years from now. They had the top recruiting class in the nation, signing 17 recruits in the ESPNU Top 150, four of them being five star recruits, including the nation's top high school player: Ronald Powell out of Rancho Verde, CA. Tennessee did remarkably well considering their circumstances, as the Vols signed the top player in Georgia, Wide Receiver Da'Rick Rogers out of Calhoun, GA.
I think there will be those from this class who will go on to fulfill the expectations of their respective schools, but let's not get too excited yet. They have yet to srap it up on the college gridiron. A few years ago, RB Lorenzo Booker was raited the top player in the nation. He signed with Florida St., but it took him a few years before he really saw a lot of playing time and I'm not sure he turned out to be the player everyone thought he would be.
There have been two players to have great college careers who went on to have even greater careers in the NFL. However, these two players were not highly recruited by Div. l schools at all. The two players I'm referring to are Brett Favre and Doug Flutie. Flutie ended up being a Heisman Trophy winner and had a solid career in both the NFL and CFL. As everyone knows, Brett Favre has already won a Super Bowl with the Packers and, at 40, nearly took the Minnesota vikings to their 5th Super Bowl. The only Div. l school that offered Favre a scholarship out of high school was the school he signed with, Southern Mississippi.
By the way, while at Southern Miss, Favre was at one point 7th on the QB depth chart. He worked his way into the starting lineup, and in 1989, he led the Golden Eagles to an improbable upset win over power house Florida St. in Jacksonville. Fifteen years ago, a high school player from Parkview High School in Lilburn, GA by the name of Brett Milliken signed with Georgia. Milliken was among the top running backs in the state, but was not a five or even four star recruit. However, he played an important role in Head Coach Jim Donnan's offense catching the ball out of the backfield and he scored a few touchdowns.
You really don't know how good these kids are gonna be until about two or three years from now. Some will make immediate impacts, but most will have to grow into being a productive player an it takes some time. I agree with former Georgia Bulldog Kicker Rex Robinson when he said that the minute he allows the decision of a 17 or 18 year old high school football recruit to dominate his thinking and to make him worry is the day that hell will freeze over. Players like Powell and Rogers will see time on the field next Fall and will make an impact for their teams, but many, if not most, will take a little longer to fulfill the sometimes unrealistic expectations of the schools they signed with and their fans.
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