Helmholdt: The 10 best prospects I've ever scouted
This week the team of Rivals’ analysts are looking back at the best prospects they have ever scouted. Josh Helmholdt took over as the Midwest Analyst in 2011, but his tenure with Rivals started back in 2003. These are the 10 best prospects he has evaluated during that time.
RELATED: Top 10 prospects Sam Spiegelman has ever scouted | Adam Friedman's top 10 | Adam Gorney's top 10
1. ADRIAN PETERSON
I’m going to focus heavily on players that made me stand up and say “Wow!” when I covered them, and will start with the best running back I watched play live. I started covering recruiting exclusively shortly after the 2003 class signed, so Peterson’s 2004 class was my first. I did not see the Palestine, Tex., native in-person until the All-American Bowl that following year. By then his star was fully risen, but despite my lofty expectations for him, Peterson was still a head-turner that week in San Antonio. He may be the most complete prospect I have scouted in 16-plus years.
2. RONALD JOHNSON
There are many players I have covered in my tenure with Rivals where I look back and consider what might have been had injuries not occurred or circumstances been different. The one that frustrates me most, though, is Johnson.
A five-star from the 2007 class, Johnson had everything you look for in a cornerback – size, speed, fluidity. Most impressive of all, though, was his playmaking ability. He could have redefined what it means to play cornerback with his skill set.
USC, however, only used him as a wide receiver. “RoJo” was such a skilled athlete that he was able to have a solid career and be an NFL Draft pick as a receiver, but he could have been a Hall of Famer as a cornerback.
3. TIM TEBOW
Peterson was the first superstar I remember covering, but Tebow was the first prospect I remember tracking when he was just a local star and watching him grow to achieve significant, national prominence.
I first met Tebow at the Army Combine in San Antonio his junior year, where his father handed me a copy of Tim’s season film (there was no Hudl then). One play in particular from that junior film stands out, and it saw Tebow running on a dead sprint to his right (remember, he’s left-handed) away from a pass rush and throwing the ball 50-plus yards on a dime to his receiver in the corner of the end zone. To this day it is one of the most impressive individual plays I have seen on film.
4. ADOLPHUS WASHINGTON
In my first fall as the Midwest Analyst, I went down to Cincinnati and covered Washington’s Cincinnati Taft team for a game his senior year. In just over a half of play, Washington totaled 10 tackles, including six for loss and three sacks, a forced fumble, a pass deflection, two receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown and he returned a punt for a touchdown. DOM·I·NA·TION!
Washington finished his prep career as a five-star, put on 60 pounds in college and was drafted in the third round as a defensive tackle.
5. LAQUON TREADWELL
There may not have been a player I covered in the last 20 years who looked more out of place on a high school field than Laquon Treadwell did as a senior. A cut-up 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, Treadwell physically overwhelmed opponents. Not only did he have the speed and explosiveness to create separation from defensive backs, but he was also the best blocking wide receiver I have ever seen at that level.
Not surprisingly, Treadwell went on to become the SEC’s Freshman of the Year in his first collegiate season and was later a first-round NFL Draft pick.
6. DERWIN JAMES
When I think back to the best safeties I have covered, including the likes of Su’a Cravens, Quin Blanding and HaHa Clinton-Dix, there is one who clearly stands above the rest and that is James.
The quintessential James’ performance for me was at the IMG 7-on-7 Championship held before his senior year. In an event that included fellow five-stars like Tyron Johnson, Deon Cain and Kevin Tolliver II, James was not only the most dominant defensive player, but he was also the biggest offensive playmaker at the event. He was a transcendent talent at a position that usually does not draw a lot of attention.
7. JOSH ROSEN
The second iteration of the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge was held at Chicago’s Soldier Field. If I recall correctly, there were no underclassmen invited to the first Five-Star Challenge, but at the 2013 event we brought in a couple underclass quarterbacks, including Rosen. The underclassmen did not get to throw as much as the upperclassmen, which included the likes of Deshaun Watson and Kyle Allen, but had they, then Rosen very well may have taken MVP honors for the position. I never stopped being impressed with Rosen’s moxie and command of the position. He is easily among the best I have evaluated at the position.
8. O.J. HOWARD
The inaugural Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge was held in Atlanta in the summer of 2012. There were no regional camps that preceded that event, so this was my first chance to see many of the top prospects from outside my region. Guys like Reuben Foster and Jalen Ramsey were impressive, but no one impressed me like Howard. We still talk about the battles between Howard and five-star linebacker Jaylon Smith at that event. There have been some talented tight ends produced in recent classes, but Howard still tops the list for me.
9. RYAN MALLETT
When you consider the total package, there are some other quarterbacks – like a Trevor Lawrence – who could easily be on this list, but Mallett’s arm strength was so ridiculously beyond anything I have seen before or since that he is worth a mention here.
Standing along the sidelines at a college camp where Mallett was performing the summer before his junior year, a receiver I knew well came by with a pair of shredded receiving gloves. “Look what ‘Big Tex’ did,” he remarked. Mallett shredded plenty of gloves during his career, and watching him sling a football was worth the price of admission all on its own.
10. AARON LYNCH
There have been 19 All-American Bowl games, and I have covered 16 of them in-person. In that time there were two position groups that blew me away more than others with their depth of talent and performances throughout the week: the 2004 East linebackers and the 2011 East defensive ends.
What’s interesting about that 2011 group is that the No. 1 defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney, ended up in the Under Armour Game, but that still left the likes of Ishaq Williams, Ray Drew, Stephon Tuitt and Lynch in the All-American Bowl. I never did cover Clowney live, which is why he does not appear on this list, but out of those top defensive end talents in San Antonio that year it was Lynch who impressed me most. Lynch had it all from a skill standpoint, and is another who I wonder what might have been had he made different decisions.