8/20/2015 football Edit

Look back at Ohios top 10 prospects

Mark Pszonak and Mike Farrell

Rivals.com

Wells was ranked No. 3 nationally, behind only Percy Harvin and Andre Smith. He was named the top prospect in Ohio and the No. 1 running back in the Class of 2006. A couple of days after the Class of 2005 was signed, Ohio State pulled off a huge recruiting victory by snagging a commitment from Wells, a rare early commitment back in those days. However, the early commitment did not stop other major programs from recruiting Wells, especially USC. The Trojans became a major threat for Wells - they even grabbed an official visit - but the distance from home was ultimately too much for USC to overcome. Wells signed with Ohio State and enrolled during the spring semester of 2006. He played three seasons with the Buckeyes, winning the starting job as a sophomore after Antonio Pittman moved onto the NFL. He responded by rushing for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns. He turned in another productive season in 2008, despite missing three games with a foot injury. After rushing for 1,197 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior, he decided to forego his senior season and entered his name into the NFL Draft. He was selected with the No. 31 overall pick of the first round by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent four seasons with the Cardinals, rushing for 2,471 yards and 24 touchdowns during this time. He also battled through several injuries, including an ankle and turf toe, which slowed down his progress. After being released by Arizona in the spring of 2013, he tore his Achilles tendon during a workout with the Baltimore Ravens in October of that year. Two surgeries followed, which put an end to his NFL career.

Farrell's Take: Like Ginn, Wells is a home run success story when it comes to rankings as the No. 3 overall prospect who had a good college career and earned a first-round grade in the NFL. I still remember his three-touchdown game at the U.S. Army All American Bowl, tying the record set by Brian Toal two years earlier, and he was a force between the tackles. Fumbling became an issue for him, as did injuries, but in high school, especially during his junior and senior years, he was an absolute beast.

Mike Adams

Dublin (Ohio) Coffman (No. 3 in Class of 2008)

Adams was ranked No. 3 nationally, behind only Terrelle Pryor and DaQuan Bowers, No. 1 in Ohio and as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the Class of 2008. There was never too much drama surrounding Adams' recruiting process, as he was considered a heavy Ohio State lean from the start. He finally decided to make it public during his birthday weekend in March 2007, almost a year before his National Signing Day. While several schools, mainly Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee, continued to pursue Adams, he remained rock solid in his commitment and signed with the Buckeyes. Adams had a four-year career with Ohio State, starting all 23 games that he played in during his final two seasons. He was named First-Team All-Big Ten after his junior season and then Second-Team All-Big Ten after his senior season, despite missing several games due to an injury. Heading into the 2012 NFL Draft, Adams tested positive for drug use at the Scouting Combine. While he slipped or completely fell off of some team's draft boards, Pittsburgh stayed on top of him and drafted him with the No. 56 overall selection of the second round. In his three seasons with the Steelers, Adams has lacked consistency, but has provided depth on the offensive line. To this point he has played in 41 games, including 20 starts. Coming into the 2015 season, Adams is listed as a backup tackle, but is currently dealing with a back injury that will have him out for a majority of preseason camp.

Farrell's Take: Adams was one of the most physically imposing offensive linemen I've ever seen, similar to five stars D.J. Fluker, Seantrel Henderson and a few others. He is also one of the most gifted offensive tackles I've seen when it comes to light feet, long arms, athleticism and all the other intangibles although he struggled in pass protection against quicker ends. Adams was the kind of prospect who was so agile and athletic you could see him playing tight end or defensive end if really needed at 6-foot-7 and 310 pounds - he was that much of a freak. He's in the NFL and was a second rounder but he never truly lived up to the hype.

Josh Myers

Miamisburg, Ohio (No. 3 in Class of 2017)

Myers is ranked No. 3 nationally, behind only Marvin Wilson and Dylan Moses, No. 1 in Ohio and as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the Class of 2017. Myers, who received his first two offers from Illinois and Indiana early in 2014, has seen a steady flow of recruiting interest since his freshman season. After the Illini and Hoosiers offered, additional offers began to pour in from Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, Cincinnati and Ohio. However, it was the in-state offer from the Ohio State Buckeyes for which he waited, and received, in late March 2014. While Myers did his due diligence and researched additional schools as more offers came in from schools such as Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame and Penn State, by the beginning of this year he was ready to end his process. Having developed a strong relationship with the coaching staff and wanting to stay closer to home, Myers committed to the Buckeyes in late January.

Farrell's Take: As a 2017 recruit with two years of high school remaining, Myers has a lot left to prove. He is more likely to fall below No. 3 than move up unless he proves to be as special as some of the best tackles we've seen. However, this kid has a ton of talent, has a physical nature and is an advanced pass blocker for his age so if he continues to mature and get stronger, who knows where he will end up. There are already four offensive tackles in the 2017 class ranked as five-stars so it appears to be a great year at the position, but this kid is the best so far and has a chance to be special.

Prescott Burgess

Warren (Ohio) Harding (No. 6 in Class of 2003)

Burgess was ranked No. 6 nationally, behind Ernie Sims, Reggie Bush, Whitney Lewis, Andre Caldwell and Kyle Wright, No. 1 in Ohio and as the No. 1 safety in the Class of 2003. From the beginning, his recruiting process developed into a battle between Michigan and Ohio State, with Florida and Tennessee on the outskirts. After taking official visits to both schools during his senior season, Burgess committed to the Wolverines during the U.S. Army All-American Game in early January. As a true freshman in Ann Arbor, Burgess played in 12 games, but mostly saw time on special teams. After another season mostly playing as a reserve linebacker, Burgess grew into his own in 2005 when he finished with 81 tackles and one sack. He finished his Michigan career splitting time with Chris Graham and dealing with an ankle injury. Despite these issues, he still totaled 48 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and two interceptions. Burgess was selected with the No. 207 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He saw time as a rookie, before a hip injury ended his season in November. He then missed the entire 2008 season due to a broken forearm which occurred in preseason camp. After playing the first two games with the Ravens in 2009, he was traded to New England, but was cut a week later. He found a home back in Baltimore for the rest of the 2009 season, 2010 and stints in 2011.

Farrell's Take: Burgess is one of the highest-ranked safeties in Rivals.com history and chose Michigan as an Ohio high school football player, but beyond those two anecdotes his career at Michigan wasn't a great one and he didn't make it big as a pro. A physical player in high school, Burgess was a tackling machine and very effective in run support but we always knew he could grow into a linebacker. We felt his quickness and ability in space as a safety projected well to linebacker, but he never developed into the dominant defensive force we expected.

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Latwan Anderson

Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville Campus (No. 15 in Class of 2010)

Anderson was ranked No. 15 nationally, No. 1 in Ohio and as the No. 2 athlete in the Class of 2010, behind only Robert Woods. If you enjoy chaotic recruiting processes, then Anderson's fits your mold. After taking official visits to Michigan State, Ohio State, West Virginia and Cincinnati, while committed to the Mountaineers, Anderson announced that he would not be making a decision on National Signing Day. What followed next was an official visit to Miami, a cancelled news conference and finally Anderson signing with the 'Canes in early March. However, Anderson never played for the Hurricanes, or any other D-I school. After leaving Miami in December 2010 without ever touching the field, Anderson jumped around. He next committed to Cincinnati, but never played there, resurfaced at Eastern Arizona College and then East Mississippi Community College. Earlier this year he enrolled at Notre Dame College in Ohio, a Division II school, hoping to reignite his football career.

Farrell's Take: It's hard to believe two things here - first that Anderson wasted all his athletic ability with poor decisions and second that he's still kicking around. This kid was a dominant athlete, had amazing quickness and could have been a star at wide receiver or defensive back. West Virginia would have been an amazing fit and I still remember him selecting the Mountaineers at the Army Bowl but immediately knowing it was his family that wanted him there and he was looking elsewhere. Switching to track at Miami and giving up football was a head-scratcher and he just never recovered from that decision. Anderson was always a wild card off the field, there was no doubt about that, but we rank based on talent and his ceiling was beyond high.

Jordan Hicks

West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West (No. 16 in Class of 2010)

Hicks was ranked No. 16 nationally, No. 2 in Ohio, behind only Latwan Anderson, and as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the Class of 2010. Hicks' recruiting process was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, with interest coming from a majority of the top programs in the country. Heading into his senior season he trimmed his list to Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and USC, and ended up taking official visits to the Longhorns, Buckeyes and Gators, which ended up being his final three. A few days before National Signing Day, Hicks decided to go out-of-state and committed to Texas. In Austin, Hicks' career never met expectations, partially due to several serious injuries. Hicks actually started off strongly at Texas, playing in all 12 games as a true freshman and then starting eight games in 2011. Both of his 2012 and 2013 seasons were cut short due to injuries, but earned him a medical redshirt. He did have his best season last fall when he led the Longhorns with 138 tackles. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 84 overall pick of the third round of this year's draft. Hicks is unlikely to see an abundance of playing time this fall, but has impressed the Philadelphia coaching staff with his work in preseason camps, so the jury is still out on his professional career.

Farrell's Take: Hicks was a talented and big linebacker out of high school who was amazing coming off the edge as a pass rusher so I expected him to be a blitzing nightmare at Texas but that never happened. Injuries obviously hurt his career but he also didn't adapt as well to the speed of the college game as expected and perhaps staying closer to home might have been a better fit for him. It was for the most part surprising when he chose Texas over Ohio State, and he's an example of a big-time Longhorns recruit who didn't pan out leading to the recent mediocrity of the program. Hicks did have a very good final season in Austin and was talented enough to end up as a third-rounder. I have a sneaking suspicion this could be a big coming-out year for him with the Eagles, but based on his college career and draft grade, he wasn't a hit on the rankings scale.

Robert Rose

Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville Campus (No. 17 in Class of 2006)

Rose was ranked No. 17 nationally, No. 2 in Ohio, behind only Chris Wells, and as the No. 1 strongside defensive end in the Class of 2006. Rose's recruiting process came down to Ohio State, Tennessee, USC and Michigan State, with all four receiving an official visit. After trimming the Spartans from his list, Rose committed to Ohio State at the U.S. Army All-American Game. Rose's time in Columbus never met expectations. After injuries shortened his sophomore and junior seasons, his career ended in turmoil as a senior after dealing with both academic issues and off-the-field issues that caused him to be suspended for the 2010 Rose Bowl. He went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, but was signed as a free agent by the Seattle Seahawks. His time in Seattle was short-lived, after which he spent the rest of the season with the Miami Dolphins, mostly on the practice squad. He then spent two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League, before stops at both Cleveland and Las Vegas in Arena Football.

Farrell's Take: I'll be blunt on this one, I never agreed with it. I thought Rose had the physical gifts to be great - and he looked like a million bucks - but his play never lived up to what one would expect from the No. 17 player in the country. I always felt he could have been much more dominant based on his size/speed combination and I think he was puffed up a bit by others after a great Army Bowl against some awful offensive tackle play. Don't get me wrong, Rose was a four-star talent and based on physical ability alone I could see five stars, but I never saw it play out on the field. His career at Ohio State was a bust as was his pro career and none of that shocked me. I've been wrong as much as I've been right over the years, but this one I remember distinctly as a situation where I was out-voted.

Fred Davis

Toledo (Ohio) Rogers (No. 19 in Class of 2004)

Davis was ranked No. 19 nationally, No. 2 in Ohio, behind only Theodore Ginn, Jr., and as the No. 3 wide receiver in the Class of 2004, behind only Early Doucet and Cameron Colvin. Davis seemed to change his mind weekly as to who his current favorite was, so when he finally committed to USC, it was difficult to determine if it even came as a surprise. He took official visits to USC, Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma and Florida, and had the Trojans, Buckeyes and Hurricanes as his final three. With his announcement date also changing multiple times, Davis did finally commit to the Trojans a week before National Signing Day and enrolled for the spring semester. Soon after his arrival in Los Angeles, Davis made the move to tight end. After two rather uneventful seasons on the field for the Trojans, Davis began to blossom as a junior when he finished with 38 receptions for 352 yards and three touchdowns. He continued this upward trend during his senior season, when he totaled 62 receptions for 881 yards and eight touchdowns, earning the Mackey Award as the top tight end in the nation. Davis was selected with the No. 48 overall pick in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played for the Redskins for six seasons, enjoying his best year in 2011 with 59 receptions for 796 yards and three touchdowns. After the 2013 season, Davis violated the NFL's substance-abuse policy and was suspended indefinitely. After the suspension, which lasted almost a year, Davis signed with the New England Patriots in May of this year, but then was released in June. He is currently a free agent.

Farrell's Take: We all knew Davis would end up as a tight end but we kept him as a wide receiver because that's what he insisted he would play and USC and everyone else told him the same. A big, physical wideout in high school, he was fun to watch and had wide receiver skills with that 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame. Davis had very good speed for a big man and could high point the ball with ease. The transition to tight end took some time but overall he had a strong finish to his college career, ended up as a second round pick and was one of the better tight ends in the NFL before he was suspended. His recruitment, nowadays commonplace, was fun to follow back in the day with all the twists and turns.

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Spencer Ware

Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton (No. 19 in Class of 2010)

Ware was ranked No. 19 nationally, No. 3 in Ohio, behind only Latwan Anderson and Jordan Hicks, and as the No. 3 athlete, behind only Robert Woods and Anderson, in the Class of 2010. Early on during his recruiting process Ware made it known that he wanted to get away from Big Ten territory. An offer from LSU during the spring of 2009, and a resulting visit, catapulted the Tigers into the lead for Ware, while Oregon and North Carolina continued the chase. By late July, Ware was ready to end his process and made his commitment to LSU. An official visit to Baton Rouge in October only strengthened his bond with the Tigers, which led to his signature on National Signing Day. At LSU, Ware found a role in the backfield and became a valuable part of the Tigers' offense. He finished his three seasons in Baton Rouge with 1,249 yards rushing, 404 yards receiving and 12 total touchdowns. After foregoing his senior season at LSU, Ware was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the No. 194 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He only had three carries for 10 yards during his rookie season before being released during the 2014 pre-season camp. Despite two DUI arrests last year, Ware did sign a free-agent contract with Kansas City at the conclusion of last season. He enters preseason camp as a longshot to make the roster at fullback, behind Pro-Bowler Anthony Sherman.

Farrell's Take: Do yourself a favor and look up Ware's film, either in high school or in college, and you'll see why we were so enamored with him. He was one of the hardest-running prospects we've seen and in high school and in college he laid out defenders as he lowered his head and took them on directly. I remember watching his highlights at the Army Bowl in our media room with many of the other All-Americans and hearing the "ooohs" and "ahhs" as he busted helmets. This kid was a great athlete, a superior power runner, but didn't quite have the speed in college we projected. He turns out to be a bust based on his ranking, but he was still fun to watch.