Mid-South Spotlight: Comparing top 2024 standouts to NFL players
Comparisons are an inevitable part of college football recruiting. This week, Rivals is going region by region to compare some of today's top high school prospects to current college or NFL players.
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Dre'lon Miller - Deebo Samuel
If you're looking for the high school version of San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Deebo Samuel, look no further than Miller. The four-star wideout of Silsbee (Texas) is a versatile offensive threat that impacts the game at a high level with the ball in his hands. He can stretch the field vertically, make difficult contested catches and turn a quick pass into a big gain.
"They want to use me like Deebo Samuel," Miller told Rivals of his potential fit at Texas A&M. "Putting me in that position; I love to hear that. That's where I like to compete at. Just get me the ball."
Miller turns into a running back after the catch. He averaged more than 23 yards per reception as a junior and is as dangerous as they come in the open field. Miller accounted for 25 touchdowns while playing all three phases, averaging nearly a first down every time that he carried the football.
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Micah Hudson - Garrett Wilson
Smooth is one word that easily describes five-star Hudson's game. He is an effortless route runner that demonstrates outstanding spatial awareness and creates separation with ease. He has a good release off the line and runs clean routes that help make him a quarterback's best friend in the passing game.
Hudson resembles Garrett Wilson in the sense that they have very similar size at the same stage in their developments and both are big-play wideouts that are effective in the quick, intermediate and downfield games. Wilson was a first-round selection after starring at Ohio State. Hudson has the same kind of ceiling with one more season left on the prep level.
The five-star wideout has proven to be a big-play machine at Lake Belton and is virtually unguardable in man-to-man situations. He adds a dimension as a return man and ball carrier, showcasing just how dynamic of a player that he can be moving forward.
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Colin Simmons - Micah Parsons
Simmons is a game-wrecking pass rusher with the ability to ruin an entire offensive game plan. That sounds a lot like Dallas Cowboys phenom Micah Parsons, who has quickly established himself as one of the elite defenders in the NFL.
Simmons is a five-star recruit out of Texas powerhouse Duncanville, where he has often been the best player on the field dating back to his sophomore season in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The elite pass rusher got to the quarterback for 22.5 sacks as a junior.
Where Simmons really flashed game-changing ability was in the 6A Division I State Championship Game last December. He completely dominated Galena Park North Shore's offense as he lived in the backfield all game long. Simmons is explosive off the edge and is a dynamic chess piece for any defensive coordinator.
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Kamarion Franklin - Chris Jones
The state of Mississippi has had no shortage of next-level defensive linemen come out over the years, highlighted by the likes of Chris Jones and Jeffery Simmons in the past decade. Five-star Kamarion Franklin has the makings of being next in that pipeline.
Franklin is listed at 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, passing the eye test with ease. He can play on the outside at edge or slide inside at the 3-tech. Either way, Franklin is a real threat to get to the quarterback on any given play. That's evidenced by a school-record 19 sacks as a junior versus quality competition on the 5A level in North Mississippi.
Franklin-to-Jones may not be an apples-to-apples comparison but they both had similar sized frames at the same point in the process and feature the versatility to rush the passer all over the defensive line. It remains to be seen if Franklin can reach the level that Jones has since reached, but I'm high on what the five-star brings to the table.
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Selman Bridges - Tariq Woolen
Bigger and athletic corners are becoming more of the norm on the NFL level. Tariq Woolen may be the biggest example of that, as the 6-foot-4 corner enjoyed a breakout rookie campaign with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.
Four-star Selman Bridges looks to fit that same kind of mold. A dual sport athlete that also competes on the basketball court and in track, Bridges is a long corner with an exciting developmental ceiling. He is listed at 6-foot-4 and 170 pounds with lengthy arms that make it easy to compare him to the former UTSA star.
Bridges has the length and quickness that makes it difficult for any receiver to create much separation against him. He can play at outside corner, nickel or even safety. Bridges made a half-dozen pass breakups and notched a pair of interceptions during his junior campaign in Central Texas.