NFL 100 Countdown: Nos. 71-80

Bio: After attending Anamosa High School in Iowa, Yanda became a 3-star JUCO recruit in the Class of 2005. After two impressive seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Yanda was drafted in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. With the Ravens, Yanda has developed into one of the top guards in the league, making four Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams.

Farrell's Take: Yanda was a road grader in JUCO but wasn't heavily recruited because and chose between Iowa and Iowa State. He was a physical and aggressive kid and very nasty but his overall athleticism was a question mark as a huge interior linemen. He fit into the Iowa power-running scheme very well and has turned out to be a steal for the Hawkeyes and for the Ravens. He's one of the most physical players in the NFL.

Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue

Muncie (Ind.) Central, 2007, three-star

Bio: Kerrigan was a 3-star, the No. 46 strongside defensive end and the No. 4 recruit from Indiana in the Class of 2007. A tremendous 2010 season at Purdue resulted in Kerrigan being drafted with the 11th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. Now at outside linebacker with the Redskins, Kerrigan has been a consistent defensive threat during his four seasons in Washington.

Farrell's Take: Kerrigan was a baby-faced kid back out of high school who wasn't overly athletic or explosive and he turned himself into a monster in college. He had a dominant senior season as a pass rusher and also played tight end, but he still lacked great explosion and a great first step. He's a great example of a kid who re-dedicated himself to football in a big way in college and beyond.

Matt Ryan, Boston College

Philadelphia (Pa.) William Penn Charter, 2003, three-star

Bio: Ryan was a 3-star, the No. 25 pro-style quarterback and the No. 12 recruit from Pennsylvania in the Class of 2003. Ryan went a bit under-recruited due to his high school's lack of passing, but at Boston College he quickly established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Now about to begin his eighth season with the Atlanta Falcons, Ryan has made three Pro Bowls while becoming one of the more consistent quarterbacks in the league.

Farrell's Take: Ryan ran a Wing-T offense in high school so he was a tough eval and no one knew he had "Matty Ice" in him. He had good size but was skinny and when he did throw the ball, especially at BC's camp, he was accurate and on time but the true "gamer" in him didn't come out until he was tested at BC. He's one of the toughest quarterbacks you'll find however, always had a penchant for taking a hit and being durable.

Sen'Derrick Marks, Auburn

Prichard (Ala.) Vigor, 2005, two-star

Bio: Marks was a 2-star, but was not ranked nationally, at his position or in Alabama in the Class of 2005. Until picking up late offers from Auburn and South Carolina, Marks was very much under-the-radar. At Auburn he established himself as one of the top defensive linemen in the SEC, which led to his early departure to the NFL. After four seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Marks signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free-agent, where he currently anchors the interior defensive line.

Farrell's Take: Marks is another late bloomer who was a big small as a defensive tackle and earned his offer from Auburn very late in the process. He grew from a 255-pound defensive tackle who might have been too short for most into an SEC and NFL standout. This happens more often with defensive linemen for some reason.

Mike Evans, Texas A&M

Galveston (Texas) Ball, 2011, three-star

Bio: Evans was a 3-star, but was not ranked nationally, at his position or in Texas in the Class of 2011. Evans jumped into the spotlight while teaming up with Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M, when he grabbed 69 receptions for 1,394 yards in 2013. Drafted in the first round by Tampa Bay, Evans had an impressive rookie season last fall with 68 receptions for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Farrell's Take: Evans earned a 3-star ranking in 2011 after switching from a hoops focus to football only during his senior year of high school. Having played only one year of football, his emergence has been nothing short of amazing and shows how athletic he is and how he uses his size and jumping ability so well. We had him as an athlete because he could have played anything from wide receiver, tight end, H-back to linebacker. He was so raw but athletic enough to earn three stars based on potential.

Muhammad Wilkerson, Temple

Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy, 2008, three-star

Bio: After playing his high school ball at Linden High School in New Jersey, Wilkerson spent one prep season at Hargrave before moving on to Temple. While he was ranked as a 3-star offensive guard, Wilkerson quickly made the move to the defensive side of the ball, where he has flourished. About to begin his fifth season with the New York Jets, he is part of a strong defensive line unit that is capable of dominating games.

Farrell's Take: A high 3-star offensive lineman out of prep school, Wilkerson still only had Temple, Marshall and Western Kentucky on his offer list before he decided to head off to play for the Owls. He obviously made the transition a good one, but I never saw a first-round pick even out of prep school so the Temple staff did a great job developing him.

Cameron Newton, Auburn

Brenham (Texas) Blinn C.C., 2010, five-star

Bio: After being a 5-star coming out of high school, Newton was again a 5-star coming out of junior college. His one season at Auburn was monumental, and concluded with a National Championship for the Tigers and a Heisman Trophy for him. Newton was selected with the first overall pick of the 2011 Draft by the Carolina Panthers, where he has led the franchise to back-to-back NFC South titles during the last two seasons.

Farrell's Take: A two-time 5-star on Rivals.com, once as a senior coming out of high school and then again as the No. 1 JUCO player in the country. There was never much doubt that Newton would impact with his size and athleticism and he has become a dominant run-pass guy for sure at the next level. We were the only site to have him as a 5-star out of high school I'm proud of that and he helped set that big quarterback standard that has led to a different way of evaluating the tall, athletic yet huge quarterbacks out of high school.

Kyle Williams, LSU

Ruston, La., 2002, four-star

Bio: Williams was a 4-star, No. 99 overall, the No. 8 defensive tackle and the No. 6 recruit from Louisiana in the Class of 2002. Williams had a successful four-year playing career at LSU before being selected in the 5th Round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. Williams has played his entire professional career with the Bills, where he has been named to four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.

Farrell's Take: The intensity and physical nature Williams has been known for in the NFL was evident in high school as he was just a nasty guy on film. However, he also had very light feet from playing hoops and he was a very good athlete even as a huge senior by the standards of the day at 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds. Oh, and he nearly ran for 1,000 yards as a running back early in his high school career.

Julius Peppers, North Carolina

Pre-Rivals era

Farrell's Take: Peppers is one of the few guys on the list that was just around the time I started into the business as he was a class of 1998 guy. His high school athleticism, from being a running back and defensive end in football, a national recruit in hoops and a track star in the 4x200 and triple jump, is legendary and there is little doubt he would have been a five-star talent in the rankings. His freaky athleticism is part of the reason he's still scaring the heck out of quarterbacks 18 years out of high school.

Top 100 NFL: Nos. 91-100 | Nos. 81-90

Top 50 CFB: Farrell Fifty