No-Star Checkup: Unrated players break through with big games
Every Friday during the football season, we take a look back at some players who are performing well in either college football or the NFL despite the fact that they were unrated as high school prospects. Here’s our rundown from this past weekend.
THIS WEEK'S CHECKUPS: Five-stars | Four-stars | Three-stars | Two-stars
As a recruit: Hurst actually signed with Florida State as a high school baseball prospect and was ranked as a four-star by Rivals.com in that sport. But as a football player Hurst didn’t have any scholarship offers. After being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2012 MLB Draft he elected to sign with the team rather than attend Florida State. After three years on the diamond he gave up the sport to walk on to the South Carolina football team in 2015.
What he did last weekend: Since switching sports Hurst has been a major contributor in Columbia, breaking records for catches and receiving yards by a tight end in 2016. The Gamecocks lost on Saturday to Texas A&M but it wasn’t the fault of Hurst, who hauled in six passes for 76 yards. Hurst is over 200 yards receiving on the season and will likely have the opportunity to play another professional sport when he decides to enter the NFL Draft.
As a recruit: Coming out of high school, Rugraff had some FCS offers and Oregon and Texas A&M were the only schools to give him a chance to walk on. After attending an open tryout with the Ducks in 2016, he was added to the roster.
What he did last weekend: After redshirting his first year in Eugene, Rugraff has taken advantage of the open competition for playing time under the new coaching staff and worked his way into a contributing role. After an injury to the Ducks' starter against Cal, Rugraff entered the game and tallied six total tackles. His role is likely to only increase as the year moves along and with the Ducks defense depleted by injuries, he will be counted on to play well.
As a recruit: Postma took a unique road to Houston, joining the school a few months after Signing Day in 2013. After redshirting in 2013, he elected to transfer to Trinity Valley Community College, where he lead the team to an undefeated record. He then landed back with the Cougars, where he started the 2015 season as a wide receiver.
What he did last weekend: Postma was eventually moved back to quarterback due to injuries in 2015 and saw spot duty during the 2016 season. After losing out in a preseason quarterback battle to former five-star Kyle Allen, Postma waited his turn and earned back the starting job last week. He led the Cougars to 20-13 victory over Temple while passing for 226 yards and running for 81 more. Postma looks to have control of the job now and Allen is left to serve as his backup.