Ranking the all-time five-stars: Pennsylvania
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Terrelle Pryor ran for 4,238 yards and passed for 4,340 at Jeannette
(Pa.) High. He led the program to a pair of state titles and was named the No. 1
overall player in the class of 2008 before going to Ohio State.
While with the Buckeyes, Pryor was named the Big Ten Preseason Player of Year
and won a Rose Bowl (and was named MVP of the game). He also was embroiled in an
improper benefits scandal that made him a pariah at the school, and he was
banned from all contact with the program. As part of the NFL supplemental draft,
he was selected by the Oakland Raiders. He is hoping his dual-threat talent
translates to the new NFL game.
Following the summer evaluation period, the Rivals.com team of analysts is
meeting this week to discuss how to reshape the rankings for the class of 2014
Rivals100 presented by Under Armour. This presented a perfect opportunity to
look back at former five-star prospects and re-rank them among the other elite
prospects from their home states.
HOW FARRELL RE-RANKS THEM
From the class of 2002 -- when Rivals.com established the Rivals100 -- to the
class of 2013, there have been 11 states to have double-digit players earn
five-star rankings. This week, it is time to turn back the
clock and put those players in order based on what they did in high school.
None of the players identified as midseason five-stars for the class of 2014 is
considered for this ranking. Each is subject to change through the regular
season and all-star game evaluations.
Pennsylvania barely qualified for this exercise because it has had just 13
players rated with five stars by the team of analysts at Rivals.com. Most have
been marginal players instead of the standouts many fans wanted.
The state clearly is regressing, and it is not producing as many elite players
as it once did.
Aside from Pryor, only
Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell believes
Pryor was the right player to be atop the national rankings and this state
re-rank.
"Pryor is still one of the best jumbo athletes I've ever seen, and I still
believe he could have led Ohio State to a national title had he not had his
off-field issues," he said. "Floyd is an easy choice at No. 2 and proved us
correct by being a star at Florida and a first-rounder."
Jonathan Baldwin was a member of the same class as Pryor. Baldwin
became a first-round pick in the NFL.
The rest of the state rankings came from the classes of 2004 and 2005 -- which
has proved to be disappointing, Farrell said.
from the class of 2004, and all had some level of success in college. Henne and
Connor are in the NFL.
Callahan Bright was one of the top defensive linemen in the class of
2005 but never got his grades in order to become a force on the field.
Justin King went to Penn State and made it to the NFL from the same
class.
Farrell said the group is not bad for a bottom half.
"The class of 2004 holds down slots 5, 6 and 7, with Morelli being a bust and
Henne and Connor panning out," he said. "Callahan Bright is one of the biggest
and meanest defensive tackles you'll ever see who didn't make it. Overall, this
is a solid group."
Following through the next class was Jared Odrick, who should have been
a five-star but didn't quite get the star treatment he deserved, Farrell said.
"Odrick was a huge, athletic kid with a ton of talent and potential, but he
played horrible competition and was a bit too upright for us out of high
school," Farrell said. "We had him ranked No. 31 overall in 2006, so we were
close to pulling the trigger but held off.
"Obviously, based on his college career, we should have made him a five-star."
The only players not to make this top 10 who were five-stars were
went to Ohio State from Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway, and neither made the expected
impact. Bell transferred to Duquesne. Johnson is just getting onto campus at
Pittsburgh from the class of 2013, and the jury is out on his development.
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