This week, the team of Rivals analysts are looking back at the best prospects they have ever scouted. Next up is Chad Simmons, who has been in the recruiting industry since 2003. He has scouted players all over the South for well over a decade. Here are the 10 best prospects he has evaluated .
RELATED: Top 10 prospects Sam Spiegelman has ever scouted | Adam Friedman's top 10 | Adam Gorney's top 10 | Josh Helmholdt's top 10
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals100 | Position | Team | State
1. TREVOR LAWRENCE
Do I really need to explain this one? He just led Clemson to a national title as a freshman. He was one of the first prospects I ever truly started to cover in middle school, and boy, did he live up to all the hype. Lawrence did not seek attention, and he was always very real with me behind the scenes.
Alabama was up there early. LSU was too. Georgia, of course, was in the race. Clemson had the lead for a few months, and as we closed in on Christmas, he quietly, late at night, was ready to announce. I get a text informing me that he was going to decide that night. He gives me time to call him, get quotes, put the story together and then post it before he ever does anything on social media. He was as genuine of a five-star recruit as you will ever see.
2. ERIC BERRY
Berry is by far one of the most gifted athletes I have covered. He played quarterback in high school, and was a five-star athlete, but he started at cornerback then starred at safety for the Tennessee Volunteers.
When I think back to his recruitment, of course I think about his ability and him calling me from his home phone (does anyone call from those anymore?) about his decision. But text messaging got started during his recruiting process, and that always comes to mind.
I remember his mother getting the cell phone bill right when text messaging started, and she was billed for close to 3,000 text messages that first cycle. Nobody knew about text messaging back then, but the Berry family learned about it quickly. He was coveted, and that showed on that bill — she quickly changed her billing plan.
3. JADEVEON CLOWNEY
I called his school asking his head coach about a couple of upperclassmen. In a nice way, his coach told me that it is nice for me to call about those guys, but you really want to come see Clowney. I was up there three days later, and the rest is history. I was there for a game that Clowney had four sacks, and he looked bored at times. Clowney truly dominated the competition for multiple years at South Pointe (S.C.).
4. LAREMY TUNSIL
I owe thanks to Timmy Jernigan for leading me to Tunsil. I still say Tunsil is the best offensive tackle I have ever covered in my 15 years. I was at Columbia High in Lake City, Fla., to see Jernigan, an elite defensive tackle, practice before his senior season. The future Florida State Seminole was dominant. The coaches had to take reps away in practice because he was destroying the offensive linemen.
About halfway through practice, a car pulls up and a long, lean, baby-faced giant steps out in Columbia shorts and slides with socks on. It was my first glance at Tunsil, and he arrived late due to being at the doctor for a sickness. I stayed around that area one more day and watched Tunsil the next day in practice. I left with notes about the soon-to-be sophomore being a five-star down the road. I saw him play live four times in the next three years and he was even better than I expected.
5. A.J. GREEN
Green was one of the most humble and reserved prospects I have ever covered. The way his commitment went down is something that shows who he really is.
He had been a silent Georgia commit for months, dating back to the summer before his junior year, but he was always waiting for the right time to make it public. Georgia hosted Tennessee on Oct. 7, 2006, and the Bulldogs were getting hammered late in the first half. Green sent me a text asking me to break his commitment for him right then so the Georgia fans would have something positive to talk about. Georgia went on to lose that game 51-33, but the five-star’s commitment took over UGASports.com for the next 24 to 48 hours. He made that decision public midway through his junior season, and he never visited another school before signing with Georgia in February 2008.
6. Reuben Foster
I was watching game tape of running back Isaiah Crowell when I identified Reuben Foster. One of the first plays of the game Crowell ran a stretch play and an inside linebacker came across the line to hit him about five yards behind the line of scrimmage. I paused the tape, called head coach Bubba Jeter at Troup County (Ga.) and asked who that linebacker was. Jeter asked if I was sitting down, because Foster was only a freshman in game two.
I was down to see Foster the next day, and about a week later Alabama and Georgia offered. It was the beginning of one of the wildest recruiting races of my time. He committed to Alabama, then flipped to Auburn before flipping back to Alabama the night before signing day. He was receiving death threats from Auburn fans. Oh yeah, he also got an Auburn logo tattoo while he was committed to the Tigers.
7. TRAY BLACKMON
This one goes back to almost the very beginning for me. When I got into this industry late in 2003, I was spending a lot of time at Lagrange (Ga.) High. Blackmon was a freak. He may have been the first player that I described as a freak. I saw him break helmets, I saw him break a tight end’s nose one Thursday night, and I saw him destroy quarterbacks.
He was locked into going to Georgia until he and his girlfriend, at that time, had a child during his senior year. That changed his entire recruitment. That helped Auburn in a big way, being much closer to home.
8. PATRICK JOHNSON (PATRICK PETERSON)
I had bad luck with Johnson (later Patrick Peterson) during school. When I would take trips to South Florida, I would always stop by Blanche Ely in Pompano Beach. They had players back then on a regular basis. I started covering Johnson his sophomore year, and after missing him twice at school, I started making in-home visits. Yep, that’s right, I visited Johnson at his home three different times. I had him bring his jersey home, we took pictures in his neighborhood and one time we walked the streets while doing an interview. He was extremely talented, and at the same time, very welcoming.
9. DERWIN JAMES
There is not a great story behind the scenes about James other than him telling me his freshman year that he was going to be a five-star. He was right.
I have heard a lot of recruits tell me that over the years, but not many, if any, backed it up the way James did on the field. He was another freak athlete on the field that I saw about half a dozen times in high school. He made spectacular plays on a regular basis and was an easy five-star for me. James was very confident in his abilities, and he had reason to be.
10. MARCUS LATTIMORE
Lattimore was about the people. I always thought he would have been a great politician. He tried to please all media, at least that is how I saw it. He was a coveted recruit, a five-star running back, and one who played during the time that the recruiting industry was really heating up.
He always made time for me. Not once, but twice, he met me at different gas stations to do interviews. Once, he was coming back from a visit out of state, and another time after school. He was as humble as they come, and that is something I will always remember about Lattimore.
He broke records, he won state titles and he signed with in-state South Carolina. He is now the Gamecocks' director of player development.
