Southeast Spotlight: Path from HS to draft star for five prospects

The 2020 NFL Draft was completed over the weekend, and the Monday morning or, in this case, Tuesday morning quarterbacking has begun. At Rivals, we’ve covered most of those players selected since high school, and recall the recruitments of several of the weekend’s top picks.

Below, we take a look at some of the Southeast’s top draft picks and which 2021 prospects they most resemble.

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NFL DRAFT: The path for five Midwest prospects | What We Learned | Biggest winners of the weekend | Five storylines | Did we hit or miss on HS rankings of 32 first-rounders? | First-round grades | Why did Rivals miss on Burrow's, Herbert's rankings? | Day Two thoughts | Looking ahead to top 10 players for 2021 draft

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2022: Top 100

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Drafted: First Round, No. 4 overall to New York Giants

Recruit comparison: Micah Morris

Recap: Thomas was the first offensive lineman taken and the No. 4 overall pick by the New York Giants. Thomas was ranked No. 88 overall by Rivals.com in 2016 and went pro after starting three years at Georgia.

There are a lot of similarities between Thomas and Morris. The size, frame and skill-set are similar and the projection looks the same as well. Thomas is not a freak athlete in the trenches, and Morris may not be that either, but both move well, both are intelligent young men, both are strong technicians and both are efficient linemen.

Morris is likely to end up ranked a little higher than Thomas, but they two are very comparable. Thomas left Athens as a true junior, and Morris is set to enroll at Georgia in January 2021.

Drafted: First Round, No. 7 overall to Carolina

Recruit comparison: Tyre West

Recap: Brown went No. 7 to the Carolina Panthers and Tyre West is on that same path. West is a 2022 prospect and he is one of the 10 early five-stars in his class.

Like Brown, West was an easy call on the ranking. Both are athletic big men with agility and natural power. West is around 270 pounds at the end of his sophomore year, and for now, he is a strong-side end, but could easily grow into a quick, disruptive tackle. Both are violent players, both can take over games, and West has first-round potential. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and many others are already fighting for West.

Drafted: First Round, No. 9 overall to Jacksonville

Recruit Comparison: Jason Marshall

Recap: A hyper-athletic prospect. Henderson played both sides of the ball early in his career before landing exclusively at cornerback later on. Henderson always boasted solid length and impressive ball skills, but added muscle as a senior and became a more physical defensive back as his high school career came to a close.

He shares a number of traits with current Rivals100 defensive back Jason Marshall, who is considered a Florida lean at the moment.

Drafted: First Round, No. 12 overall to Las Vegas

Recruit Comparison: Mario Williams

Recap: What Ruggs lacked in size he made up for in speed and explosiveness, which is exactly the scouting report on current Rivals100 wideout Mario Williams. Ruggs’ didn’t play the same level of competition as Williams and had a tough day at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge prior to his senior season, which resulted in him being under-ranked. But when it comes to speedy, sub-6-foot wideouts, both Ruggs and Williams have NFL-level tools.

Drafted: First Round, No. 15 overall to Denver

Recruit comparison: Jacory Brooks

Recap: Jeudy emerged on the recruiting scene early in his career, as he started to gather major offers as a sophomore on the same high school team as Calvin Ridley. Jeudy eventually transferred to Deerfield Beach High, where he really came into his own as a national prospect. Rivals.com had the newest Broncos wideout ranked as a high four-star prospect until he dominated the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge prior to his senior season, at which time he was awarded a fifth star. Rivals was the only site in the industry that had Jeudy rated as such.