RSS
Home
How important are five-star recruits?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Former five-star recruit Rey Maualuga at the
2009 Senior Bowl. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Today is college football signing day, which means we'll be hearing a lot about top-ranked recruiting classes and five-star players. Over the past few years, USC has done as well as any school in the country at attracting these highly coveted prospects, and today should be no different.
But how often do these top recruits turn into college football stars? Here's a look back at USC's recent recruiting classes to see what became of their five-star recruits (as determined by Scout.com and Rivals.com).
CLASS OF 2005
Mark Sanchez -- The top quarterback in the country coming out of high school in 2005, Sanchez sat behind Matt Leinart for a year and then John David Booty for two before finally starting under center this past season. Though he failed to lead the Trojans to the national championship game and struggled in the middle of the season, Sanchez came on strong at the end of the year, winning offensive MVP honors in USC's 38-24 victory over Penn State in the 2009 Rose Bowl. Much to the chagrin of Pete Carroll, Sanchez declared himself eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft and is considered the second-best quarterback available after Georgia's Matthew Stafford.
Rey Maualuga -- By nearly any measure, Maualuga lived up to the billing he received coming out of high school in Eureka, California. He had a strong career as a Trojan, culminating in winning the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player as a senior. He was also named a 2008 All-American by the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association, and will forever be remembered for the wicked hit he made on UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan during the Trojans' 2006 game against the Bruins.
Patrick Turner -- A consensus All-American coming out of high school, Turner never seemed to live up to his potential at USC, perhaps because the wide receivers he followed -- Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett -- set the bar so high. At 6'5, he was expected to step in and become the game-breaker Williams and Jarrett had been, but that never happened. In most cases, he wasn't even his quarterback's top target. Still, Turner had a solid career as a Trojan, culminating in an invite to the Senior Bowl, and is likely to be drafted by an NFL team in April.
Brian Cushing -- Along with Maualuga, Cushing came in as a highly touted linebacker recruit, and though he battled through injuries throughout his time as a Trojan, he played well enough to garner first-team Pac-10 and All-American honors in his senior season. He's expected to be selected as a first or second round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Luther Brown -- The third of three highly touted linebacker recruits in this class, Brown has struggled with injuries during his years at USC, most recently dealing with a shoulder problem. He didn't play at all in 2008 and may end up requesting a sixth year of eligibility since he already redshirted as a freshman due to a back injury.
Averell Spicer -- A decorated defensive tackle coming out of Rancho Cucamonga, Spicer redshirted as a freshman and since then has struggled to break into the regular rotation on the defensive line. This past season he played in 10 games but made only eight total tackles.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
