Now that national signing day has arrived, we finally have gotten an answer about the destination for top overall recruit Dorial Green-Beckham, a man-child wide receiver who chose to play at Missouri.
So let’s look at the Top 10 wide receiver recruits in the last 20 years based on their high school production and raw athleticism that had scouts drooling.
Oh yeah, DGB made the list, but who joins him?
Note: Ted Ginn Jr. (CB), Anquan Bolden (QB), Hines Ward (QB), Derrick Williams (QB) not included because primarily played other positions in high school.
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T-10. Fred Rouse: Lincoln H.S. (Tallahassee, FL), Class of 2005
Rouse said that he would consider becoming the first-ever player to go straight from high school to the NFL if the rules permitted. He only had 600 yards receiving as a senior but was compared to Randy Moss, the go-to standard for prep WRs, and was ranked the sixth-best recruit in the entire 2005 class by Rivals. The Tallahassee native bounced from FSU to UTEP to Concordia College in Selma, AL. Rouse was signed by the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks prior to the 2011 season but didn’t make the team. Oops.
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T-10. Patrick Turner: Goodpasture H.S. (Madison, TN), Class of 2005
At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Turner had insane size. No wonder he was the No. 2 overall recruit and the top wide receiver in nation, according to Rivals.com. ESPN’s Tom Lemming agreed that Turner was the best pass-catcher in the 2005 class, where he was a consensus top-five overall player throughout the recruiting services. The man was a touchdown machine in high school, hauling in 36 scores through the air. He was good but not great at USC and is currently a reserve for the New York Jets.
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9. Whitney Lewis: St. Bonaventure H.S. (Ventura, CA), Class of 2003
We can hear you from here: “Whitney who?” Many people have forgotten the California prep legend (warning: Language is NSFW) who became the first player in state history to go over 1,000 yards in rushing and receiving in a season. As a senior, he had a total of 45 touchdowns in one season alone, 16 of which came through the air; he scored every 4.5 times he touched the ball and was like a tank rolling through a high school field at 225 pounds. Ranked third overall in the Class of 2003 by Rivals behind a guy named Reggie Bush, Lewis flamed out at USC and did little after transferring to Northern Iowa.
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8. A.J. Green: Summerville H.S. (Summerville, SC), Class of 2008
Yeah, we know that Green was an All-SEC performer at Georgia, fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft and a Pro Bowl participant after his rookie season. That wouldn’t surprise those that followed Green in high school. He put up video-game numbers, compiling 279 catches and 5,373 yards to author some of the greatest prep stats of all time. He also heard comparisons to Moss and was ranked the second overall WR recruit in his class and ninth overall player, according to Rivals.com. As it turned out, that was conservative if Green’s debut campaign with the Cincinnati Bengals was any indication of his future.
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7. Amani Toomer: De La Salle H.S. (Concord, CA), Class of 1992
Toomer helped put De La Salle High School in Concord, CA, on the map, and that’s a significant legacy because the school has been a football factory over the years. But Toomer was the first national recruit in the school’s history as a USA Today and Parade All-American. The No. 1 recruit in the nation according to SuperPrep, his stats weren’t great because his team didn’t throw much but the hype around his size and tools got so out of control he was compared to the local Jerry Rice. He went on to star at Michigan and with the New York Giants, winning a Super Bowl in 2008.
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6. Percy Harvin: Landstown H.S. (Virginia Beach, VA), Class of 2006
Harvin was one of the great high-school athletes in the history of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. His successes dates to his time as a six-year-old flag football player, prepubescent track star and Pop Warner national champion. In high school football, he only had 75 career catches but scored 77 career touchdowns with his 4.3 speed. That’s why he was the top recruit in the nation in 2006 ahead of the likes of Matthew Stafford. Harvin lived up to the hype at Florida and has since made the Pro Bowl with the Minnesota Vikings.
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