National Signing Day is Just the Beginning

Earlier today, J.J. Watt tweeted this motivational tweet:

The All-Pro defensive end makes a good point— a player’s college or pro football success doesn’t depend on how highly touted a player is coming out of high school. Hard work, good coaching, and a few lucky breaks significantly weigh into a recruit’s eventual performance on the field.

For proof, just look at the 2012 NFL All-Pro Team and how many stars they had from Scout and Rivals coming out of high school (players that graduated high school before 2002 are not in the database):

Position	Player	Scout	Rivals
QB	Peyton Manning	–	–
RB	Adrian Peterson	5	5
RB	Marshawn Lynch	4	4
FB	Vonta Leach	–	–
WR	Calvin Johnson	5	4
WR	Brandon Marshall	–	–
TE	Tony Gonzalez	–	–
OT	Duane Brown	3	3
OT	Ryan Clady	2	2
G	Mike Iupati	2	2
G	Jahari Evans	–	–
C	Max Unger	2	3
DE	J.J. Watt	2	2
DE	Cameron Wake	–	–
DT	Geno Atkins	3	4
DT	Vince Wilfork	–	–
OLB	Von Miller	4	4
OLB	Aldon Smith	3	3
ILB	NaVorro Bowman	4	4
ILB	Patrick Willis	2	3
CB	Richard Sherman	3	3
CB	Charles Tillman	–	–
S	Earl Thomas	4	4
S	Dashon Goldson	3	4
KR	Jacoby Jones	2	2

So, more than likely, there’s a 2-star player signing somewhere today with little to no media attention that will one day be an All-Pro NFL player.

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By: Tyler Raborn