What did the recruiting resumes of the starting lineup of a top-10 college football program look like when they were high school prospects?
Today we take a look at the IU the defense, which provides an even more stark reminder of the relative value of recruiting stars and rankings in the overall scheme of things.
In the aggregate, of the 29 Indiana offensive and defensive players who are starters or key contributors through five games this season, here is how they were rated as high school prospects:
- 0-stars: 10
- 2-stars: 2
- 3-stars: 14
- 4-stars: 3
- 5-stars: 0
Rankings are according to the 247Sports Composite.
DE – Mikail Kamara (Class of 2020 0-star, not ranked). Thought to be an undersized defensive lineman, Kamara had no Power 4 offers.
DT – Tyrique Tucker (Class of 2022 0-star, not ranked). Tucker joined has older brother at JMU. His other offers appeared to be FCS schools.
DT – Hosea Wheeler (Class of 2022 0-star, not ranked). Wheeler went to junior college out of high school.
DE – Kellan Wyatt (Class of 2022 3-star, No. 1,033 overall, No. 99 LB). Wyatt chose Maryland out of high school over Syracuse and Buffalo.
LB – Aiden Fisher (Class of 2022 0-star, not ranked). Fisher narrowed his options down to JMU and Old Dominion.
LB – Rolijah Hardy (Class of 2024 0-star, not ranked). The Florida product spent a year at Navy Prep before being discovered by the IU staff.
S – Amare Ferrell (Class of 2023 3-star, No. 578 overall, No. 53 safety). Ferrell was a solid win for then head coach Tom Allen. He had several Power 4 offers.
S – Louis Moore (Class of 2019 0-star, not ranked). Moore did not have offers out of high school and went the junior college route.
S – Devan Boykin (Class of 2020 3-star, No. 833 overall, No. 66 CB). Boykin committed to N.C. State out of high school. His other offers appear to have been non-Power 4.
CB – D’Angelo Ponds (Class of 2023 3-star, No. 1,966 overall, No. 170 CB). Ponds does not appear to have had any Power 4 offers out of high school.
CB – Jamari Sharpe (Class of 2022 3-star, No. 826 overall, No. 77 CB). Sharpe had multiple Power 4 offers out of high school and signed with Tom Allen.
Other key contributors:
- Isaiah Jones (LB) (Class of 2022 3-star, No. 994 overall, No. 91 LB)
- Stephen Daley (DL) (Class of 2022 3-star, No. 1,987 overall, No. 118 TE)
- Mario Landino (DL) (Class of 2024, 3-star, No. 2,398 overall, No. 244 DL)
A look at IU football’s starters as high school recruits — the offense
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