FanHouse College Football Recruiting

Admit it. Just once, you want to see this. You want to see some four-star prep hotshot, big enough to have his commitment decision broadcast live on ESPN, go through the usual bizarre tango of, say, putting on a Georgia cap, then saying, "Naah, just kidding" and whipping out a Florida State cap. The Seminole backers in attendance go wild, dreaming of the impact this kid will have once he sees the field in a year or two. They've got visions of conference crowns and a chance at a BCS title dancing in their heads.

The recruit picks up a pen, about to sign the letter of intent. The space between pen and paper shrinks down to a few nanometers as NolesFan4Life69 is already three paragraphs into the taunting post he's writing on a Georgia message board. You can practically see a drop of ink ready to flow onto the paper. Suddenly, the recruit stops. He sets down the pen, tosses the FSU cap over his shoulder and rips off his Nike windbreaker to reveal ... a William and Mary t-shirt.

"Everybody else wanted me," says the recruit. "William and Mary needed me. I'm ready to play now, not three years from now. And besides, William and Mary has a great history department."

Why? Why can't we see this just once?

UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell may not know the best place to put a play sheet, but one thing he has come to know pretty well--recruiting in Los Angeles.

Dorrell and his team put together a long list of local committments over the weekend.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the eight commits, "led by defensive back Rahim Moore of Dorsey of Los Angeles, Compton defensive end Datone Jones, Colton defensive end Damien Holmes and Crespi of Encino safety E.J. Woods. "

In recent weeks, USC and UCLA have been going head-to-head in the local recruiting market and it looks like the Bruins have capitalized on their win last December.

Trojans are not worried, however, knowing that Men of Troy come from across the country. Only former Bruin Ken Norton, who recruits Los Angeles for USC, seems to be concerned.

In Part One I named five college football recruits who will make an "impact" in 2007 and beyond. What follows are the top five impact recruits.

Please keep in mind the word impact can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. My rubric is slanted towards guys who people will be talking about early in their careers and not necessarily the best players, period.

• Jahvid Best, Tailback (California) - The "sleeper" out of my ten, if you want to call him that. Best is a little on the light/small side (5'-10"/183 pounds) but the man can scoot (a California high school best 10.39 in the 100-yard dash). There are only a handful of people every year who are that fast and are legitimate football players. Think Ted Ginn, Reggie Bush, those types of zoom zoomers. Best may be the next. Video here and here. Strange video here.

• Joe McKnight, Athlete (USC or LSU or Ole Miss) - McKnight is considered by many to be the best recruit in this year's class. People compare him to Reggie Bush because of his versatility (15 yards/carry, 30 yards/reception) but he's a little slower (10.75 compared to 10.41 in the 100 meter dash). That said McKnight can do it and should start out as a running back. Video here, here, here.
  

• Noel Devine, Running Back (West Virginia) - Many would consider Devine the nation's top recruit but his off-field elusiveness and questionable academics have muted expectations a tad. That said, outside of Reggie Bush there hasn't been a more breathtaking player to come out of the high school ranks. It's useless to give words to his abilities, just watch tape and see for yourself. He just committed to West Virginia and if he miraculously qualifies will be all over SportsCenter every Saturday night for the next three years. Boatloads of videos (~45) here. Noel Devine is a YouTube phenomena and has been since his sophomore year of high school.
  

• Everson Griffen, Defensive End (USC) - If we can return from space and into the relatively elevated stratosphere for a moment, we must talk about the amazing Everson Griffen. Aside from Devine, no other player's tape stands out more this year than Griffen's. He puts on a show running through defensive lineman and past defensive backs as a ball carries and simply blows past offensive tackles and chases down running backs way downfield as a rush end. He reportedly clocked a sub 4.5 second 40-yard-dash at a camp this year at nearly 270 pounds. Griffen is a true physical freak and there's a chance to play at the Leo end spot opposite Lawrence Jackson for the Trojans this year.

• Jimmy Clausen, Quarterback (Notre Dame) - And finally we arrive at the great Jimmy Clausen. Jimmy has been eyeballed since the middle school days as an elite quarterback prospect and so far has lived up to the billing. He'll go to the Mecca of college football, Notre Dame with expectations far beyond those of another ballyhooed prep slinger, Ron Powlus (ironically, his quarterback coach this year). Clausen is the most polished high school quarterback in ages and has a quirky personality and awesomely bad hairdo. Pair that with the hype and the fact that he's at Notre Dame and the guy is college football's biggest lightning rod ... perhaps ever. And that's before ever having taken a snap. People will most definitely be talking about this guy and so he headlines this list of the top 10 impact recruits of 2007. Video here. A few more videos here.

Alright, there it is, my list of the top 10 impact recruits. Who else should have been on this list? Who would you have omitted. Fire away (within reason).

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Impact National Recruits Part I