Looking Back at the Class of 2021 – Part 1: The Top-20
Now that we’re well into the college football offseason, we thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at how our Class of 2021 prospects performed in their first year of college. Now, of course, not every member…
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Continue ReadingNow that we’re well into the college football offseason, we thought it would be a fun exercise to look back at how our Class of 2021 prospects performed in their first year of college. Now, of course, not every member played in 2021, and in fact, most probably played in four games or less to allow them to redshirt. However, others are already making major impacts in their programs.
Today, we take a look at our top 20 ranked players in our 2021 class rankings. This is only part one of what will be a multiple part look back at the rankings.
With each player, you’ll find a brief excerpt on how they performed in 2021 and a verdict of if we had them ranked correctly, to high, to low, or N/A. A way for us to look back and grade our performance in ranking each player. We plan on doing this article series following each year, which will allow us to see how each player has developed since high school and if our verdict changes as well. Since all these players are freshmen, it is likely we will have them as either “N/A” due to a lack of playing time but a handful of players could receive other verdicts.
Now without further adieu,
1. OL Nolan Rucci – Wisconsin (Warwick)
Our top player in the state in 2021, Rucci didn’t see any playing time in the 2021 season for Wisconsin though shouldn’t come as any shock. Offensive linemen generally don’t make an instant impact at the college level, especially that of the FBS level. That being said, the potential is still all there for Rucci and he still should be well on his way to being developed into one of the country’s top offensive linemen.
VERDICT: It’s still too early to tell and will have to wait and see how he performs going forward.
2. QB Kyle McCord – Ohio State (St Joes Prep)
McCord, our top-ranked quarterback was the Buckeyes No.2 quarterback for most of the season, sitting behind starting quarterback CJ Stroud. He did, however, make his first career start for the Buckeyes against Akron in September. For his freshman season, McCord completed 25-of-38 passing attempts for 416 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll sit once again behind the Heisman candidate in Stroud in 2022 but come 2023, McCord will have a great opportunity to become the starter for the Buckeyes.
VERDICT: We’ll have to wait and see how he performs over the next two-three years.
3. LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr – Clemson (St Joes Prep)
The NFL legacy out of St. Joes Prep played in all 13 games for the Tigers in 2021, recording 22 tackles including his first career sack. He recorded those 22 snaps in less than 60 snaps, which is impressive production from a true freshman in such a limited amount of opportunities. Everything continues to point to Trotter Jr being a game-changing linebacker.
VERDICT: We’ll have to wait and see but Trotter Jr is definitely making an early statement that he could possibly have been the No.2 or No.3 player in the state.
4. S Derrick Davis – LSU (Gateway)
Davis played in 12 games for LSU as a true freshman this season and recorded two tackles in the process. It was a rough season in Baton Rouge for the entire program, which makes evaluating some players a bit tougher. That being said, Davis was considered one of the top safeties in the entire country last season and there’s no reason to doubt the skillset and potential that he took with him to LSU.
VERDICT: We’ll have to wait at least one more season to make a true judgment on Davis.
5. WR Marvin Harrison Jr – Ohio State (St Joes Prep)
During the Buckeyes’ regular season, the Hall of Fame legacy recorded five receptions for 68 yards. However, in the Buckeyes Rose Bowl victory over Utah, Harrison Jr had his breakout party, recording six receptions for 71-yards and three touchdowns. With the Buckeyes losing the duo of Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave to the NFL this offseason, Harrison Jr and fellow Pennsylvania native Julian Fleming both could see bigger roles in 2022.
VERDICT: The early returns on Harrison Jr. are looking solid and is making an argument that he could’ve been higher than five.
6. DL Elliot Donald – Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Central Catholic)
The nephew of Pittsburgh Panthers legend and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Donald, Donald played in just one game for Pitt this past season. Already adding 30-pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame, Donald is adapting to the college game well so far and with the success that the Pittsburgh program has in developing defensive linemen, the sky could be the limit for him.
VERDICT: Before giving a verdict, we’ll have to see Donald take the field.
7. DL Elijah Jeudy – Texas A&M (Northeast)
Jeudy has an argument on this list for the player with the best upside and that’s partially due to working under one of the nation’s top defensive line coaches in Elijah Robinson. The Philadelphia native redshirted this season for the Aggies but did make his debut and recorded his first career tackle.
VERDICT: Texas A&M is stacked on the defensive line so it’s no surprise he didn’t see a ton of playing time in 2021. The jury is still out on the verdict, however.
8. DB Tyreek Chappell – Texas A&M (Northeast)
Our highest impact player so far has been Chappell who was an immediate impact starter for the Aggies this season. Chappell played in all 12 games for Texas A&M including making eight starts on the season. In those 12 games, Chappell recorded 41 tackles including three tackles for a loss but most importantly as a defensive back, he recorded one interception and nine pass breakups. For his freshman season, he earned All-Freshman team honors from SEC Coaches and was named to The Athletic’s, Freshman All-America First Team. It will be intriguing to see if Chappell can continue his success at such a high level in 2022, but as it stands right now.
VERDICT: If his true freshman season was any indication, we had Chappell a bit too low in our top-10.
9. DE Nahki Johnson – Pittsburgh (West Mifflin)
Johnson played in two games for the Panthers this season and recorded three tackles in his pair of appearances. The West Mifflin graduate showed some great potential coming out of high school with the chance to be a high-impact player. There’s no reason to believe that still can’t be the case for him.
VERDICT: As said many times already, we’ll have to wait another season or two before giving out a verdict.
10. DL Taleeq Robbins – Ole Miss (Imhotep Charter)
Rounding out our top 10 is Taleeq Robbins who did not see any playing time in 2021 for the Rebels. We’ll see if he can earn some playing time next season.
VERDICT: The jury remains out on Robbins.
11. S Donovan McMillon – Florida (Peters Township)
McMillon played in each of Florida’s 13 games this season and recorded 10 tackles in the process. He should be in store for another big role in 2022 but that could depend on the Gators’ new coaching staff under the new head coach, Billy Napier.
VERDICT: We potentially had McMillion too low in our 2021 class rankings but we’ll have to see how those in front of him perform going forward.
12. DL Dorien Ford – Pittsburgh (Baldwin)
Ford redshirted and did not see playing time for the Panthers this season. We’ll have to check back in next offseason to see how he continues to develop.
VERDICT: Wait and see approach here.
13. DB Tysheem Johnson – Ole Miss (Neumann and Goretti)
It was a strong first season for Johnson down in Oxford as he played in all 13 games for the Rebels as a true freshman. In those 13 games, Johnson recorded 47 tackles including four tackles for a loss and one sack. He also recorded his first career interception and two pass deflections. It’s only one season but Johnson is making an argument that he should’ve been higher in our rankings last year, though only time will tell.
VERDICT:
14. WR Lonnie White Jr – Penn State (Malvern Prep)
White was originally slated to head to Penn State to play wide receiver for the Nittany Lions but after being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 64th overall draft pick in last summer’s MLB Draft, White Jr elected to go pro in baseball.
VERDICT: N/A – A verdict can’t be given to White due to the circumstances. But being that high of a draft pick in the MLB Draft is surely a verdict of how much of a talented athlete he is.
15. DL Robert Jackson – Cincinnati (Archbishop Wood)
Jackson played in three games for the Bearcats in 2021 and recorded two tackles. His role should continue to grow for the Bearcats who will look to make it back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances next season.
VERDICT: It’s a good sign for Jackson that he saw playing time early on for such a talented and strong team but we want to see more before making any verdict.
16. DL Andre Porter – Maryland (Washington)
The former Washington standout played in three games for Maryland including their bowl game against Virginia Tech. In his three games, he recorded two tackles including his first carer tackle against Iowa on October 1.
VERDICT: Again, we have to wait to see his production in at least 2022 if not 2023 to provide a verdict.
17. DB Javon McIntyre – Pittsburgh (Imhotep Charter)
The former Imhotep Charter cornerback played in two games for the Panthers in 2021 and recorded his first two career tackles.
VERDICT – Another N/A verdict.
18. TE Khalil Dinkins – (North Allegheny)
The state’s top-ranked tight end in last year’s cycle made his collegiate debut for Penn State in 2021 but did not record any stats. He may not see much playing time in 2022 either due to the Nittany Lions’ strong depth at the position but could become a nice part of the offense in 2023.
VERDICT: Dinkins will be a player that we may not have a verdict on for a while seeing due to how talented the Penn State tight end room currently is heading into next season.
19. S Saint McLeod – West Virginia (Imhotep Charter)
McLeod played in eight games for the Mountaineers in 2021, recording 21 tackles and two forced fumbles. Overall, he had a solid impact on West Virginia this past season, we’ll see how he continues his development.
VERDICT: McLeod was impressive as a true freshman and made a strong argument that he should’ve been higher in our rankings.
20. Malik Cooper – Temple (St Joes Prep)
The former St. Joes Prep running back stayed home to play for Temple and played in four games for the Owls. In those four games, he recorded nine tackles for 46-yards as well as two receptions for 11-yards. Under a new head coach now in Stan Drayton, whose specialty is running backs, we’re intrigued to see how Cooper continues to develop with Temple.
VERDICT: We’d like to see more out of Cooper before giving a verdict but are excited for his potential with Drayton as his head coach.
We hope you enjoyed a quick look at how our top-20 recruits in the class of 2021 played during their first seasons of college football at their respective programs. It reminds us that what we’re doing isn’t a science, it’s quite tough and even when we think it’s “perfect”, it truly can never be.