College Football Recruiting 2013:1 Weakness for Each Top 25 Recruit

Everyone has a weakness. Heck, even Superman had kryptonite. No player is perfect, as even the most complete NFL players still have things they need to work on.

Big-time high school football players are no different, as they also have their shortcomings. We build these guys up year round and sometimes readers start to believe these players are perfect, which leads to the increased pressure from college fanbases to see them excel immediately.

For this read, I'm going to give you one weakness for each Top 25 prospect.

25. Ryan Burns, QB

From Virginia, Burns is committed to Stanford and stands 6'5", 220 pounds. He is a future starter in Palo Alto that has good athleticism, arm strength, accuracy and field vision for the QB position. However, he tends to lose the ball when hit at times, and needs to work on his ball handling from under center. 

Weakness: Ball security and ball handling

24. Dorian Johnson, OT

A 6'6", 285-pound OT prospect from Pennsylvania, Johnson is locked into Penn State. He has a good surge off the ball, quick hands  and strength to go along with athleticism.

Yet he tends to stop his feet at the point of attack, which causes him to stall at times in the run game.

Weakness: Feet movement at the point of attack

23. Shane Morris, QB

The future of U of M football, Morris is a signal caller from Michigan that stands 6'3", 190-pounds on the hoof. He's a lefty that has good arm strength, sets up quickly and can get outside the pocket to make plays.

Yet his accuracy can be too streaky and unreliable. Morris can get hot, but he needs more consistency.

Weakness: Inconsistent accuracy

22. Eddie Vanderdoes, DT

Vanderdoes is a big man at 6'3", 305 pounds. The Northern California native is committed to USC and is brute, strong football player. He can toss blockers aside with ease and has solid hand useage to combat people getting into his body.

Though he's got solid quickness, he's not a gap penetrator per se.

Weakness: One-gapping ability 

21. Cameron Burrows, DB

Burrows is a 6'1", 200-pound cornerback with excellent size and athleticism. He's committed to Ohio State and could also end up at safety. Burrows has great speed and quickness and excels in coverage.

However, as willing as he is, he needs to work on his wrap-tackling ability. Burrows will support the run, but his production needs to rise in making stops.

Weakness: Wrap-tackling ability

20. Matthew Thomas, OLB

Miami prospect Matthew Thomas is an OLB prospect that can play the Will or Sam in a 4-3, while also showing potential as a great Jack OLB in a 3-4 scheme. He's 6'3" and about 210 pounds with excellent speed and athleticism.

Thomas' ball-locating skills and vision are fine, but if you watch him for an extended period of time you'll notice that he can lose the ball on occasion.

Weakness: Ball location on misdirection

19. Christian Hackenburg, QB

Hackenburg is a 6'3", 215-pound signal caller from Virginia that is headed to Penn State. Hackenburg shows good mobility, a quick release, accuracy and good arm strength.

However, you have to imagine if Hackenburg opened up his delivery, his arm strength improve. He tosses from a sidearm slot at times and this could be holding him back.

Weakness: 3/4 arm slot delivery

18. Darius James, OL

At 6'5" 320 pounds, Texas native Darius James is an athletic trench player that could likely play center at the University of Texas (where he committed last spring). 

James has potential to round out into a pretty complete OL due to his good strength, agility, balance and feet. However, he needs to refine his pass-protection technique.

Weakness: Pass-protection technique 

17. Kendall Fuller, CB

Fuller is a super athlete that can physically do just about everything. The 6'0" 185-pound Maryland native has good speed, agility, foot quickness and great coverage ability.

Fuller can also play in all three coverage styles (press-man, off-man and zone) and will likely decide between Virginia Tech and Clemson.

Weakness: Lack of bulk to his frame

16. Ty Isaac, RB

Hailing from Illinois, Isaac is a 6'3" back that weighs close to 220 pounds and is committed to USC. He has great speed and elusiveness for a big back, along with sharp instincts and excellent hands.

Yet, with him being such a tall back, he can naturally run too high and expose himself to body shots. Isaac must improve his consistent pad level.

Weakness: High pad level due to height

15. Robert Foster, WR

Foster is another player from Pennsylvania full of explosiveness. A big-time vertical threat at 6'2", Foster can release in a flash, eat up cushion and detach from a cornerback with speed.

However, he needs to add more strength to escape physical corners. A press corner with a quick sharp jam in college, right now, could rattle him a bit.

Weakness: Strength to escape press coverage

14. Antonio Conner, S

Conner is a 6'2", 200-pounder from Mississippi that plays with great athleticism, speed and instincts. He factors better in the box and closing on short passes right now.

Yet Conner does show the potential to play with range; he just needs to work on his man-to-man coverage. 

Weakness: Man-to-man coverage

13. Montravius Adams, DT

At 6'3" 290 pounds, Adams can be a menacing presence on the DL for an offense. He has excellent snap quickness and flashes quick hand-fighting ability, strength and pursuit speed.

However, he needs to work on his overall technique. His pads can pop up too high and his hand placement is inconsistent.

Weakness: Raw technique

12. Su'a Cravens, DB

Cravens is a 6'1", 205-pound playmaker with good speed and instincts.

He needs work at safety, where he will likely play at USC. The Southern California native shows good closing speed, but is sticky coming out of transition in space.

Weakness: Coming out of transition in space

11. Ricky Seals-Jones, WR/TE

Seals-Jones is a 6'5" 230-pound athlete with great hands and quickness, and can get big yardage after the catch. 

He could stand to work on his route running, in particular lowering his pads and dropping his weight/hips more when he cuts at junction points. He plays too high at times and this is affecting his separation quickness.

Weakness: Pad level in route running and cutting

10. Eli Woodard, CB

Woodard is a New Jersey native that is committed to Ohio State. He's 6'0" 185 pounds and has supreme football intelligence to go along with great athleticism, speed and cover ability.

Woodard knows his schemes, plays with discipline, and recognizes when he needs to make a play. My only knock on him is he has to improve as a wrap tackler.

Weakness: Wrap tackling

9. Carl Lawson, DE

Lawson is a Georgia native that stands 6'2" and weighs nearly 255 pounds. He has a quick first step, can bend well when coming off the edge, fights to pressure the passer and can pursue the quarterback from the back side.

He's got solid strength to hold up against the run, but I would like to see the Auburn commit use more strength and quickness to escape blocks and free himself up to make plays.

Weakness: Shedding blocks

8. Dee Liner, DT

Liner has among the quickest first steps of any player in the country. The Alabama native and Auburn pledge fires out in a flash and can overwhelm a blocker immediately.

At 6'3" and 275 pounds, I would like to see him use his hands better after his first step. Once he learns how to work his hands and use them like weapons, he could be a big-time menace to an OL unit.

Weakness: Hand usage and consistency 

7. Max Browne, QB

Browne, at 6'5" 215 pounds, shows a knack for diagnosing in the pre-snap phase, a quick release, good accuracy, touch, feel and arm strength. 

However, this guy isn't Michael Vick or Cam Newton, as he needs to work on his mobility, speed and ability to buy time with his legs when he's at USC. 

Weakness: Running ability

6. Jaylon Smith, OLB

Smith can wow you with his ability to cover: he's almost like a big safety at 6'3", 225 pounds. The Indiana native is committed to Notre Dame and will easily be a three-down player in South Bend.

Smith's athleticism is outstanding; he plays with good instincts and can combat the run and the pass. The only knock I have on him is his thumping ability as a tackler at the point of attack.

Weakness: Thumping ability as a tackler

5. Kenny Bigelow, DT

Bigelow is a 6'3", 297-pound DT that is quick at the snap, powerful at the point of attack and fearsome in his pursuit of the quarterback.

He is a force on the line and has excellent athleticism for a big man; he just needs to work on his pass-rush plan.

Weakness: Pass-rush plan

4. Laremy Tunsil, OT

Tunsil has bulked up to 6'6", 295 pounds and has added size to his athletic game. He bends well and easy at the knees, has excellent foot quickness, can adjust in his set and put a hat on a target at the second level.

However, Tunsil catches blocks too easily and needs to work more on his strength. He could be a staller in the run game in college.

Weakness: Strength

3. Vernon Hargreaves III, CB

Hargreaves knows football and is quick to recognize routes, jump passing lanes and beat wide receivers to the ball. He's a Florida native that stands 5'11", 185 pounds and has almost everything you want in a corner.

He shows good hips, speed, transition quickness and solid ball skills. However, he lacks the ability to consistently win jump-ball situations against big wide receivers.

Weakness: Jump-ball situations

2. Reuben Foster, LB

Newly committed to Auburn and with a new tat to show off, Foster is a big-time 6'1", 245-pound 'backer that is college-ready to play the pass.

He has all the necessary skills to develop into a very, very good defender on The Plains. Yet, Foster needs to continue working and honing his pass-coverage skills as both a man and zone pass defender.

Weakness: Pass coverage

1. Robert Nkemdiche, DE

Nkemdiche is a 6'4", 270-pounder committed to Clemson and viewed as one of the best prospects of the year. He's a terror on the field, showing overwhelming strength, great athleticism, speed, quickness and toughness.

He likely needs to work on developing more pass-rush moves. Nkemdiche will learn in college that you can't overwhelm with strength in order to be a superior player. Honing a complete pass-rush plan will work wonders for him.

Weakness: Pass rush plan

Edwin Weathersby has worked in scouting/player personnel departments for three professional football teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena League. He spent a year evaluating prep prospects & writing specific recruiting and scouting content articles for Student Sports Football (now ESPN Rise-HS). A syndicated scout and writer, he's also contributed to WeAreSC.com, GatorBait.net and Diamonds in the Rough Inc., a College Football and NFL Draft magazine.