10 Blue-Chip 2011 Recruits Who Could Get Buried on the Depth Chart

Any top recruit should be mindful of what other commitments are in his class, for reasons of playing time and for making sure the promises a coach has made are within reason.

And while shying away from competition is never encouraged, the recruit has to accept the possibility that he may lose a battle in camp, and never force his competitor to relinquish his hold on the starting job. Most Mitch Mustains live lives of quiet desperation.

Enough blue-chip 2011 recruits have made their commitments known that it's now possible to evaluate their potential contributions (or lack thereof) down the road, and if those contributions are in doubt. I've paid special attention to classes that gained more than one top player at a position, or gained a verbal from a top player in this and last year's class.

Take a look.

Either Cody Kessler or Max Wittek, QBs (USC)

Two blue-chip QBs are an awkward fit in any class, but the situation is compounded when their destination school has two more blue-chips already on the roster.

That's the situation at USC, where Matt Barkley and incoming freshman Jesse Scroggins were both decorated recruits and, in Barkley's case, good enough players to win the starting job outright.

No matter how you slice it, Wittek and Kessler's ascension scenarios don't pan out. If both redshirt, the competition for the starting job is a zero-sum game: one plays, the other pulls backup duty. If one plays and the other redshirts, that still leaves jsut one year to start outright for the loser of the position, no guarantee when top recruits are enrolling year after year.

It may not sound dire, but Wittek and Kessler are good enough to start elsewhere without the need for a cutthroat QB competition. The Trojans' Matt Cassel example is nice, but it is a major exception to a pretty stout rule: play or don't bother.

Either QB Bubba Starling or QB Jamal Turner (Nebraska)

The same scenario goes for Nebraska's two top QB signees, four-stars Jamal Turner and Bubba Starling.

The two are uncannily similar, with almost perfectly balanced stat sheets. Starling threw for 1,433 and rushed for 1,381 as a junior; Turner rushed for 1,809 yards and threw for 1,833. Note also the almost perfect balance between the two numbers.

Sophomore Cody Green will be a junior by the time the two hit campus. The Huskers also signed a four-star QB, Brion Carnes, in last year's class. Even if one of these two were to beat out both for the starting job, that leaves the loser playing second or even the dreaded third fiddle.

As with Wittek and Kessler, these two are too talented to ride the bench, even a bench as esteemed as Nebraska's.

In fact, Starling might be too talented. The prep star is also an accomplished baseball player, whose status as a recruit may be compromised by the upcoming draft.

If that's the case, Turner will clearly have a much better shot at the starting job...and Starling will be stuck playing the worst game in the world.

Jeoffrey Pagan, DE (Florida)

The battle for Florida's starting defensive end spot was the subject of an entertaining, Brady Bunch-esque photo and a terrific article by Gator Sports writer Ed Aschoff.

In short, the Gators have a lot of bodies to choose from...and that's before one factors in Cal transfer Chris Martin, a five-star strongside end who will reportedly alternate between linebacker and lineman in the defensive scheme.

It's little wonder then that Florida defensive end commit Jeoffrey Pagan is looking around and on the brink of declaring himself a full-on decommitment.

The Gators routinely suffer turnover to the NFL, and projected starters Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens are both seniors. But behind them is a wealth of talent that won't be easy for Pagan to top.

That and the fact that the entire country is after this kid practically ensures a decommitment, though Florida has overcome far more dire situations in lading recruits in the past.

Landon Turner, OT (UNC)

The Tar Heels enjoyed previously unforeseen success with their offensive line recruiting, landing three four-star tackles in the space of a week.

So who's the odd man out? Kiaro Holts is a lock for the right side, and monster Jamar Lewter will be a beast on the left side. I'm picking Turner, a tweener prospect as tackles go, too short for the left spot and too big for the right.

Remound Wright, RB (Stanford)

Make no mistake, Remound Wright is an awesome running back. Check his film for footage of some jaw-dropping runs where Wright bolts past the secondary.

But I don't really see where a shorter scatback of his kind fits into Stanford's pounding, pro-style offense...an offense, mind you, that suits fellow 2011 RB verbals Amir Carlisle and Kelsey Young just fine.

Both Carlisle and Young are more big-bodied types that can absorb punishment in the mold of departed RB Toby Gerhart, whereas Wright's MO is to skate past a defense untouched.

I'm not one to argue that schemes—and coaches—don't change, especially one as chameleonic as Jim Harbaugh. It's possible Wright will fit into a new role Stanford carves out similar to Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers (we all now how successfully that's going for both parties).

I would just rather see him in a spread scheme where his evident open-space, all-purpose abilities can be put to more reliable use. Running him right at a brick wall to eke out three yards would really be missing the point.

Mykkele Thompson, CB/S (Texas)

Thompson, a four-star athlete and Rivals' no. 213, signed on to Texas as either a safety or cornerback. But he did so in a class featuring no fewer than three more elite corners—Josh Turner, Leroy Scott and ATH Quandre Diggs—and a top safety, Sheroid Evans.

It's not necessarily an unwise decision for Thompson, who will receive some of the best coaching in the country from Texas defensive backs coach Duane Akina. Akina molded Earl Thomas into a first round draft pick despite the latter being just a redshirt sophomore.

But playing for Texas could come at the expense of guaranteed game experience, which, combines aside, is still what scouts value most. Not only his fellow signees, but 2010 commit Bryant Jackson, could keep him riding the bench for what could have been an illustrious career.

Jeremy Hill, RB (LSU)

Jeremy Hill and fellow LSU verbal Kenny Hilliard are nearly copies of each other. Both are in the 6'0" range and, at 220 and 218, less than three pounds apart.

More importantly, their running styles are virtually the same. Both are bruising backs with great balance and footspeed.

Problem is, Hill is the lesser of the two, on the field and off. Hilliard was selected by Tom Lemming as a top 10 recruit on the MaxPreps 100, and he's also a legacy recruit and nephew of LSU great Dalton Hilliard.

Hill had an impressive offer sheet before committing, weighing interest from Alabama, Florida State and Tennessee. Ultimately, the lure of top-notch LSU recruiter Frank Wilson kept him home, but he'd be wise to weigh his chances at seeing the field on his own merit, and not just in relief of a more beloved player.

Daryl Collins, WR (Alabama)

In my mind, one of the bigger surprises of the 2011 recruiting cycle has been Alabama's success at pulling in top-tier receivers.

Part of the reason it's been to so easy to haul in outstanding receivers in this particular class is that they haven't had to travel far to do it. Current Bama commits Daryl Collins, Marvin Shinn and Danny Woodson are all local boys, and four-star Bradley Sylve is a native of Louisiana. You can imagine the gravitational pull Alabama is generating for top recruits right now.

Sylve, speedy and short, fits well in the slot, and Shinn and Woodson are elite outside receivers, Shinn with speed and Woodson with good hands.

That leaves Collins, only a three-star, as the odd man out. Yet he's no slouch. He held offers from Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Tennessee and USC before committing.

There will be a major vacancy once Julio Jones goes pro. But Bama hasn't neglected receiver recruiting to the point where all three of these 2011 players will become immediate or even long-term contributors. They took three other decorated recruits (Ronald Carswell, Keiwone Malone and DeAndrew White) in last year's class.

Unless Collins becomes a camp star, he may have to settle for bench and scout team duty. On a team as successful as Alabama, that's enough for some recruits, but it's borderline wasteful.