College Football Recruiting: Comparing the Top 2013 Recruits to NFL Stars

A big part of scouting, player personnel and evaluation-type work in football is your player bank. By that, I mean your ability to see as many players as possible and store them in your head, so you can recall, compare and contrast them as you go forward.

Basically it's player comparison.

When describing a prospect, it helps to bring up an older player as a basis of comparison. Here's how each of the top 10 prospects in the class of 2012 compare to a current NFL star.

10. Adam Breneman, TE

Breneman committed to Penn State on Friday night, giving Bill O'Brien his first major recruiting victory. What makes this interesting is that O'Brien comes from the Patriots' two-tight end set, so he surely will utilize Breneman right.

At 6'5", 220 pounds, Brenenman is a natural pass-catching threat who shows the ability to release, get upfield with speed and offer a large catch radius. He has soft hands and great athleticism.

I compare him to Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints.

9. Cameron Burrows, DB

Burrows is a big DB at 6'2", 195 pounds. I wouldn't rule out a future at safety for him. But he does have solid hip movement, great mirror ability at the line and the quickness and agility to cover man to man as a corner.

He can factor in as a CB and a safety, flashes some speed to blitz and is pretty heady. Not sure about you, but to me that sounds pretty similar to Charles Woodson.

8. Max Browne, QB

I thought about going with Sam Bradford for Browne, but I'm going with a cross of Blaine Gabbert and Matt Ryan. At 6'5", 200 pounds, Browne throws a pretty spiral, has an effortless delivery and can zoom balls or loft 'em over defenders with ease.

Whether you see Bradford, Gabbert or Ryan in him, you just know that he's a heck of a talent as a QB prospect.

7. Michael Hutchings, OLB

Hutchings is a 6'1", 210-pound prospect with excellent range, quickness, athleticism, vision, playing speed and even flashes coverage ability. I think he's a top-flight prospect who can play anywhere.

He's the type of OLB that would fit in well in a 4-3 scheme, and I liken him to Sean Weatherspoon of the Atlanta Falcons. Both are OLBs with great athletic ability, speed and range.

6. Su'a Cravens, DB

Cravens is a 6'1", 205-pound safety who could become an OLB in college. He's productive versus the run, sees the ball well, is pretty instinctive and has the speed and range to hawk ball carriers all over the field.

I think he best compares to LaRon Landry, yet he's not as thickly built. However, Landry is a solid SS who has the ability to play OLB and patrol the deep middle, as does Cravens.

5. Kenny Bigelow, DL

Bigelow hails from Delaware and is committed to USC. He's a 6'3", 285-pound DL who can play DE or DT. Whether you need him to be a three-technique or a strong side DE, you're getting a heck of a player.

I say, due to his elite athleticism, snap quickness, agility, range and solid strength, Bigelow reminds me a lot of Nick Fairley.

4. Antonio Conner, DB

At 6'2", and almost 200 pounds, Conner is higher on my board than he is on most others. That's because I believe he is one the top talents in the country.

Conner has great play speed, vision, is an excellent open-field tackler, has great hands to make plays on the ball and good range. Sounds a lot like Kenny Phillips of the New York Giants.

3. Laremy Tunsil, OT

At 6'6", 285 pounds, Tunsil is a great athlete at offensive tackle. He can shadow rushers, has great agility and foot quickness to re-direct, recover and adjust, and can hit targets on the second level as a run blocker.

He reminds me of the Cowboys' Tyron Smith, as Tunsil likely will develop into a LT.

2. Reuben Foster, LB

Foster is a special talent and will be a star in college. He's a 6'2", 240-pound LB prospect who can physically and athletically play any of the LB positions in both a 4-3 or 3-4 alignment.

Committed to Alabama, Foster is an attack-style defender with great range and instincts. He sees the ball quickly, has the speed and tenacity to fill holes, takes on blocks, shed and stuffs. He's solid against the run and will grow as a pass defender.

He's the high school version of Patrick Willis.

1. Robert Nkemdiche, DL

Nkemdiche is the top player in the nation. He's a 6'5", 270-pound man-child with great tools. He's an athletic freak with great snap quickness, fantastic power, strength and a huge burst.

He can play DT for a team or kick outside to DE and be effective either way. With the ability to play inside and out, I look at someone like the Giants' Justin Tuck as a good comparison.

Should Nkemdiche choose to stand up and play a 3-4 OLB-role in college, he'd compare to someone like DeMarcus Ware or Terrell Suggs.