College Football Recruiting: A Look Back at 2012's Super 6 NFL Draft Prospects

The consensus for this 2012 NFL Draft is that this class has six "super" prospects who are of elite talent and value to a franchise. Some drafts have more, but some have less.

The six super prospects are QBs Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, LT Matt Kalil, RB Trent Richardson, CB Morris Claiborne and WR Justin Blackmon.

For this read, I'm going rewind it a bit and give you a recruiting perspective on it. I'm going to give you a scouting report on the super six prospects—when they were in high school. 

6. Justin Blackmon, WR

In 2008, Blackmon was from a small Oklahoma high school and stood 6'2" and 190 pounds. He was about a 4.57 40 guy, but he caught everything and was productive.

Sounds like the scouting report on him at Oklahoma State, right? Blackmon was a 3-star prospect per Rivals, with the knocks on him being his deep speed and separation quickness.

Yet Blackmon dominated his competition, had a large strike zone, was football fast and flashed excellent RAC ability in the open field.

5. Morris Claiborne, CB

Claiborne was a lanky 3-star ATH from Shreveport, La, in 2008. He stood 6'0" and weighed about 185 pounds.

The thing with Claiborne was that he wanted to be a WR, so you couldn't really get a good look at him as a WR. Yet what was apparent was the speed, quickness, agility and amazing athleticism.

It all worked out in translating to CB, as Claiborne grew into an elite cover corner at LSU. In high school, he showed easy movement skills, elusiveness and suddenness.

Claiborne may have even been a first-round pick as a WR if he'd stayed there—he's that athletic. 

4. Trent Richardson, RB

A 5'11", 210-pound RB from Pensacola, Fla., Trent Richardson was a 5-star prospect in 2009.

The thing about Richardson was that he showed many of the same traits in high school as he does now: vision, speed, natural run instincts, balance, power, leg drive, run strength and creativity with the football. He was a tank in high school and just ripped up competition in Florida.

However, what I think Richardson has developed to separate himself from other backs is great conditioning. If you watch a full game, or even a full season of Richardson on tape, he never appears tired—and if he does, then he's hurt.

3. Matt Kalil, LT

I personally saw Matt Kalil at a combine going into the his senior year at Servite, and all of my projections about him have come to fruition.

In 2008, he was a 6'7", 280-pound 5-star OT prospect from California. Kalil showed basically what he has now: excellent length, great technique, foot quickness, natural mirror/pass-protection skills and ability, adjust quickness, a sharp punch, snap quickness and a willingness to get physical as a run-blocker.

Kalil probably won't ever be the strongest LT in the NFL, but he'll excel at what LTs are paid big money to do: protect the pass on the offensive edges.

2. Robert Griffin III, QB

In 2008, per Rivals.com, the nation's No. 4 dual-threat QB prospect was a 6'2", 195-pound kid named Robert Griffin III, a 4-star prospect.  

Today, he's a Heisman winner and a superstar in the making.

At this stage in Griffin's development, you saw the athleticism, foot speed and elite arm strength. But he needed some mechanics work and was more of a thrower than a pitcher.

Griffin had all the physical tools that you see now, sans the accuracy. That's the trait in which he has made worldly leaps and bounds as he's developed his game. Now, Griffin is a pinpoint accurate passer with the excellent arm strength and athleticism that we've all known about. 

1. Andrew Luck, QB

In the same year Griffin III was the fourth-best dual-threat QB, the fourth-best pro-style QB was a kid in Texas named Andrew Luck. He had a bit of a quirky delivery, but he made great decisions, had great size and potential.

Luck was from the Houston area, stood 6'4" and weighed 215 pounds. His arm strength was above average, and he flashed some athleticism to get around rushers. You could tell he saw the field well, knew where his check downs were and had excellent accuracy.

Luck has since gotten stronger, especially in his legs, which has helped his arm strength. He's also continued to grow in his field vision and understanding of defenses, which is why he'll be ready to play in the NFL right away.