College Football: 10 Low-Rated Recruits Who Went on to Have Big Careers

Getting the All-World five-star prospect is always great for NSD bragging rights, but it doesn't matter if they don't produce, and many of them don't. As with everything, there's a flip side.

All of those two-star, three-star and no-named recruits your team will sign next February will naturally be overlooked. However, there are a lot of times where those types of players get to campus, get developed correctly and explode on the field, producing more than a five-star guy does.

Here are 10 low-rated recruits who went on to have big-time careers in college.

10. T.Y. Hilton, WR, FIU

Hilton was just a two-star prospect in the class of 2008 out of the Miami area. He was generously listed at 5'10", 175 pounds, but we all know that wasn't the case.

He signed with upstart program FIU, and I'm sure on signing day it wasn't too much of a big deal. 

All Hilton went on to do was become the Sun Belt Freshman of the year, make the first team of the All-Sun Belt Conference as a freshman, win Sun Belt MVP in 2010 and catch 229 balls for 3531 yards and 24 touchdowns for the Panthers. 

9. Russell Wilson, QB, NC Sate/Wisconsin

Wilson was a two-star QB prospect from Virginia in the 2007 class. He was very instinctive and aware, but his size was a downer.

He signed with NC State and was also a solid baseball prospect.

In Raleigh he tossed for 76 touchdowns as a multi-year starter and then transferred to Wisconsin, where he led the Badgers to the Rose Bowl last year and became a third-round pick for the Seahawks. 

8. Ryan Kalil, OC, USC

Scout.com listed Kalil as just a three-star prospect and the nation's 59th OL recruit in the class of 2003. He surely didn't play like it.

He went on to become a two-time All American, a leader of not only the Trojans' OL unit but their entire program, as well as a second pick to the Carolina Panthers, where he has made three Pro Bowls and an All-Pro team.

7. Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan

This dude was what I call "uber-productive". LeFevour was just a two-star QB in the 2005 class, per Rivals.com and just wasn't looked at too much.

He only went up to CMU and tossed for 12,905 yards and 102 touchdowns. That's really good, right? Wait, there's more: LeFevour also rushed for 2948 yards and 47 touchdowns.

Oh, he also had seven punts, too.

6. Philip Rivers, QB, NC State

Rivers was a two-star QB from Alabama in 2000. He wasn't a big time prospect, wasn't an Elite-11 QB pupil and he wasn't a Parade All-American.

He just went out and won. Rivers finished with over 13,000 yards passing and 95 touchdowns in Raleigh.

He's the starting QB for the Chargers these days and is generally regarded as one of the top 10 QBs in football.

5. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

You can make an argument that Moore is the most efficient QB in college football history. He had a 182.6 efficiency rating in 2010 and clipped at 169 for his career, where he finished at 14,667 yards and 142 TDs.

Moore was just a three-star recruit in 2007, and his lack of size and arm strength scared many away. Yet he always made correct decisions, saw the field well and the game was easy for him.

He might not last long in the NFL, but Moore was a heck of a player and will make a great coach in soon enough time. 

4. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

Blackmon was a three-star WR prospect in 2008 and ranked the 98th best WR in the country. That's not highly touted, folks.

He went to Oklahoma State and just exploded in production, finishing with 252 catches, 3564 yards and 40 touchdowns.

The Jaguars liked the way Blackmon made himself into a top-flight WR from an afterthought prospect and made him their first-round pick this past draft. 

3. Dan Persa, QB, Northwestern

Scout.com rated Persa a two-star QB prospect in the 2007 class. His numbers would have been better if not for injuries at Northwestern.

In total, Persa threw for 5181 yards and 34 scores with a 72 percent completion percentage. He also ran for 519 yards and nine TDs in 2010. 

2. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, TCU

Tomlinson was one of my idols growing up and I was shocked when I found out he wasn't highly recruited in high school in Waco, Texas.

He lit it up at TCU and finished with over 5200 yards rushing and 50 touchdowns in Ft. Worth for the Horned Frogs. I even remember him rushing for over 400 yards in a game in 2000.

He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer today after a stellar NFL career.

1. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Cal

Rodgers was just 5'11", 175 pounds as a senior at Pleasant Valley High School in Northern California. He went the JC route and grew to 6'2", 200 pounds.

No one wanted him in high school, and nobody really wanted him too much in JC either. Jeff Tedford was recruiting a receiver, saw Rodgers throw and offered him a scholarship.

He went out to be a star at Cal and today is the reigning NFL MVP.

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 and 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.