The Pre-Preseason 2013 College Football Recruiting All-Star Team

With spring wrapping up and summer arriving soon, recruiting is going steady. Summer camps and visits will take us into the start of the season.

For this read, I'm just going to name a pre-preseason recruiting all-star team. Some picks you may like, others you may question. But just remember that I'm trying to build a "team" here.

Let's start this baby up!

CB: Vernon Hargreaves III

Of course Hargreaves would have to be my first corner on the team. The 5'11", 185-pound Florida native has excellent instincts and technique.

Hargreaves excels in both off-man and zone coverage, having great awareness, a smooth transition and a sharp drive to close on the ball.

He'll be a plug-and-play guy in college.

FS: Su'a Cravens

I'd put Cravens at FS and let him make plays, as the California native has a 6'1", 205-pound frame with easy athleticism.

Cravens has excellent instincts, ball skills, speed and agility. His range is great, and he'll combat the run with an attacking mentality.

His size could make him an OLB, too.

SS: Antonio Conner

Conner is the best open-field tackler in the country as the Mississippi native stands 6'1", 200 pounds.

He can really factor in the box, but also has the speed and range to patrol the deep back end. His instincts are sharp, and he really locates the ball quickly.

His coverage awareness is coming along, and he has the potential to be a Mark Barron-type of safety.

CB: Kendall Fuller

I really could have gone with Eli Woodard, Johnny Johnson or Cam Burrows here, but Fuller is the pick. He's an uber-athletic 6', 185-pounder from Maryland.

Fuller is a classic man-to-man-cover corner, as his hips are loose and easy and he can mirror a WR in his sleep. His technique is improving, and his size and length will allow him to be a No. 1 corner for a defense in a few years.

OLB: Matthew Thomas

Thomas is a Florida native that goes 6'4", 211 pounds. He can play OLB in both a 4-3 or 3-4, as he flashes rush-end pass-rushing skills.

Thomas is long, athletic and has great range on the flanks. He can combat the run by chasing a ball-carrier from the backside, blitz to apply pressure on the QB or kick down to DE in sub-packages.

MLB: Reuben Foster

Who else would it be to anchor the defense for this team? Foster, an Alabama pledge, may be the most complete and college-ready player on this team. He's 6'2'', 245 pounds and knows how to play.

Foster is quick to read and react to both runs and passes. He fills a run alley with speed and power. He has great strength to blow up a blocker at the point of attack and makes a tackle with great force.

He'll hawk with speed to make stops on the edges, and he flashes improving ability to play the pass.

OLB: Jaylon Smith

I'd have Smith line up at SAM and do an array of things. He's 6'3", 225 pounds and excels in coverage.

Smith has good instincts and can cover TEs and RBs with ease. He also has great speed and athleticism and will help stop the run on the flanks.

He's headed to Notre Dame.

DE: Robert Nkemdiche

The top prospect in the country, Nkemdiche goes 6'5'', 270 pounds on the hoof and is just a beast.

He has amazing strength and power, excellent surge quickness, great athleticism and speed. He can be a terror on the edges and kick inside to play DT in sub, too.

Nkemdiche also has the ability to stand up and rush and be used in a variety of ways defensively.

DT: Kenny Bigelow

Bigelow can be overwhelming at times. He's beefed up to 6'3", 297 pounds and doesn't even look like he weighs that much.

He is explosive at the snap and has strength and power at the point of attack, a great fight to pressure and some burst to finish on the passer. He'll one-gap to make TFLs versus the run and can really hawk in a short area.

He's headed to USC.

DT: Montravius Adams

Adams is a 6'3", 290-pounder with super explosiveness at the snap. He can one-gap, get skinny in a crease, slip blocks and make plays in the backfield.

He flashes great hand quickness to counter punches from OLs and has solid strength. Once he gets more consistent in his leverage and pad level and adds to his pass-rush plan, he could be dominant.

DE: Carl Lawson

Lawson is a 6'2", 255-pounder who can do a lot. He reminds me a bit of Trent Cole of the Eagles and can menace an offensive front for a whole night.

Lawson, an Auburn commit, is a very good athlete. He can shoot upfield in a flash and has solid strength to hold his own against the run right at him. 

Honorable mention to Dee Liner and Tim Williams. 

RT: Dorian Johnson

Johnson is a 6'6'', 285-pounder from Pennsylvania with good snap quickness and some jolt in his punch. He can pop blockers to shock them, latch on and move them off their spot.

Johnson has good bend, agility and quickness in space as a pass-protector. He also exhibits the kind of agility to hit a moving target on the second level. 

RG: Tyrone Crowder

Crowder is a mean and nasty son of a gun on the field as he goes 6'2" and nearly 320 pounds.

He's not just a big guy. He also shows good movement and agility for his massive size.

He's extremely physical and unrelenting at the point of attack and has some phone-booth mauler in him.

OC: Darius James

James is a Texas native and commit that goes 6'5", 320 pounds on the hoof. He has good quickness, solid hips and bend to play the pivot in college.

He'll lean on his target all game long, use strength to move him and can also blast out of his stance and out-position a DL to wall him off against the run. He'll move with easiness against the pass and adjust well in space.

LG: Patrick Kugler

Kugler, a Michigan pledge, probably will have the best technique on this OL unit. The Pennsylvania native is the son of an OL coach and plays with great strength.

At 6'4", 275 pounds, Kugler plays physical and large at the point of attack. He can get into a target's body with hand placement and can drive block to finish.

LT: Laremy Tunsil

Tunsil is a 6'6" OT prospect that has bulked up to 295 pounds. His frame is long and sleek, and he can move as easy as one stealing candy from a baby.

Tunsil has quick feet, great agility and the skill set to develop into an elite pass-blocker. His technique is raw, and he needs to be coached up, but his blank canvas could be a Picasso painting in the making.

TE: Adam Breneman

At 6'5", 225 pounds, Breneman is a natural-move TE that is a joker type. He can play in-line, WR, flexed in the slot and as a B-back, too.

He shows solid release quickness, good speed in his routes, a large catch radius and soft hands. His length and ball skills are his two best attributes.

He's committed to Penn State.

WR: Robert Foster

Foster is an electric WR prospect from Pennsylvania that goes 6'2", 190 pounds. He can surge explosively off the line and take the top off a defense.

Foster fails to decelerate at break points in his routes, and this allows him to easily separate from defenders. He can make grabs and outrun a defense as an RAC player.

WR: Ricky Seals-Jones

Seals-Jones is a Texas native and commit that goes 6'5", 215 pounds. He has a huge frame and great length to go along with excellent athleticism.

He doesn't play WR right now, but that's where he'll play in Austin. Seals-Jones has a chance to become a great WR due to his size, good speed and playmaking ability.

FB: Wyatt Shallman

Shallman is the guy that I'd want as my lead blocker. He's a 6'2", 245-pounder from Michigan that is also committed to Michigan.

Shallman is tough, physical and likes to mix it up. His strength is good, and he'll unearth some 'backers out of holes to create space for his backs in college.

RB: Ty Isaac

Isaac is a 6'2", 220-pound runner from Illinois that runs like a small and speedy back. His length forces him upright, but he can elude defenders quickly and has good run instincts.

Committed to USC, Isaac also can factor as a receiver and run routes in the passing game. Imagine Darren McFadden with better hands.

QB: Max Browne

Browne is my pick for the QB of this team. The Washington native and USC pledge is a 6'5", 215-pound signal-caller with excellent mechanics and a quick release.

Browne has great field vision, flashes good arm strength and great accuracy.

He won't wow you with his speed and ability to run, but he grades high in all the critical QB areas.

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.