College Football Recruiting 2013: 10 Recruits That Came out of Nowhere

Recruiting never stops, as information pours in about prospects all throughout the year. Even now, schools and coaches are already starting to assemble and gather information on 2014 and 2015 prospects.

Yet, during the cycle, many times we'll hear about or see a prospect at a camp or combine that we've never heard of. For this read, I'm going to give you 10 prospects that basically came out of nowhere and now are amongst the top players in the country.

These recruits may have come out of nowhere, but they've arrived now and are not going anywhere.

10. Scott Quessenberry, OC

From Carlsbad, Calif., Quessenbrry is a 6'4", 275-pound OL prospect. He likely was looked over because he played LT at just 255-260 pounds as a junior.

Yet, he's tacked on weight and is now viewed as one of the top center prospects in the country. Quessenberry has risen up the board this spring, after being slightly unheard of as a junior.

Cal, Washington and Nebraska are his main three per Scout.com.

9. Jamar Gibson, WR

Gibson is a Texas native that has the tools be to a very good WR at the next level. He goes in the 6'1", 190-pound range on the hoof and is a very athletic player.

He can build up off the line, avoid defenders during his route, detach from coverage at junction points with sharp cuts and skate to pay dirt with speed after the catch.

He's rising up the boards, but Texas A&M knew what they were getting when they landing him earlier this year. 

8. Eldridge Massington, WR

You figured with scholarship limits holding them back, USC would only go after highly-rated prospects that we knew of. Well, the Trojan coaches trust their evaluations as they offered and snatched up the Texas native Massington.

When he announced for Troy is when we really took notice of his 6'3", 205-pound size. Massington has come out of nowhere to now being a 4-star prospect per many services.

7. Levonte Whitfield, ATH

Whitfield probably was initially being overlooked because he's not very big at all. In fact, he stands only about 5'8"-5'9" and about 175 pounds.

College coaches likely popped in his film during the winter and spring, only to find that this guy may be small but he packs dynamite speed and athleticism. To me, his speed, athleticism and toughness make him an excellent man-to-man nickel corner prospect.

Now, Clemson, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Ohio State and West Virginia are his top six per 247Sports.com.

6. Aaron Zwahlen, QB

Zwahlen came into this year being overlooked on the West because QB's like Max Browne and Cooper Bateman were getting all the shine.

Yet, he's come out of nowhere to now being ranked as a top 10 pocket passer per ESPNU. Zwahlen has taken advantage of the spring and summer, by showing off his arm strength and ability to spin the football nicely all over the yard.

Norm Chow took notice and convinced the Northern California native to come toss the rock at Hawaii. 

5. Ebenezer Ogundeko, DE

Ogundeko hails from Brooklyn and is one of the better pure pass rushers in this year's class. He's very raw and needs technique work, but there's no denying his excellent surge off the ball, good size, speed and finishing ability.

New York high school football isn't a big time hot bed, but Ogundeko has come from nowhere to being No. 109 in the ESPNU 150. 

It's between Florida, Notre Dame and Syracuse per Scout.com. 

4. Mike Mitchell, LB

Nobody really knew who this guy was before the spring. Then he showed up at a couple various camps and combines and now, we know Mike Mitchell very well.

At 6'4", 222 pounds, he's a LB prospect with good length, athleticism, toughness and strength. He can play the Mike, Sam or Will and has good ball vision, plays stout inside the box and has a huge motor.

Ohio State, Florida State and Texas A&M are the main three here, per 247Sports.com. 

3. Scott Pagano, DT

Pagano is a 6'3", 280-pound DT with great stop and stack ability to hold up versus the run. He's strong at the point of attack and has the ability to play DE in a 30-front.

So why was he overlooked and has come out of nowhere? Well, He's from Hawaii and it's tough getting film, information and exposure when you're a prospect over there. You have to wait until the spring comes to come over and showcase yourself in the camps and combine circuit.

Pagano has done just that and now schools are all over him. Look for him to play in the SEC.

2. Greg Taboada, DE/TE

It's head scratching that Taboada is from Atlanta, yet still took awhile to catch on. I'm not sure as to why that was the case, but he's come out of "nowhere" to land himself at No. 111 on the ESPNU 150.

At 6'4", 235 pounds, Taboada has excellent athleticism and can factor as a DE or TE. He shows a good fight to pressure as a rusher, speed to finish on the passer and back side hawk ability.

He has a great release quickness as  TE, showing easy movement skills in his routes, catch-in-crowd ability and a big catch radius.

Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, Virginia, South Carolina, Arkansas and North Carolina are all in it per 247Sports.com.

1. Robbie Rhodes, WR

Rhodes, wow, he really just burst out during the spring and early summer. No one really knew of him much, yet he sizzled at various spring workouts and now is one of the country's top 50 prospects per just about everybody.

From Texas, the 6'1", 190-pounder has the ability and ceiling to be a sharp route runner, as his has good release quickness, flashes route discipline, quick feet, excellent speed, ability to find the ball in the lanes, snatch it up and race to pay dirt on routine.

Baylor knows they have a potential No. 1 WR committed. 

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 & 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.