College Football Recruiting 2013: The Most Overrated Recruits in Scout's Top 100

One of the most respected recruiting publications in the business is Scout.com and its famous Scout 300 board. I've been following Scout.com since it started and the respect that I have for the work that they do always been high and always will continue to be so.

As any evaluator, I have my own opinions, rankings and beliefs on who the top 100 prospects are in the country. So for this read, I'm going to closely examine the the top 100 players in the Scout 300 and give you a few players who I think are too high up based on my evaluation.

This should be an interesting read, and it'll give you a healthy example of how different opinions on prospects can really be. 

Jason Hatcher, DE

Hatcher is a 6'3", 230-pound DE prospect that is committed to USC. He is ranked No. 43 in Scout.com's Top 100 which is above prospects like Carl Lawson, Tim Williams and Jonathan Allen.

Now, I like Hatcher as an edge defender prospect, but Lawson is a special talent. Williams is also sure to be very good, and when Allen gets to Alabama, he could leave as one of the best defensive players in the Nick Saban era.

Hatcher shouldn't be ranked above those three DEs if you ask me. 

Ezekiel Elliot, RB

Don't get me wrong, Elliot is a good running back that has solid power and speed. His 6' frame that is close to 200 pounds should fit in well at Ohio State, but I think No. 54 in Scout.com's Top 100 is too high.

His ranking places him above other running backs such as Greg Bryant, Tyren Jones, Alvin Kamara, Altee Tenpenny, Ryan Green, Taquan Mizzel,  Kailo Moore and Tarean Folston. Bryant, Kamara, Green, Jones and Tenpenny are all superior backs on my board. 

James Quick, WR

Quick is from Kentucky and goes in the 6'1", 175-pound range on the hoof. He is a top 10-tier WR prospect in my eyes and deserves to be within the top 100 players in the country.

However, he is 27th in Scout.com's Top 100 and also is perceived as the No. 2 WR prospect in the country. For me, Robert Foster, Stacy Coley, Laquon Treadwell, Robbie Rhodes and Marquez North are such better prospects that Quick is overrated over on this board.

Justin Davis, RB

Davis is a 5-star RB prospect and the 12th best overall player in Scout.com's Top 100. Rivals puts him at No. 73 and ESPNU ranks him No. 184 on its list. 

Clearly Scout likes him a lot more than everyone else, including my board. Davis is a good productive runner at 6', 200 pounds, but I feel there are several other backs that I like more than the USC commit, who is the No. 1 RB per Scout.com.

Alvin Kamara is shooting up my board, as is Tyren Jones, and Ty Isaac, Derrick Henry, Kelvin Taylor and Thomas Tyner all are No. 1-RB-caliber prospects.

John Montelus, OL

A Notre Dame pledge, the 6'5", 314-pound Montelus is No. 50 on Scout.com's Top 100. I like his great size and athleticism, and I think he will be a starter along the interior offensive front in South Bend before he departs.

However, he is not a top 50 prospect nor is he the No. 2 OG in the country in my eyes right now. I have Tyrone Crowder, David Dawson, Ira Denson, Grant Hill and Chris Fox as OG prospects who grade out better or equally high as Montelus. 

Tyrone Swoopes, QB

Swoopes being No. 34 on Scout.com's Top 100 board has to be more about potential and athleticism than right now. The Texas commit is a 6'5", 229-pound signal-caller needs a lot of mechanical refinement along with reps in the passing game.

Swoopes has dynamic playmaking ability, arm strength, speed and athleticism. Yet, his field vision, pre-snap and post-snap reading abilities need to be improved.

He should develop under Bryan Harsin at Texas, but I think Swoopes is too high. 

Alex Collins, RB

Collins is a 5'11", 205-pound RB that is headed to Miami. He is ranked at No. 33 on Scout.com's Top 100, but Rivals.com shows him at No. 139 and ESPNU has him at No. 208.

Collins has good speed and size, but based on my evaluation he is not better than Alvin Kamara, Altee Tenpenny, Greg Bryant, Kelvin Taylor, Kailo Moore, Ryan Green, DeVeon Smith or Dontre Wilson.

He's way too high in Scout.com's Top 100.

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.