The Future: How Do College Football's Sophomores Stack Up for the NFL?

Since we're still in the process of trying to figure out who the top prospects are for next year's NFL Draft in 2011, it does definitely seem a bit ambitious to try and predict who the best prospects will be for the 2013 NFL Draft, which is nearly three years away.

Still, the sophomore class in college football looks to be loaded with some big time talent.

Some players such as Andrew Luck, LaMichael James, Aldon Smith, and Stephen Gilmore have already proved themselves in just their first year on the scene while others have yet to unleash their immense potential.

Scouting college football players is an inexact science, but when you try and project how a young man will develop and progress over the course of his career, it becomes even more difficult. There are always certain players, however, that stick out on the field no matter how young or inexperienced they are.

A lot will change over the next few seasons, and every sophomore will see their stock rise and fall throughout the course of that time frame. Some players may have peaked already while others have yet to come close to breaking out.

Here’s a look at some of the top sophomore prospects at their respective positions who could emerge as coveted NFL prospects over the next few seasons.

The Top 20

*Denotes Players Eligible for the 2011 NFL Draft

1. Wide Receiver - Rueben Randle: LSU
2. Defensive Tackle - Jerel Worthy: Michigan State*
3. Quarterback - Andrew Luck: Stanford*
4. Linebacker - Dont’a Hightower: Alabama*
5. Cornerback: Stephen Gilmore: South Carolina
6. Running Back - LaMichael James: Oregon*
7. Rush Linebacker - Aldon Smith: Missouri*
8. Defensive End - Nick Perry: USC*
9. Wide Receiver - Alshon Jeffery: South Carolina
10. Safety - Janzen Jackson: Tennessee
11. Offensive Tackle - Xavier Nixon: Florida
12. Quarterback - Matt Barkley: USC
13. Running Back - Trent Richardson: Alabama
14. Offensive Tackle: Jonathan Martin: Stanford*
15. Linebacker - Ronnell Lewis: Oklahoma
16. Running Back: Ryan Williams: Virginia Tech*
17. Tight End - DC Jefferson: Rutgers*
18. Cornerback - Josh Robinson: Central Florida*
19. Defensive Tackle: Marcus Forston: Miami
20. Linebacker - Cornelius Washington: Georgia*

Quarterbacks

1. Andrew Luck: Stanford
2. Matt Barkley: USC
3. Dayne Crist: Notre Dame
4. Cody Green: Nebraska
5. Garrett Gilbert: Texas
6. Landry Jones: Oklahoma
7. Tom Savage: Rutgers
8. Brock Osweiler: Arizona State
9. Mike Glennon: North Carolina State
10. Geno Smith: West Virginia
11. Zac Dysert: Miami (Ohio)
12. Nathan Stanley: Ole Miss
13. Robert Griffin: Baylor
14. Kevin Prince: UCLA
15. B.J. Daniels: South Florida
16. Jordan Wynn: Utah
17. Morgan Newton: Kentucky
18. Sean Renfree: Duke
19. Kyle Padron: Southern Methodist
20. Austyn Carta-Samuels: Wyoming

Running Backs

1. LaMichael James: Oregon
2. Trent Richardson: Alabama
3. Ryan Williams: Virginia Tech
4. Washaun Ealey: Georgia
5. Jermie Calhoun: Oklahoma
6. Dion Lewis: PITT
7. Chris Polk: Washington
8. Andre Ellington: Clemson
9. Ronnie Wingo: Arkansas
10. Matthew Tucker: TCU
11. Christine Michael: Texas A&M
12. Darius Willis: Indiana
13. Warren Norman: Vanderbilt
14. Larry Caper: Michigan State
15. Bernard Pierce: Temple
16. Adam Robinson: Iowa
17. Martin Ward: Marshall
18. Stepfan Taylor: Stanford
19. David Oku: Tennessee
20. Mike James: Miami

Wide Receivers

1. Rueben Randle: LSU
2. Alshon Jeffery: South Carolina
3. Brandon Wimberley: Nevada
4. Jheranie Boyd: North Carolina
5. Mohamed Sanu: Rutgers
6. Chad Bumphis: Mississippi State
7. Tavon Austin: West Virginia
8. Stephen Hill: Georgia Tech
9. Marsalis Teague: Tennessee
10. James Johnson: Washington
11. Tori Gurley: South Carolina
12. Tim Smith: Virginia
13. Uzoma Nwachukwu: Texas A&M
14. Russell Shepard: LSU
15. Tavarres King: Georgia
16. Justin Blackmon: Oklahoma State
17. Emory Blake: Auburn
18. Brice Butler: USC
19. Roy Roundtree: Michigan
20. Bradley McDougald: Kansas

Tight Ends

1. DC Jefferson: Rutgers
2. Orson Charles: Georgia
3. Chris Pantale: Boston College
4. Dwayne Allen: Clemson
5. Dion Sims: Michigan State
6. Jake Stoneburner: Ohio State
7. Barrett Matthews: Texas
8. London Davis: Illinois
9. Ryan Griffin: UCONN
10. Joseph Fauria: UCLA

Offensive Lineman

1. Xavier Nixon: Florida
2. Jonathan Martin: Stanford
3. Tanner Hawkinson: Kansas
4. Barrett Jones: Alabama
5. Matt Kalil: USC
6. Tyler Love: Alabama
7. Ivory Wade: Baylor
8. Riley Reiff: Iowa
9. Dallas Thomas: Tennessee
10. Ben Habern: Oklahoma
11. Omoregie Uzzi: Georgia Tech
12. Mario Benavides: Louisville
13. Ben Jones: Miami
14. Bobby Massie: Ole Miss
15. Travis Bond: North Carolina
16. Marcus Hall: Ohio State
17. David DeCastro: Stanford
18. Alex Hurst: LSU
19. Peter Konz: Wisconsin
20. Emmet Cleary: Boston College

Defensive Lineman

1. Jerel Worthy: Michigan State
2. Aldon Smith: Missouri
3. Nick Perry: USC
4. Marcus Forston: Miami
5. Jamarkus McFarland: Oklahoma
6. Kapron Lewis-Moore: Notre Dame
7. Devin Taylor: South Carolina
8. William Campbell: Michigan
9. Jacobbi McDaniel: Florida State
10. Alex Okafor: Texas
11. Omar Hunter: Florida
12. Donte Paige-Moss: North Carolina
13. Kawan Short: Purdue
14. Chancey Aghayere: LSU
15. Brandon Harold: Kansas State
16. Cameron Merideth: Nebraska
17. T.J. Barnes: Georgia Tech
18. Montori Hughes: Tennessee
19. Fletcher Cox: Mississippi State
20. John Simon: Ohio State

Linebackers

1. Dont’a Hightower: Alabama
2. Ronnell Lewis: Oklahoma
3. Cornelius Washington: Georgia
4. Luke Kuechly: Boston College
5. Jon Bostic: Florida
6. Zaviar Gooden: Missouri
7. Devon Kennard: USC
8. Sean Fisher: Nebraska
9. Craig Roh: Michigan
10. Manti Te’o: Notre Dame
11. Demetrius Hartsfield: Maryland
12. Chris Norman: Michigan State
13. Terrell Manning: North Carolina State
14. Steve Greer: Virginia
15. Sam Barrington: South Florida
16. Vontaze Burfict: Arizona State
17. Dan Mason: PITT
18. Nico Johnson: Alabama
19. Michael Mauti: Penn State
20. Steve Beuharnais: Rutgers

Defensive Backs

1. Stephen Gilmore: South Carolina
2. Janzen Jackson: Tennessee
3. Josh Robinson: Central Florida
4. Dre Kirkpatrick: Alabama
5. Kenny Okoro: Wake Forest
6. Greg Reid: Florida State
7. Branden Smith: Georgia
8. Aaron Hester: UCLA
9. Rashard Hall: Clemson
10. Terry Hawthorne: Illinois
11. Cody Davis: Texas Tech
12. B.J. Scott: Alabama
13. Ray Ray Armstrong: Miami
14. TJ McDonald: USC
15. Corey Broomfield: Mississippi State
16. Morris Claiborne: LSU
17. DeVonte Holloman: South Carolina
18. Bacarri Rambo: Georgia
19. Drew Frey: Cincinnati
20. Blidi Wreh-Wilson: UCONN

Note: This list factors in potential more than it does current production.