College Football Recruiting 2011: Which Recruits Have the Biggest Shoes To Fill?

With great talent comes great expectations. Or was it with great power?

Anyway, when you are billed as one of the most talented incoming players in the country entering college football, surely expectations are high, and comparisons to all-time greats in the program arise.

This year is no different, as some of the nation's best players not only have big shoes to fill, but the shoes are of some of the greatest players in their school's history.

We're going to take a look at some of the top players who have some legendary shoes to fill.

Karlos Williams, DB: Florida State

Williams surely impressed me at the Under Armour game, and watching his film, I can't wait to see how good he becomes at Florida State.

6'2", 210 pounds, he's a big safety with linebacker size. Yet Williams doesn't lug around on the back as he moves with speed, quickness and force. He can play on the hashes and flash ball skills while also filling alleys in the box with toughness to make stops.

A few years, FSU signed Myron Rolle, the top safety prospect out of New Jersey who had a solid career in Tallahassee and ended up becoming a Rhodes Scholar. I think if Williams stays healthy, the comparisons to Rolle will stop, as he will leave FSU a better player than Rolle was.

Plus, let's not forget all of the other extreme talents the Seminoles have played in their secondary through the years.

Braxton Miller, QB: Ohio State

No, Miller is not Terrelle Pryor. I think he compares to a cross between Troy Smith, Pat White and Donovan McNabb.

He's a 6'2", 190 pound quarterback with a cannon arm and 4.4. speed. When Smith first came to Columbus, he was listed as an ATH by some, as he was a tad more raw than Miller is as a passer at this point. The Buckeyes developed Smith into a Heisman winning quarterback and basically ran mostly spread sets with Smith at the helm.

Look for the same to happen with Miller, as he will draw more comparisons to Smith over time than he will Pryor.

Curtis Grant, LB: Ohio State

Grant signed with the Buckeyes over Florida last week and will look to continue the tradition of great Ohio State linebackers.

The Buckeyes have had players like Chris Spielman, Na'il Diggs, Andy Katzenmoyer, AJ Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and James Laurinitis through the years, and that's just to name a few of recent standouts.

Grant should be next in line, as the 6'3", 225 pounder is one the very elite linebacker prospects in the country. He can play the MIKE and SAM spots in the 4-3 base the Buckeyes use, and if he works hard on learning his responsibilities in coverage, he can develop into a three down linebacker.

George Farmer, WR: USC

Farmer was given top receiver in the country honors by many observers, and the 6'2", 200 pounder has 4.3 speed to boot.

He's being hailed as a physical specimen similarly to what Whitney Lewis was when he finally decided to sign with USC over Florida State. Lewis was a bit thicker than Farmer is, as Lewis was in the 215-220 range.

When I played against Lewis as a prep, it was surreal to see someone that big who move that fast, that quick and that sharply. Seriously. But Lewis never did anything at USC and eventually transferred.

Farmer has a chance to impact a Trojan receiver stable that includes Robert Woods, Kyle Prater, Brice Butler and Brandon Carswell. With similar talents, Trojan fans finally may be able to finally see what Lewis could have done in Troy with Farmer.

Jeff Driskel, QB: Florida

Yes, I'm going there, and here it is: Driskel could be the next Tim Tebow. While Driskel likely won't achieve the mythical status Tebow has in Gainesville, he can approach the numbers Tebow put up on the field.

As pure a drop back passer as Driskel is, the 6'4", 225 signal caller also is an excellent runner. He has great open field instincts, runs strong and can make defenders miss. Tebow was a far more physical runner who challenged defenders one on one, but rushing yards are accounted the same with both styles.

If Charlie Weis wants to take advantage of not only the pure passing talents Driskel has, but also the athleticism he has, then maybe the designed QB runs won't be an afterthought in Gainesville as much as we assumed under Weis.

James Wilder Jr., RB: Florida State

Wilder is a 6'2", 220 pound ATH who will get his first crack at running back. He has the speed and strength to become a dominant runner in Tallhassee.

If you think about it, down the road, Wilder likely will be a 6'2", 230+ pound rock toter who can move with force. I remeber when Greg Jones was a similar to type of big back as Wilder likely will become at Florida Sate for Seminoles.

Jones was large enough to where the Jacksonville Jaguars moved him to fullback when they drafted him. Aside from being know for beating up Darnell Dockett when they were in college, Jones was also known as a feared big back and monster in the backfield, as will Wilder has been compared to.

Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, DB: Alabama

With Alabama defensive back Mark Barron opting to stick around for one more season, Clinton-Dix surely will get a chance to learn from a Tide great.

But a player I'm hearing Ha-Ha compares to in Tuscaloosa is Roman Harper, a former Alabama safety and now a starter with the New Orleans Saints. Both players are good back end defenders who excel in coverage but also can plug the run. They have similar size; Clinton-Dix stands around 6'2", 190 and Harper is 6'1", 200 pounds.

Clinton-Dix can play well in off man coverage and can also be left in the deep third to play with range. Harper does similar things for the Saints and did them at Alabama.

Branden Williams. RB: Oklahoma

No, I'm not comparing Williams to Adrian Peterson, as Peterson was bigger, stronger and ran a tad more physically than Williams does at this point. Some would even say that Peterson was faster believe it or not.

But I do hear that Williams has a lot of the same traits as DeMarco Murray has. They both have similar size in the 6'1", 190-200 pound range and have good speed. Williams might be more of a natural running back, though, as Murray may be more of a pure playmaker type player who can play in the backfield, slot and receiver, but Williams can do similar things.

But the homerun ability, size, speed and quickness are all there, with both players being very elusive with the ball.

Malcolm Brown, RB: Texas

I've said it before, and many are saying the same thing: Malcolm Brown could be next Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson in Austin.

Very similar in size, strength, speed, vision and athleticism, Brown is an every down back type like the two Longhorn legends. Jamaal Charles was more of a speedier, shifty runner than Brown, Williams and Benson. But the 6'0", 220 pound incoming UT rock toter should impact the Texas rushing attack almost immediately.

He has a chance to challenge their standings on the all-time rushing rushing yardage list in school history.

Anthony Johnson, DT: LSU

LSU has produced some of the best defensive linemen in football, and Freak Johnson is next in line.

A few years back, LSU was home to one Glen Dorsey, who was arguably the top defensive player in college football and became a top five pick to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Dorsey is playing out of position as a 3-4 end in KC, he's still wreaking havoc in the AFC West.

Johnson is even bigger than Dorsey, as he stands 6'4", compared to Dorsey's 6'2". Johnson probably will be in the 315-320 range when he leaves Bayou, compared to Dorsey's 300.

Anyway you slice it, though, Freak Johnson has his work cut out for him to match Dorsey's production as a Tiger.

Isaiah Crowell, RB: Georgia

Crowell already has been practically named the opening day starter vs. Boise State by UGA head man Mark Richt. Washaun Ealey getting suspended certainly will not help any detractors to that statement.

Crowell is being looked to make an impact on the UGA rushing attack like Knowshon Moreno did in his two years on the field in Athens. Both players are similar in size, speed and run instincts. Crowell is 5'11", 210 pounds and so is Moreno.

Both players are dangerous in the open field but do no get as much credit as they should for being physical and strong with the ball. Moreno was extremely productive in his days a Dawg, and Moreno has the talent to be as productive.

Steve Edmond, LB: Texas

Texas has put out some top linebackers, but liken Edmond to Chiefs linebacker and former Texas great Derrick Johnson.

Edmond can play the MIKE spot, track the run and be an effective blitzer. Johnson was great in Austin by using instincts, athleticism and smarts. Edmond is a solid athlete with strength to shed blocks in his take ons and speed to play sideline to sideline.

Johnson was in the 6'3", 240 range at Texas, and Edmond is coming to Austin in the 6'3", 230 pound range to play linebacker in Manny Diaz's scheme.

Kiehl Frazier, QB: Auburn

Frazier is getting bantered about as Auburn's next Cam Newton due to his ability to throw and run both equally and effectively.

6'3", 215 pounds, Frazier isn't exactly the 6'6"', 250 pounds that Newton is, but he still has good size in his own right. As great an athlete Frazier is, it's hard for someone to duplicate the athleticism that Newton has in his skill set. But as far as offensive fit and numbers, the comparisons will be legit and look for Frazier to throw and run for a ton of yards as Tiger.

He may not rush for 1000 in a season like Newton did, but similar numbers can be expected.