College Football Recruiting 2012: Who Are the Top 10 Recruits Considering?

The 2012 recruiting class is starting to take place at the top, as our evaluations are starting to see a few players stand out a bit more than the rest. There are some 25 to 30 players we really think deserve 5-star status, yet for this list we whittled it down to 10, with the focus on uncommitted recruits.

A few players we really like, such as Shaq Thompson, Arik Armstead, Connor Brewer and Cayleb Jones, are already committed, so we left them off this list. We want to focus on updating you and noting the schools some of the elite 2012 players are considering.

Let's take a look.

10. John Theus, OT

Theus is a 6'6", 295-pound offensive tackle out of Jacksonville, Florida. He can play both the left and right side and may be the best drive-blocking tackle in the country.

Theus can beat a defender with angle quickness at the snap and just choose to maul his man and can also hold his own on an island in pass protection.

He has around offers from every major program around college football and hasn't truly whittled the list down yet. However, Florida, Georgia, Florida State and Arkansas will all see Theus pay them a visit for spring ball practices in the coming weeks.

9. Keith Marshall, RB

You want your program to add some speed, shiftiness and playmaking ability to its running back depth? Then Marshall should be your prime recruiting target.

At 5'11", 180 pounds, Keith Marshall has 4.3 speed and scores touchdowns like nobody's business. He's a sheer home-run threat and a big-time running back recruit.

Marshall has a slew of offers and is working on narrowing his choices down at the moment. Look for Clemson, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida State, Notre Dame, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia to all make the next round of cuts.

Then he'll have to narrow the list down even more.

8. Noah Spence, DE

Spence is regarded as the top pure pass rusher in the country for 2012. He's a 6'5", 245-pound defensive end with a very quick first step, arm length to stay clean, quick hands and a burst to finish on quarterbacks. Spence can chase down well and track the run nicely as a run defender.

Offers have come from all over the country, yet it looks like North Carolina State is the favorite, as his father is a former Wolfpack player.

Notre Dame, USC, Pittsburgh, Penn State and Syracuse are also in the race among others.

7. Mario Edwards, DE

Edwards and Spence will be linked together during the 2012 recruiting cycle, as both are elite defensive ends that have fathers who played college football.

Edwards is an edge defender from Texas and stands in the 6'4", 270-pound range. He's an excellent athlete and has strength to grow into a strong-side defensive end. He plays the run very well and gets after the passer with quickness, showing an ability to bend well for a big man.

He holds offers from a who's who of college football, including Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but this will be a race between Texas and Florida State, where his father played.

6. Travis Blanks, DB

Blanks is a 6'1", 185-pound defensive back that can play big corner or safety for you. He had almost 105 stops last year as a junior along with four picks. Physical at the line, Blanks loves to press and man up on the perimeter. He has speed to carry receivers deep while transitioning quickly on breaks.

Blanks also can bring the wood to support the run.

Blanks has over 20 scholarship offers and seems to mention Clemson, Florida State, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn, Notre Dame, Alabama and USC the most right now.

This is wide open.

5. Andrus Peat, OT

Peat is a 6'7", 280-pound classic left tackle, technician type of lineman. I compare him to Jordan Black of the Carolina Panthers. He has natural knee bend, is patient in his set and is rarely fooled and panics against trickery and speed. He can pin, seal and reach with solid technique and has great feet quickness throughout his game.

The offers just keep rolling in for Peat, as he is up to 27 at the time of me writing this. I'm not going to even try to name them all and will just inform you that there likely is a 99.9 percent chance your favorite school has offered him.

Peat also is really not too close to making a decision, let alone narrowing things down, as he is very wide open at this point.

4. Kwon Alexander, OLB

6'2", 210-pound Kwon Alexander is a very good outside linebacker prospect that can play both the SAM or WILL spots in a 4-3 alignment. He has excellent play speed, quickness and range to make plays sideline to sideline.

Alexander plays instinctively vs. the run and can chase down ball carriers with ease while also factoring well as a pass defender and rusher.

He has 26 scholarship offers from all over the country and has Auburn, Oregon and USC recruiting him the hardest. Alexander does not plan to narrow his choices to a top 10 list until the summer.

3. John Gray, RB

Gray is the top running back in the country and rightfully so. His stats are just silly. Over 6,000 yards and 109 touchdowns the past two years, in Texas, is ridiculous.

Standing 5'11", 195 pounds, Gray has elite talent in all the running back critical factors of evaluation: vision, foot quickness, run strength, agility, elusiveness, instincts, patience, speed and hands among others. He's the total package.

Gray has just about narrowed his choices down to a final three in Texas, Texas A&M and TCU. A decision probably won't come until the summer at the earliest.

2. Eddie Goldman, DT

Goldman is a 6'4", 305-pound specimen that is just as good as Anthony Johnson already. Goldman has incredible snap quickness to jump blockers, strength to fight pressure and foot speed to finish.

He's a menace to a pocket and must be accounted for by your protection schemes every snap. He can play both interior spots in a 40 front and also as a 3-4 end.

Goldman has so many offers and is so wide open right now that he has not even narrowed it down to a top 15 yet. I can't really make a prediction on where I think Goldman is headed or who is a favorite because he seems to like everybody.

1. Dorial Green-Beckham, WR

6'6", 220 pounds, Green-Beckham is the top prospect right now on my board for 2012. He has been timed at 4.43 in the 40, and I compare him to Calvin Johnson and Plaxico Burress.

He fires out of his stance off the line, has speed to eat up cushion, is quick out of his breaks and can snatch balls out of the air from all over the place.

He adjusts well to poorly thrown balls and is a terror in the red zone. The sky is the limit for Green-Beckham.

DGB is wide open right now, holding offers from Florida, Ohio State, USC, Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida State, Oklahoma, LSU and Missouri so far among a slew of others.