Dorial Green-Beckham: Will He Be the No. 1 Recruit in 2012?

As many of the elite recruits push themselves to the top of our board, consensus is growing among many national talent evaluators like myself that Hillcrest (MO) receiver Dorial Green-Beckham may be the best player in the country. There are a slew of outstanding players in the 2012 crop, and Green-Beckham may be the best.

He's a fantastic player who has been talked up as being the top player in the Show Me State and Mid-America region for the past two years. The 2012 class is still unearthing top prospect after top prospect, but DGB has the buzz right now as the top recruit in the land.

But does he have what it takes to carry the No.1 overall player and recruit title through the 2012 recruiting cycle?

Who Is Dorial Green-Beckham?

Green-Beckam is a 6'6," 220-pound receiver out of Missouri. He was the National Junior Player of the Year by Rivals and is talked as the best high school player in the country. He has suffered a bit of a rough upbringing; his high school coach John Beckham is he and his brother's adopted guardian.

DGB already has the career marks in Missouri for receptions and yards, and finished his junior season with 78 grabs for over 1700 yards and 15 scores.

He has drawn comparisons from Randy Moss, to A.J. Green to Julio Jones, but I liken Green-Becham to Calvin Johnson and Plaxico Burress.

Green-Beckham Scouting Report

At 6'6," 220 pounds and 4.43 speed, Green-Beckham is not just a big, stick figure possession receiver. He has a very, very good deep speed, and what is so shocking is his elusiveness and RAC ability after the catch. He can eat up cushion quickly off the line due to his long strides, and his movement skills are very smooth and fluid.

Green-Beckham has a big time catch radius and strike zone, thanks to his extremely long arms. He snatches and plucks balls from all angles around his frame and has very natural ball skills. He can also high point balls and leap over defenders.

He has solid quickness out of his breaks to gain separation, but I think he could work on his release quickness. He doesn't explode off the line or look overly sudden in his release. This could hinder him a bit if he gets jammed by physical college corners.

Who's the Favorite to Land Him?

There is no favorite right now. It seems as if he is still gathering and adding to his offer list which is likely from 30-40 schools alone. Every top program and somebody in college football is hot after him.

He has twice mentioned Florida as a school of interest, but don't look too closely into that. Missouri being the in-state school has to be considered in the race, but other schools like Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC, Alabama, LSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Florida State, Texas and Michigan have been thrown around DGB.

His recruitment is wide open and probably will be for a while.

Is He the No.1 Overall Recruit in 2012?

Right now Green-Beckham sits atop my board and just about every other analyst's board as the top player seen so far for 2012. The spring evaluation period is fast approaching, and the camps and combines circuit we will hit will allow us to see him and some other elite prospects up close.

He doesn't play in a so called "hotbed" or pure "football state" in Missouri, but neither did the Brown Brothers a few years back in Kansas and each of them were talked up as the top player in their senior years.

So right now, Dorial Green-Beckham, a receiver from Missouri, is your No.1 overall recruit for the 2012 recruiting cycle.

Who Could Challenge for No.1 Honors?

There a few players that could unseat Green-Beckham as the No.1 overall recruit for 2012. The first that comes to mind is Johnathan Gray, a prolific running back from Texas. Check Gray's stats and tell me he's not productive.

Eddie Goldman is a mammoth and special DT from the D.C. area that is fantastic. Noah Spence and Mario Edwards are both five-star defensive ends from Pennsylvania and Texas respectively. Jameis Winston and Gunner Kiel are top notch QBs.

Then there are other players like Tee Shepard, Travis Blanks, Shaq Thompson, Arik Armstead, Andrus Peat, John Theus, Eddie Williams and Darius Hamilton.