College Football: Most Underrated Recruit of the Decade's Top Recruiting Classes

NOTE: With it generally being considered three years/seasons as the earliest one can truly evaluate a draft or recruiting class, the 2009 and 2010 classes have been omitted from this list.

With the top recruiting classes of the decade, there have been some surprises, shocks and players that came out of nowhere to be starters or big time contributors.

We tend to look and focus more on the 5-star and big name recruits in a class in our expectations, which is natural, but we've seen some underrated recruits come in and develop into stars.

With this next list, we're just going to run down the top recruiting classes of each year of the past decade and tell you who we feel was the most underrated player from that class.

It should be fun, it should spark some debate, but it's college football recruiting, what other way would we want it right?

Let's begin.

2000: Florida: Ben Troupe, TE

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TAMPA - JANUARY 1: Tight end Ben Troupe #84 of the Florida Gators sets up for the catch during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2004 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Hawkeyes won 37-17. (Photo by Eliot

Florida took the top spot to start the new millennium, and the prize get was QB Brock Berlin, the top QB in the country and a franchise caliber recruit.

OJ Small, Carlos Perez and Keiwan Ratliff are some other names that were in this class.

Yet it was Troupe who came on the strongest. He went on to become an All-American tight end by the time he was a senior and caught 39 passes for 638 yards and five scores in 2003.

He finished his career with 64 grabs, 958 yards and seven touchdowns and goes down as one of the best receiving tight ends in Gator history.

2001: Florida State: B.J. Dean, FB

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TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 11: BJ Dean #36 of the Florida State Seminoles runs for a first down in the fourth quarter against the Miami Hurricanes at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 11, 2003 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Matt Stroshane/Getty Images

This was the class that saw the 'Noles sign Cro Thorpe, Dominic Robinson, Jerome Carter, Chauncey Davis and even Joe Mauer.

This was a star studded class at the time that seemed to also fill out well with offensive and defensive linemen.

I like Dean as the top underrated player from this class. He was a two-star player by Rivals that year and was not expected to do much more than just add depth to a roster.

However, he ended up as starting fullback with 23 starts and earned a reputation as a big time, hard nosed lead blocker.

Dean didn't score much—in fact only once in his career—but his lead blocking was crucial for the FSU running game.

2002: Texas: Brian Robison, DE

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DALLAS - OCTOBER 8: Defensive end Brian Robison #39 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates against the Oklahoma Sooners on October 8, 2005 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Longhorns defeated the Sooners 45-12. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

This is one of the strongest overall classes ever as this '02 Texas class signed Vince Young, Rodrique Wright, Larry Dibbles, Justin Blalock, Aaron Ross and Selvin Young among many more stars.

Robison came in as a three-star linebacker that was a solid Texas prep player, but he was in the shadows of the stars of the class.

All he did was develop into a 6'3", 260 pound defensive end. He had 181 tackles, with 41 being for a loss and 15 sacks.

The Vikings took Robison in the third round in 2007, and he was one of their top defensive ends.

2003: USC: Terrell Thomas, DB

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LOS ANGELES - DECEMBER 1: Terrell Thomas #28 of the USC Trojans returns an interception zero yards against the UCLA Bruins in the third quarter of the game on December 1, 2007 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. USC won 24-7

The 2003 class for USC was amazing: it featured Reggie Bush, Sam Baker, Len Dale White, Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, Steve Smith and Ryan Kalil.

But the most underrated was Terrell Thomas, a 6'1", 185 pound defensive back that was just a 3-star recruit.

Thomas became one of the best defensive backs in the Pac-10 during his career as his versatility to play corner and safety was loved by Pete Carroll.

He is a starter for the New York Giants today.

2004: USC: Chilo Rachal, OL

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LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 22: Chilo Rachal #66 of the USC Trojans moves on the field during the game against the Washington State Cougars on September 22, 2007 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Before I start Trojans fans, I know Josh Pinkard could easily take this honor for this class, but I went with Rachal only because he is a NFL starter for the 49ers right now.

Now, this was the second year in a row the Trojans took the top spot and it saw them land Dwayne Jarrett, Jeff Byers, Scott Ware, Keith Rivers, Fred Davis and Duce Lutui.

Rachal became such a dominant offensive guard that rumor had it the Trojans would not allow him to play tackle because he may have left for the NFL after his redshirt sophomore year.

He just mauled people in the run game, and became a first All Pac-10 selection and second round pick to 'Frisco in 2008.

2005: Tennessee: Dan Williams, NT

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LEXINGTON, KY - NOVEMBER 28: Randall Cobb #18 of the Kentucky Wildcats looks to pass the ball while defended by Dan Williams #55 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the SEC game at Commonwealth Stadium on November 28, 2009 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo

In 2005, the Vols reigned on top of the college football world as this class saw them land prospects like Johnathan Crompton, LaMarcus Coker, Rico McCoy and Montario Hardesty.

But little did the Rocky Top supporters know that the 3-star, 6'2", 320 pound offensive lineman they signed would turn into a first round draft pick.

Dan Williams made the switch to defense in Knoxville and became a nightmare to offensive lines.

He was quick off the ball, athletic but also had great strength at the point of attack. Williams was drafted in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals.

2006. USC: Stanley Havili, FB

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SAN FRANCISCO - DECEMBER 26: Stanley Havili #31 of the USC Trojans celebrates after a touchdown in the first quarter against the Boston College Eagles during the 2009 Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park on December 26, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by J

The 2006 recruiting class saw a familiar program back as the No. 1 class in USC.

The theme for the Trojans this year seemed to be to only sign five and four-star recruits, as 20 of the 24 man class were either five or four-star rated players.

Wow.

This class featured Taylor Mays, Allen Bradford, Vidal Hazelton, Stafon Johnson, David Ausberry, Butch Lewis, Shareece Wright and David Buehler.

But Stanley Havili became probably the key to the entire Trojan offense during his tenure in Los Angeles.

A big running back in Utah, Havili came to USC and made the switch to a skilled fullback.

His performance as a runner, receiver and leader was one of the best and most underrated career performances in USC history.

I think he will be a very good find for a NFL team next season.

2007: Florida: Joe Haden, CB

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GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 5: Joe Haden #5 of the Florida Gators lines up during the game against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 5, 2009 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

I know, I know, Haden wasn't that underrated, but how many of you thought the 22nd ranked receiver would turn into a top ten draft pick and one of the best defensive players in Florida history?

Yeah, I thought so. Plus this class signed many highly rated players.

The Gators signed Carlos Dunlap, Aaron Hernandez, Major Wright, James Wilson, the Pouncey Twins, John Brantley and even Cam Newton.

Yet if you asked Urban Meyer, Haden was more than just a great player on the field. He was a team guy, that took his move to cornerback extremely well and only wanted to win and help the team.

It also helped that Haden was the best cornerback in the country by the time he left Gainesville.

The Browns took him in the top 10 of the draft last year and he is a future cornerstone player in Cleveland. 

2008: Alabama: Mark Ingram, RB

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TUSCALOOSA, AL - NOVEMBER 13: Running back Mark Ingram #22 of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs 78 yards with a pass for a second-quarter touchdown against the Mississippi State Bulldogs November 13, 2010 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Phot

Now, there was talk that Miami had the best class in 2008, but no, it was Alabama. Miami and Notre Dame had strong classes, but the Tide took the spot of No.1 this year.

This was the class that saw Julio Jones, Marcell Dareus, Tyler Love, Mike Williams, Barrett Jones, Dont'A Hightower and Terrence Cody come to Alabama.

That's some serious star power and production in those names alone, and I had to stop naming players for time purposes.

But seriously, come on. How many of you Tide fans thought Mark Ingram would one day be a Heisman winner and probable first round draft pick?

He was a 3-star running back, that was more quick than fast and barely stood 5'10".

Today he is beloved in Tuscaloosa and easily takes the title of most underrated recruit from the class.