The Most Overrated and Underrated Recruits From Rivals Top 100

Rivals.com recently revealed their acclaimed "Rivals 100" list of their rankings of the 100 top recruits in the country for 2012. As a former employee of a couple of Rivals' partner sites, I always keep a keen eye on this list as the cycle goes along.

Looking at their list and comparing it to some notches on boards, like any evaluators, we have some differences. So I decided to run down and compare a couple players who I think they have either too high or too low on their list.

Come inside and see a couple comparisons.

Overrated: Taylor McNamara, TE

Rivals has the 6'5", 235-pound TE prospect as the No. 84 player on their board. I like McNamara, and I think he will be a solid college tight end, but for me, I think Ricky Parks, Colin Thompson and Kent Taylor a bit more, as they are all on my overall Top 100 board.

McNamara, however, is still a prime TE recruit and has a slew of offers from schools across the nation.

Underrated: Keith Marshall, RB

Rivals has Marshall as their No. 55 player overall. 5'11", 185 pounds, Marshall is an elite runner and spectacular overall player in my eyes. He's a touchdown machine with 4.3 speed.

I think his skill set, ceiling and high school production warrant him to be moved way up, which is why he is a top 10 overall recruit on my board.

Rivals has him vastly underrated in my opinion.

Overrated: Zach Kline, QB

Kline is one of those QB prospects that you just have to love. He does just about everything well on tape, showing good quickness and footwork in his climbs, set up quickness, a solid arm and good accuracy.

He stands 6'2", 210 pounds as well. But for me, I don't have Kline in my top 100 overall, though I do like him in my top 10 QB prospects.

I would like to watch more tape on Kline, as right now he seems to be a prospect that is good in all areas of the QB spot, but not great in any area.

Underrated: Arik Armstead, DE/OL

What a difference an evaluator's opinion makes, as Scout.com has Armstead as the No. 1 overall player for the 2012 recruiting class, while Rivals has him just 23rd.

Armstead is a top-five player on my board, and as far Rivals goes, he fits into the underrated category. I just think his 6'8", 280-pound frame and athleticism, combined with his ceiling, warrant him a higher notch.

Armstead has college size, but still shows a frame with room to grow. His snap quickness and athletic ability will make him a fantastic player in college.

Overrated: Aziz Shittu, DT

Do not get me wrong, I really like Shittu. His film shows a player who has a clear and very good understanding of how importance leverage is, along with great snap quickness and playmaking ability from the DT position.

But Rivals has Shittu as their 12th best player, while he fits just inside my top 50. I just think this is a clear example of a player lighting up a camp and combine and that being the foundation of their evaluation, rather than tape.

Shittu won the DL MVP at the LA NIKE Camp earlier this spring and has since pledged to Stanford.

Underrated: Andrus Peat, OT

Peat is a top-five player on my board, sitting at No. 3 overall. I have him as the premier offensive line prospect in the country for 2012, as he will fit right in a technician type of left tackle.

Yet, Rivals has him only No. 15 overall. He's still a five-star recruit per their rankings system, but I just think Peat should be higher up on the board.

6'7", 280 pounds, great feet, mirror ability, a solid punch, strength and technique all equal why Peat deserves to be moved up.

Overrated: Nelson Agholor, ATH

Agholor is the best pure athlete in the state of Florida for 2012, and not just based on the ATH rankings, but I mean athletically. He reminds me of former UCLA and current Cardinals DB Matt Ware coming out of high school.

6'2", 180 pounds, Agholor has great speed and productivity, but he's a player without a true position. He does most of his damage as a runner right now, but is too high cut and light to be a RB in college. He'll need time as WR or at DB.

Another component to Agholor that is interesting is his film. I had a conversation with a trusted friend of mine who's a respected evaluator of Florida high school recruits and he questioned Agholor's competition level.

Underrated: Johnathan Gray, RB

Rivals has him at No. 14. I have Gray as No. 2 on my board. That's a tad underrated in my opinion. Gray's production alone should warrant him top-five status (6,000 yards and 109 touchdowns in just the past two seasons), but when you watch him on tape you get convinced he's the real deal.

5'11", 195 pounds, Gray has just about every trait and skill that you want a running back to have. Size, speed, instincts, vision, foot quickness, explosiveness, strength, power, tackle breaking ability, home run ability and more.

He's underrated by Rivals.