College Football Recruiting 2012: The Top Defensive Ends from Rivals Top 100

Rivals has recently released their long-awaited "Rivals 100" list, and I thought I would give a quick rundown of the DE prospects who made the list. I have my Top 100 recruits board and positional rankings myself, but the Rivals 100 is always a valuable tool for recruiting followers.

I grew up a bit following Rivals' recruiting every year, and now that I am an evaluator myself, it's always fun to compare notes to such a great site. So with this I'm going to quickly highlight a few DE prospects in their top 100 players.

Let's get started.

Faith Ekakitie

6'2", 255 pounds, Ekakitie is a strong side defensive end prospect. He plays with a great base, is stout against the run and has strength at the point of attack. Ekakitie does a solid job of stacking and shedding, plays to his size upon contact and has some range on the strong side edge.

He's a solid pass rusher and could even play some Sam LB in college.

Toshiro Davis

Davis is a 6'3", 225 pounder that was very productive last year, as he recorded 65 tackles and 15 sacks as a junior. Some say he could be moved back to LB, but he offers a team value due to his versatility.

He's athletic enough to play LB, but can easily put his hand down and rush in sub packages. Davis also tracks the run with range and solid play speed.

Hassan Ridgeway

Ridgeway is a very, very intriguing prospect to watch on tape. 6'4", 220 pounds, I often wonder if he can add on weight in college and become 3-4 defensive end. I wonder because he shows only marginal snap quickness and burst off the ball.

But what he does well is hold up at the point of attack, plays to his size and has solid, not "wow", but solid, athletic ability on the edge. He's ranked as the 91st best player by Rivals.

Greg McMullen

6'5", 260 pounds, McMullen being listed as DE is a bit rich for me. I think he will grow into a DT in college, as his frame looks like an interior DL's. He's pretty explosive off the ball, uses his size to his advantage and doesn't shy away from taking on the run.

He will play too high and loose leverage at the point of attack at times and may be stuck as a tweener. That's why I think a full time and dedicated kick inside to tackle would work wonders for him.

Adolphus Washington

Washington is another pass rusher and among the elite in the country this year. At 6'6", 240 pounds, Washington has the size to play the strong side in college, but also the athleticism, play speed and quickness to man the weak side as well.

He has a long frame to stay clean, he can convert speed into power quickly and forcefully and he bends solidly. Washington is also a noted hoops prospect, which is why you hear the Julius Peppers comparisons.

Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State are some of the main schools who are on him the hardest.

Chris Casher

6'4", 240 pounds, Casher is one of the premier DE prospects in the country. He had 56 tackles and eight sacks as junior and is committed to Florida State.

He is long, rangy and athletic and one of the best pure athletes among DL recruits for 2012. Casher likely could even play outside LB with ease and be one of the best players at the position too. It's going to be tough for the defensive staff in Tallahassee to determine if he best at DE or OLB.

Jelani Hamilton

Hamilton first caught my eye by having a solid Under Armour combine showing in January. From a solid St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) program, he is a solid defensive end prospect.

He shows the ability to become a good end, as he can play the pass and run. He has adequate snap quickness, solid use of hands, strength and a burst. He also flashes good range to chase ball carriers around in stopping the run.

Leonard Williams

Williams is a 6'5", 250 pound monster that has excellent athleticism. He goes full tilt on every snap and has a trait that I love: He uses his hands well to shed and escape blocks. 

He shows great strength and the ability to play with a flat back to gain and keep leverage. He's raw in his technique and pass rush plan, but with some seasoning and coaching, he is going to be a steal.

Se'Von Pittman

Pittman is a pure pass rushing type that is best attacking the pocket and getting to the passer. 6'4", 225 pounds, he shows solid snap quickness, length to stay clean and a burst to close out on the QB.

Versus the run, he is better to chase and pursuit away from him than he is to take on blocks, stack at the point of attack, shed and make the stop head on. I think he will factor as a sub package rusher early in college while he gets stronger to play every down.

Tyriq McCord

McCord has said in the past that he feels he has mastered the art of pass rushing. I think that's a bit rich and premature to say, as even DeMarcus Ware, Mario Williams and James Harrison will tell you they still have much to learn.

However, the 6'3", 225 pound DE prospect from Tampa is still a solid player in his own right. His quickness at the snap earned him 18 sacks as a junior.

Eli Harold

With Florida, North Carolina and Virginia as his top three schools, Eli Harold is talked up as the best player in Virginia. 6'3", 215 pounds, he's an athletic and quick DE prospect that gets up field in a hurry.

Harold is so athletic that while he had 30 tackles and seven sacks, he also played receiver and had 34 receptions, 540 yards and seven touchdowns.

Jordan Jenkins

At 6'3", 245 pounds, Jinkens may be able to come in as a true freshman and make an impact as a sub rusher from Day 1; he's that athletically gifted and is referred to as "The Freak." You watch him on tape and you see a burst and ability to beat blockers at the snap.

He can bend well off the edge and close on the QB in a flash. He plays the run well and just needs to get seasoned. Keep an eye on him.

He has just been offered recently by Florida State, Miami and Florida. Look for those three, along with Georgia, to be the major players in the race for him

Ifeadi Odenigbo

At 6'4", 220 pounds, Odenigbo is as a raw a prospect as there may be in the country. He's only played football for just a few years, but watch his tape and you see a ceiling that is as high as Mount Everest.

He's super athletic, quick and explodes off the ball. He plays very, very fast and has amazing range. If he can find a program that has a great pass-rushing coach and get stronger, he may have a long playing future ahead of him.

Northwestern, Stanford, Ohio State and Notre Dame are his top four schools

Arik Armstead

At 6'8", 280 pounds, Armstead has been talked as the top prospect in the country. He can play defensive end, defensive tackle and also shows the feet and balance to play left tackle.

The brother of current USC defensive end Armond Armstead, Arik is a mammoth who isn't just a big man; he's an excellent athlete as well.

He is solid to USC, where he will begin as a strong side defensive end.

Jonathan Bullard

Bullard is a 6'4", 250 pound thickly built DE that plays very, very stout against the run. He's strong and physical to set the edges, shed at the point with strength and instinctive to make plays. What also is to be liked with Bullard is he has good athleticism.

He shows solid agility and play speed in pursuit and had 107 tackles with 16 sacks as a junior. Some have said Bullard can play tackle down the road, but he told people he wants to stay at DE.

Noah Spence

Spence is the top pure pass rusher in the country and easily has the quickest first two steps in America. He flies off the ball and gets after the QB with tenacity, passion and sheer speed.

At 6'4", 245 pounds, he has been compared to Dwight Freeney, although he is a bit longer and taller than the 6'1" Freeney.

He had 22 sacks last year, along with 101 tackles. NC State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Maryland and USC are just a few schools to name that are on his trail.

Donte Fowler

Fowler is a tweener prospect that can be listed as a defensive end or an outside linebacker. Wherever he's listed at, just know he is a dynamic defender and pass rusher.

At 6'3", 240 pounds, he can play the run well and chase ball carriers all over the field. On third downs, Fowler revs up his motor and gets after the passer with speed, quickness and explosion.

He's solid to Florida State.

Darius Hamilton

Hamilton is a 6'4", 245-pound defensive prospect that can do it all.

Most ends at the high school level only focus on their pass-rushing prowess, yet Hamilton shows the strength to anchor and shed against the end.

Toss that in with his elite pass-rushing ability, and you see a 5-star prospect on the defensive edge.

Mario Edwards

The most complete edge defender in the country, Edwards is a 6'4", 275-pound monster of a defensive end.

He has the strength to play the run, anchor, stop and stack at the point and shed blocks. Then he has the speed to chase and pressure passers all night long.

He is solid to Florida State, which he pledged to over Texas