High School Notes
©
More from this issue
The returns are in. Another college football signing day has passed and it's now time to assess the winners and losers - who signed the most impact players and where the top prospects are going.
Here is a look at American Football Monthly's Top 40 prospects from the Class of 2000 (based upon a consensus of top recruiting experts and AFM staff evaluations) and where they signed along with a ranking of the Top 10 recruiting classes.
The Top 40 Recruits
Rank Player Pos.H.S.,
(City, State) Ht. Wt. 40 School
1. D.J. Williams LB De La Salle
(Concord, Calif.) 6-2 220 4.5 Miami,
(Fla.)
2. Brock Berlin QB Evangel
(Shreveport, La.) 6-1 190 4.7 Florida
3. Charles Rogers WR Saginaw
(Mich.)6-4 190 4.4Michigan St.
4. B.J. Johnson WR South
(Grand Prairie, Texas) 6-1 185 4.3 Texas
5. Marcus Houston RB-S Jefferson
(Denver, Colo.) 6-2 210 4.4 Colorado
6. Johnnie Morant WR Parsippany Hills
(Morris Plains, N.J.) 6-5 220 4.5 Syracuse
7. Michael Munoz OL Moeller
(Cincinnati, Ohio) 6-7 310 5.1 Tennessee
8. Darrell Lee LB Kirkwood
(Mo.) 6-5 225 4.5 Florida
9. Eric Moore LB Pahokee
(Fla.) 6-4 225 4.7 Florida St.
10. Willis McGahee RB Central
(Miami, Fla.) 6-1 215 4.5 Miami
(Fla.)
11. Roy Williams WR Permian
(Odessa, Texas) 6-4 200 4.4 Texas
12. Travis Johnson DL Notre Dame
(Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 6-4 250 4.7 Florida St.
13. Albert Hollis II RB Christian Bros.
(Sacramento, Calif.) 6-0 190 4.4 Georgia
14. Matt Grootegoed S Mater Dei
(Santa Ana, Calif.) 6-0 200 4.6 USC
15. Kwame Harris OL Newark,
(Del.) 6-6 320 5.0 Stanford
16.Albert Means DL Trezevant
(Memphis, Tenn.) 6-6 305 5.0 Alabama
17. Yohance Buchanan S Douglas
(Atlanta, Ga.) 6-1 210 4.5 Florida St.
18.Bryant McFadden CB McArthur
(Hollywood, Fla.) 6-0 180 4.5 Florida St.
19. Antonio Hall OL McKinley
(Canton, Ohio) 6-5 300 5.1 Kentucky
20.O.J. Owens S North Stanly
(New London, N.C.) 6-0 190 4.4 Tennessee
21. Vince Wilfork DL Santaluces
(Lantana, Fla.) 6-1 310 5.2 Miami
(Fla.)
22.Sam Maldonado RB Harrison
(N.Y.) 6-2 215 4.5 Ohio State
23. Marco Cooper LB Cass Tech
(Detroit, Mich.) 6-2 230 4.5 Ohio State
24.Wes Sims OL Weatherford
(Okla.) 6-5 300 5.0 Oklahoma
25.Jeff Smoker QB Central
(Manheim, Pa.) 6-3 195 4.6 Michigan St.
26.Stevie Lee DL Evangel
(Shreveport, La.) 6-4 305 5.1 Texas
27.Chris Rix QB Santa Margarita
(Rancho SM, Calif.) 6-3 200 4.6 Florida St.
28.Jason Respert OL Northside
(Warner-Robins, Ga.) 6-3 2755.0 Tennessee
29.Michael Boulware LB Spring Valley
(Columbia, S.C.) 6-2 200 4.5 Florida St.
30.Alex Holmes TE Harv.-Westlake
(N. Hollywood, Calif.) 6-3 305 4.9 USC
31.Lawrence Richardson CB Ball
(Galveston, Texas) 5-10 170 4.5 Arkansas
32.Chance Mock QB The Woodlands
(Texas) 6-1 190 4.5 Texas
33. Corey Bailey CB American
(Hialeah, Fla.) 5-11 175 4.4 Florida
34.Greg Pauly DL South
(Waukesha, Wis.) 6-6 270 4.8 Notre Dame
35.Sean Young OLNW Whitfield
(Cohutta, Ga.) 6-7 295 5.0 Tennessee
36.Tab Perry WR Milpitas
(Calif.) 6-3 205 4.4 UCLA
37.Tyrell Dortch RB Hoboken
(N.J.) 5-11 190 4.4 Michigan St.
38.Paul Mociler OL St. John Bosco
(Bellflower, Calif.) 6-6 300 5.5 UCLA
39.Craig Ochs QB Fairview
(Boulder, Colo.) 6-3 200 4.6 Colorado
40.Tyson Thompson RB Irving
(Texas) 6-1 195 4.4 TCU
The Top 10 Recruiting Classes
1. Tennessee: The Vols signed two All-American QBs and three Top 40 OLs to protect them.
2. Florida State: The 'Noles signed the best group of defensive players and a Top 30 QB.
3. Florida: The Gators closed great with a super group of WRs to complement Brock Berlin.
4. Texas: Another great class for Mack Brown including two Top 15 players at WR.
5. Miami (F): The 'Canes lost then regained a commitment from top prospect D.J. Williams, who signed late.
6. Penn State: The Lions signed a very balanced class, with impact players on both sides.
7. Alabama: The Tide has assembled the makings of a truly dominant defense for years to come.
8. Ohio State: The Buckeyes had a need at QB that was not fully addressed, but did great on D.
9. USC: No one ever said the Trojans didn't bring in great players.
10. Michigan State: This class lacks depth but includes Top 40 players at QB, RB and WR.
Special thanks to Jonathan Cornwell for research assistance.