College football recruiting rankings are not an exact science, and while they often do a great job at projecting how players will develop throughout their careers, there are some players who slip through the cracks.
Everyone loves an underdog, and the unheralded prospect who ends up as a first-round NFL draft pick is always celebrated. We took the top 25 teams from the Way-Too-Early college football rankings and found some of the top unheralded recruits from the past 15 years.
Here's a look at some of your favorite players, going as far back as the 2005 recruiting class, who were under-recruited and under-ranked.
1. Clemson Tigers: WR Hunter Renfrow
Class of 2014
Unranked
How fitting that this list starts with the wide receiver Renfrow, who had an outstanding 15-year career at Clemson. It wasn't really that long, but it seemed like he was around forever, which is a testament to the impact he made on the program.
He was part of the 2014 recruiting class and only had offers from Appalachian State, Gardner Webb and Wofford, among others. He had family ties to Clemson, and despite not having an offer -- and not being ranked at all -- he decided to walk on to the Tigers program. He earned a scholarship in August 2015 and holds Clemson records for starts by a wide receiver (47) and consecutive games with a reception (43).
He was drafted by the Raiders in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft after becoming one of the best walk-on stories in college football. You can't talk about unheralded recruits without mentioning Renfrow and what he was able to do in his career.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes: WR Michael Thomas
Class of 2012
Three stars
This one was difficult because Ohio State had quite a few candidates who would qualify. Not only do the Buckeyes recruit elite prospects, but the coaches have done a good job developing the lower-ranked prospects as well.
Jonathon Hankins, Cardale Jones and Taylor Decker are three other names that could be the choice. Thomas was initially a member of the 2011 class, but attended Fork Union Military Academy postgrad in Virginia in the 2012 class.
Despite his size at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, he didn't draw a ton of interest out of high school. He was originally from California, but wound up at Ohio State once all was said and done. Thomas had 799 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2014, then followed it up by leading the team in receiving yards in 2015 with 781 yards and nine touchdowns.
Thomas was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and has become one of the more prolific receivers in the NFL.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide: RB Josh Jacobs
Class of 2016
Three stars
Jacobs had some recognizable offers out of high school, including Alabama, Oklahoma and Missouri, but there weren't many outside of those few big-name programs. In fact, most of his offers came very late in the process, despite the fact he ran for 2,704 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior season.
Part of that lack of interest is possibly because Jacobs was playing quarterback for his high school team, being used as a wildcat QB to run the ball. As far as Alabama running backs go, Jacobs did not fit the mold of the five-star with nearly every program after him. He didn't let that define him, though, and ran for 11 touchdowns and 640 yards in 2018 while splitting carries. He was then selected by the Raiders with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.
4. Georgia Bulldogs: K Rodrigo Blankenship
Class of 2015
Three stars
This can't be a list of unheralded recruits without a few kickers, and Blankenship fits the bill for Georgia. He walked on at Georgia initially and had to earn a scholarship after coach Mark Richt was let go.
Blankenship was the epitome of an unheralded player who is eventually embraced as a star by a fan base. He made 100% of his extra point attempts in the 2019 season and made 81.8% of his field goal attempts.
His signature glasses stuck out like a sore thumb and made him one of the more recognizable players on the team. He went from walk-on to signing an undrafted free-agent deal with the Indianapolis Colts.
5. Penn State Nittany Lions: QB Trace McSorley
Class of 2014
Three stars
McSorley was a 6-1, 182-pound quarterback in the 2014 class, the 18th-ranked prospect in the state of Virginia. He was originally committed to coach James Franklin at Vanderbilt, but followed Franklin to Penn State once the Nittany Lions hired him.
McSorley had a few offers outside of Vanderbilt and Penn State, but not many big programs were after him outside of North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
He proved wrong most of the recruiters who didn't offer him by becoming an important piece of Penn State's offense, along with running back Saquon Barkley. McSorley went on to set the Penn State records for wins, completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, total offense, rushing yards by a quarterback, rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and touchdowns responsible for.
McSorley threw for 77 touchdowns during his career and ran for 30 more. He was eventually drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens.
6. Oregon Ducks: Marcus Mariota
Class of 2011
Two stars
Mariota only held offers from Oregon, Memphis and Washington out of high school, and being from Hawaii didn't help his recruitment. What also didn't help was that Mariota did not start for his high school team until his senior season.
He was a lanky 6-foot-3, 186 pounds and eventually signed with Oregon. Though very few schools recruited him out of high school, Mariota excelled at Oregon. He threw for over 10,000 yards with 105 touchdowns and eventually won the Heisman Trophy in 2014.
He was then taken second overall in the 2015 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans and cemented himself as one of Oregon's best unheralded prospects, and one of the program's best prospects overall.
7. Florida Gators: LB Jarrad Davis
Class of 2013
Three stars
Davis had some big SEC offers, but he was only a three-star prospect in the 2013 class out of Kingsland, Georgia. He was the No. 50-ranked recruit in the state and ended up signing with the Gators.
He played seven games his freshman season, then eight his sophomore year, tallying 47 total tackles those first two seasons. His junior season he played in 14 games and had 94 total tackles with 11 tackles for loss. He played in nine games his senior season and had 60 total tackles with six sacks.
Davis was selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions and is still in the NFL today.
8. LSU Tigers: DB Tyrann Mathieu
Class of 2010
Three stars
There are some other names that could've been on this list, including wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who had very few offers out of high school outside of LSU. Jefferson was a big part of LSU's offense this past season, but what Mathieu did at LSU was incredible compared to how much interest he had on the recruiting trail.
At 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, he was a little undersized and didn't have a lot of offers outside of the Tigers. He wound up as a Heisman finalist in 2011 and racked up nearly every college award he could win. In his two years of play at LSU, Mathieu had 14 turnovers and 11 forced fumbles, which is a school record.
9. Oklahoma Sooners: QB Baker Mayfield
Class of 2013
Three stars
Yes, Mayfield started his college career with Texas Tech, but I'm making the rules so I'm including him on the list. He walked on at Texas Tech, then walked on at Oklahoma, so he still technically counts for this exercise. Plus, how do you ignore that he was a two-time walk-on who went on to win the Heisman Trophy?
His offer list out of high school was small, consisting of offers from Rice, FAU and New Mexico, among a few others. He was 6-foot-1, 200 pounds in high school, but went to Lake Travis, a Texas high school that has produced a lot of quality quarterbacks.
Mayfield left Texas Tech to walk on at Oklahoma and went on to be one of the more electrifying quarterbacks in college football. He finished his career at Oklahoma with video game numbers, won the Heisman Trophy and was selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL draft.
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: LB Joe Schmidt
Class of 2011
Unranked
Schmidt was a walk-on at Notre Dame and barely had any scholarship offers out of high school. He played at Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California, a school that regularly saw recruiters and college coaches come through the halls.
He garnered offers from Penn and Air Force as well as a few other schools, but had wanted to play for Notre Dame since he was a kid. He decided to walk on rather than taking a scholarship at a lower-level school.
His ability and work ethic showed up almost immediately once he arrived on campus. He started all 13 games in the 2015 season and had 78 total tackles. He was named a team captain and team MVP. Going from an unranked walk-on to team MVP at Notre Dame is a pretty impressive feat.
11. Texas A&M Aggies: QB Johnny Manziel
Class of 2011
Three stars
There can't be a list of unheralded recruits that doesn't include Manziel. He was a 6-foot-1, 190-pound dual-threat quarterback out of Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas. Manziel really only had offers from the Aggies, Oregon, Colorado State, Baylor, Iowa State and a few others.
He stunned defenses and became a household name among college football fans throughout his college career. Manziel threw for over 7,800 yards and 63 touchdowns at Texas A&M while also rushing for over 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.
He won the Heisman Trophy after his redshirt freshman season and eventually was drafted with the 22nd pick in the 2014 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.
12. Oklahoma State Cowboys: WR James Washington
Class of 2014
Three stars
Oklahoma State is a school that could have quite a few players in this spot, including defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, linebacker Justin Phillips and safety Tre Flowers. But Washington was a three-star recruit out of Stamford, Texas, the No. 172-ranked recruit in the state.
He had offers from Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas and Texas State, but that was pretty much it. He proved a lot of people wrong throughout his college career, racking up over 4,400 receiving yards and 39 touchdowns.
Washington eventually won the Biletnikoff award, given to the nation's top receiver, in 2017. He was drafted in the second round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018 and exceeded all expectations in college.
13. Wisconsin Badgers: DE J.J. Watt
Class of 2007
Unranked
Watt initially signed with Central Michigan out of high school, so this is another player we're making an exception for just because of how his career played out. If you don't count Watt, then the answer here is Chris Borland. But Watt was a tight end at Central Michigan and was potentially going to move to offensive line before deciding to leave and walk on at Wisconsin, where he switched to defensive end.
The rest is history. He had over 100 tackles and 11.5 sacks in two seasons. In 2010, he had 21 tackles for loss and became one of the best defensive players in college football.
He was drafted 11th overall in the 2011 NFL draft by the Houston Texans and has been one of the more dominant defensive players in the NFL. Who knows how his career would've been altered had he stayed at Central Michigan as a tight end, or potentially moved to the offensive line?
14. Auburn Tigers: CB Chris Davis
Class of 2010
Three stars
Davis was part of Auburn's 2010 class and was ranked as the No. 98 athlete. He was a 5-foot-11, 175-pound corner out of Birmingham, Alabama, and didn't have many offers outside of Auburn.
He is likely most known as the guy who returned the kick-six in the 2013 Iron Bowl against Alabama, but he did much more than that at Auburn. He was second on the team in tackles in 2013 and also had 15 pass breakups. He, by far, outplayed his ranking.
15. Michigan Wolverines: The entire Glasgow family
The Glasgow family has now produced three walk-ons for the Wolverines, all of whom have played important roles in different ways. Graham Glasgow is the oldest and played offensive line. Ryan, a defensive tackle, is the middle child, followed by Jordan, who played safety.
Graham was actually planning on walking on at Ohio State, but switched to Michigan after Jim Tressel was fired.
That worked out well for Michigan, as the three brothers have all turned into NFL players. Graham was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions, Ryan was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2017 draft and Jordan was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2020 draft.
All three brothers going from walk-ons to NFL players is pretty remarkable.
16. Minnesota Golden Gophers: S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Class of 2016
Three stars
Minnesota probably has a few options for this category, but recently, Winfield sticks out as someone outplaying his expectations. Despite being the son of a former NFL player, he only had offers from Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota and a few MAC programs.
He was only 5-foot-9, 183 pounds out of high school in The Woodlands, Texas, so there wasn't a ton of interest. He proved the evaluations wrong, however, and had an outstanding career at Minnesota.
This past season alone, Winfield led the Minnesota defense with 88 total tackles, seven interceptions and even had three sacks. He was taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
17. Cincinnati Bearcats: OL Morgan James
Class of 2015
Unranked
James wasn't really part of the 2015 class. In fact, he wasn't really part of any class because he was a professional hockey player before joining Cincinnati's team in 2015. He joined the football team with essentially no experience and started from scratch.
It obviously took some time to get acclimated and learn the game and his position, so James did not have a significant role until 2018. He then started all 13 games for Cincinnati at guard.
He started 12 games in 2019 and was named first team All-American Athletic Conference. Offensive line is a difficult position to learn for anyone, but for James to pick it up in college and flourish the way he has is very impressive.
18. Iowa State Cyclones: RB David Montgomery
Class of 2016
Unranked
At 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, Montgomery was a good-sized back out of Mount Healthy High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had very few offers, but Iowa State was one of those schools to extend a scholarship.
Montgomery proved to be one of Iowa State's best players in the past decade in his three seasons in Ames, Iowa, running for 2,925 yards in his career with 26 rushing touchdowns. He is sixth all time in career rushing yards at Iowa State and ninth in rushing touchdowns. He was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears.
19. Boise State Broncos: LB Leighton Vander Esch
Class of 2014
Unranked
Vander Esch walked on at Boise State after playing eight-man football in high school. At Salmon River High School in Riggins, Idaho, Vander Esch played quarterback and linebacker for his team and actually passed for over 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns his senior season.
He had good size coming out of high school at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, but didn't have the film to attract much attention outside of his walk-on opportunity at Boise State.
Vander Esch added weight, got up to 240 pounds and finished his career being named Mountain West defensive player of the year and a first-team member of the all-conference team. He had 8.5 tackles for loss in the 2017 season along with 141 tackles, four sacks and three interceptions.
He was eventually taken with the 19th pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
20. Iowa Hawkeyes: TEs Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson
Class of 2016
Three stars and two stars
Iowa had a few unheralded recruits who went on to see success from this 2016 class, notably Fant, Hockenson and Alaric Jackson.
Fant was a three-star out Omaha, Nebraska, and had a decent offer list that included Iowa, Nebraska, UCLA, Iowa State and Arizona State. That said, he wasn't even the highest-ranked recruit from the state of Nebraska in that class.
Hockenson was the lowest-ranked prospect for Iowa in that class, a two-star out of Charter Oak, Iowa. He was 6-foot-5, 222 pounds, but really only saw interest from Iowa and Iowa State.
Despite those rankings, both were eventually first-round draft picks in the 2019 NFL draft. Hockenson went No. 8 overall to the Detroit Lions and Fant was chosen by the Denver Broncos with the 20th pick.
21. USC Trojans: LB Uchenna Nwosu
Class of 2014
Three stars
Nwosu was a 6-foot-2 linebacker prospect out of Narbonne High School, a well-known school that has produced some quality prospects, in Harbor City, California. He was a three-star prospect, ranked 80th in the state, and put up some good numbers -- 121 tackles and three interceptions in 2013 -- but didn't have any substantial offers outside of USC.
He was a two-year starter and was named co-MVP in his final season with the Trojans. The Los Angeles Chargers drafted him in 2018 with the No. 48 pick.
22. North Carolina Tar Heels: WR Mack Hollins
Class of 2012
Unranked
Hollins walked on to the North Carolina team before the 2012 season after a year at postgrad Fork Union Military Academy.
He was a contributor on special teams and listed as a defensive back for the Tar Heels in the 2013 season before bursting onto the scene in 2014 as a wide receiver. He led the team with 613 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns as a sophomore.
Hollins was named second-team All-ACC after the 2015 season and was a special-teams captain for four years in college. His senior season was limited due to injury, but Hollins finished his career as one of the top receivers in the stats book and made a name for himself despite his ranking and status in high school.
23. Texas Longhorns: OL Samuel Cosmi
Class of 2017
Three stars
Cosmi was a 6-foot-5, 260-pound lineman out of Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas. That is a fantastic hometown name for an unheralded offensive lineman who turned into a star.
He didn't have much attention from schools outside the state of Texas and was ranked as the No. 158 prospect in the state for his class. He signed with Texas, though, and redshirted his first season on campus.
After that, he played in every game his redshirt freshman season, was named a freshman All-American and started all 13 games his sophomore season in 2019. Cosmi was named second-team All-Big 12 and honorable mention as Big 12 offensive lineman of the year in 2019.
He is now being projected as one of the best tackle prospects in next year's NFL draft, behind Oregon's Penei Sewell, and a potential first-round pick.
24. Appalachian State Mountaineers: RB Darrynton Evans
Class of 2016
Unranked
Technically, anyone from Appalachian State would qualify in this category, as most of the recruited prospects weren't highly touted recruits. Evans wasn't ranked in the 2016 class and was a 5-foot-10, 173-pound back from New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
He did have a few FBS offers, but ultimately ended up signing with App State. Evans ran for 1,187 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2018 season and followed that up with 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2019.
Despite not being ranked in high school, Evans put together an excellent career at Appalachian State and was eventually drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans.
25. Baylor Bears: QB Bryce Petty
Class of 2010
Three stars
Petty only saw interest from a few schools out of high school, but signed with Baylor out of Midlothian, Texas. He was a three-star prospect in the class, but had good size at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds.
Petty redshirted his first season at Baylor, eased his way into the lineup, then started all 13 games his junior season and 12 games his senior year. He helped lead Baylor to back-to-back Big 12 Championship berths and was a finalist or under consideration for a multitude of awards.
He was honorable mention All-America two seasons in a row and had 7,149 passing yards in his final two seasons to go along with 56 touchdowns. The New York Jets drafted him in the fourth round in 2015.