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Tom Luginbill
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ESPN Analyst
- Senior National Recruiting Analyst for ESPN.com
- Coached in four professional football leagues
- Graduated from Eastern Kentucky and Marshall
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Craig Haubert
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ESPN Staff Writer
- National recruiting analyst and analyst for ESPNU
- More than a decade of college and pro coaching experience.
- Graduated from Indiana and Nebraska-Omaha
Who is the best college football recruit, regardless of class? Similar to what our colleague Paul Biancardi did with college basketball, we decided to find out, with a ranking of the top 25 players across all recruiting classes.
While football is a more difficult challenge than basketball, given the significance of physical maturity, there is and always will be superseding talent. It’s important to note that for prospects in the 2022 and 2023 classes, we considered the ceiling for both their physical and mental development.
We also provided a player comparison for each of the 25 stars on our list. To be clear, the prospects below don’t yet have the skills of the established college football talents listed, but they do have the potential to develop based on their similar games and makeup.
1. QB Quinn Ewers
Southlake Carroll High School (Texas)
Class of 2022
The well-built 6-foot-3, 200-pound signal-caller is the best natural passer in the Lone Star State at a young age since Kyler Murray. Ewers completed 72.4% of his passes for over 4,000 yards with 45 touchdowns and only three interceptions as a sophomore. In four playoff games against terrific competition, Ewers completed 71% for 1,424 yards and 17 TDs without an INT.
Player comparison: Jake Fromm, Georgia