A look at the Buccaneers' rookies.
Photo: Mississippi State Athletics
Photo: Tusculum Athletics
Photo: Brown Athletics
More often than not, the best high school player in the country doesn't end up being the best college player in the country. And even less likely is it that the best high school player in the country becomes the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Jameis Winston is an exception, kind of.
Winston, a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, was rated as the No. 1 quarterback in the nation as a senior in high school. He went on to win the Heisman Trophy and was selected by the Bucs at No. 1 in this year's draft, but Winston wasn't the top-rated player in the nation that year, he was just the top-rated quarterback.
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When considering all positions, Winston ranked 10th. Ranked ahead of him were a couple of other high draft picks, including Dorial Green-Beckham, the nation's top player in 2012, offensive tackle D.J. Humphries (No. 2), defensive end Mario Edwards (No. 3) and linebacker Shaq Thompson (No. 4).
The Bucs' second-highest rated player was Donovan Smith. Smith was a four-star recruit and the No. 10 offensive tackle in the nation. Although Rivals was spot on with the Bucs' first two picks, they missed on the team's third – Ali Marpet. Marpet wasn't even on Rivals' radar; he had zero stars and wasn't ranked at his position or in the country.
Marpet is one of five players that Rivals had vastly underrated; defensive ends Ryan Delaire and Jamal Young, along with defensive tackle Caushaud Lyons and long-snapper Courtland Clavette, all had zero stars.* *
Below is a look at where the Bucs' rookies were ranked in high school by Rivals.com. Offers and rankings are listed as they appeared on the site.
QB Jameis Winston (Five-star)
Position rank: 1, National rank: 10
Offers: Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Stanford, UAB, UCLA, Vanderbilt
OL Donovan Smith (Four-star) ... GET TO KNOW SMITH
Position rank: 10, National rank: 104
Offers: Penn State, Cincinnati, Clemson, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia
WR Josh Reese (Four-star) ... GET TO KNOW REESE
Position rank: 22, National rank: 146
Offers: UCF, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia
RB Dominique Brown (Four-star) ... GET TO KNOW BROWN
Position rank: 20; National rank: 193
Offers: Louisville, Cincinatti, Purdue
LB Kwon Alexander (Four-star) ... GET TO KNOW ALEXANDER
Position rank: 10, National rank: N/A
Offers: LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UAB, UCLA
LB Quinton Alston (Three-star) ... GET TO KNOW ALSTON
Position rank: 22, National rank: N/A
Offers: Iowa, Baylor, Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, South Florida, Stanford, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, West Virginia
S Chris Hackett (Three-star) ... GET TO KNOW HACKETT
Position rank: 38, National rank: N/A
Offers: TCU, Utah
CB Deshazor Everett (Three-star) ... GET TO KNOW EVERETT
Position rank: 52, National rank: N/A
Offers: Texas A&M, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisana Tech, Memphis, Mississippi, Missouri, SMUWR Kaelin Clay (Three-star) ... GET TO KNOW CLAY* *
Position rank: 54, National rank: N/A
Offers: California, Northern Arizona, Portland State, Utah State
WR Kenny Bell (Three-star) ... GET TO KNOW BELL
Position rank: 67, National rank: N/A
Offers: Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho, Minnesota, Texas Tech LB Michael Reynolds (Three-star) ... GET TO KNOW REYNOLDS
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: Kansas, Bowling Green, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Wyoming
RB Joey Iosefa (Two-star) ... GET TO KNOW IOSEFA
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: Hawaii
WR Rannell Hall (Two-star) ... GET TO KNOW HALL
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: UFC, Western Michigan
LB Josh Keyes (Two-star) ... GET TO KNOW KEYES
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: Boston College
DT Quayshawne Buckley (Two-star) ... GET TO KNOW BUCKLEY
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: Washington State
DE Ryan Delaire (No stars) ... GET TO KNOW DELAIRE
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: N/A
DT Caushaud Lyons (No stars) ... GET TO KNOW LYONS
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: N/A
DE Jamal Young (No stars) ... GET TO KNOW YOUNG
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: None
LS Courtland Clavette (No stars) ... GET TO KNOW CLAVETTE
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/a
Offers: None
OL Ali Marpet (No stars) ... GET TO KNOW MARPET
Position rank: N/A, National rank: N/A
Offers: None
