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The football season is around the corner and as always, NFL.com releases its top 100 list for the upcoming season. Years ago, all these players were ranked and went through the recruiting process. We take a look back on how those things played out.
MORE: Recruiting Rumor Mill | Do Nebraska and Tennessee have a legit shot at five-star David Sanders?
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No. 100 Zaire Franklin
Rated as a high three-star inside linebacker in the 2014 class, the Philadelphia (Pa.) LaSalle standout picked Syracuse over Arizona, UConn, UMass, Temple and others. He was heavily recruited by current Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea to play at Syracuse.
Franklin has had 440 tackles through last season all with the Indianapolis Colts.
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No. 99 Lavonte David
David was a four-star JUCO recruit in the 2010 class and ranked seventh overall after playing his high school football at powerful Miami Northwestern. After dealing with academic issues at Fort Scott C.C., David had a phenomenal two-year career at Nebraska.
David was a second-round pick and has totaled 1,480 career tackles.
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No. 98 Cameron Heyward
A four-star defensive tackle in the 2007 class and a Rivals250 member, Heyward committed to Ohio State over Florida and Georgia. Over four years in Columbus, the former Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge standout totaled 163 tackles and 15.5 sacks and then was a late first-round draft pick in 2011.
He’s totaled 647 tackles in his entire career spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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No. 97 Terry McLaurin
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Shortly after getting his Ohio State offer at summer camp, the speedy McLaurin picked the Buckeyes over Missouri and Purdue. The Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral four-star had a decent college career with 65 catches for 1,251 yards and 19 touchdowns and was a third-round pick.
His entire career has been with the Washington Commanders where he’s had 378 catches for 5,283 yards and 25 TDs.
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No. 96 Dion Dawkins
Dawkins spent the 2012 season at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy and ended up as a two-star prospect coming out of prep school. He chose Temple over Cincinnati, Liberty and others.
Dawkins was a second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills where he’s spent his whole career and he’s a three-time Pro Bowler.
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No. 95 Julian Love
In March of his junior year shortly after Notre Dame offered, the four-star cornerback from LaGrange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy committed to the Irish over Northwestern, Boston College and others. Love totaled 176 tackles and five interceptions in 38 games over three seasons with the Irish.
Love just signed a major three-year extension with the Seattle Seahawks.
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No. 94 Trevor Lawrence
In December of his junior year, Lawrence committed to Clemson over Georgia although there were always rumors that the five-star quarterback either silently committed to the Bulldogs or was very close at some point.
The five-star was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft and continues to be the Jacksonville Jaguars starter.
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No. 93 Harrison Smith
Rated as a four-star athlete in the 2007 class because he was also a star running back at Knoxville (Tenn.) Knoxville Catholic, Smith chose Notre Dame over Tennessee although it was the hometown school. The four-star was a tackling machine in college with 309 stops in his time in South Bend.
He was the No. 29 pick in the 2012 draft and has had 1,039 tackles during his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
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No. 92 Aaron Rodgers
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One of the greatest NFL players of all time, Rodgers’ high school days at Chico (Calif.) Pleasant Valley was before Rivals rankings started. He went to Butte College before transferring to Cal and becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
He’s been the league MVP four times and has thrown 475 career TDs.
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No. 91 Tariq Woolen
A low three-star receiver out of Fort Worth (Texas) Arlington Heights, Woolen chose UTSA over Houston, North Texas and others and then switched to cornerback in his sophomore year.
Woolen was a fifth-round pick in 2022 and has eight interceptions in his first two seasons.
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No. 90 DeVonta Smith
On National Signing Day, the high four-star receiver from Amite, La., picked Alabama over LSU, Miami, Florida State and others. A four-star because he was so lean in high school, Smith finished his college career with 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2020 and was the first receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991.
He was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
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No. 89 Budda Baker
Baker picked Washington over UCLA on signing day and then totaled nearly 200 tackles and five interceptions in three seasons with the Huskies. He was an early second-round pick in the NFL Draft.
The high four-star has totaled 737 tackles in his…
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