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The football season is around the corner and during the summer 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.
THIS SERIES: Nos. 81-100
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MORE: Recruiting Rumor Mill | Do Nebraska and Tennessee have a legit shot at five-star David Sanders?
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No. 80 Sam LaPorta
Iowa offered after a huge senior season where LaPorta caught 68 passes for 1,457 yards and 19 touchdowns at Highland, Ill., and about a week later he was committed to the Hawkeyes. A bunch of MAC programs were the only other ones involved.
In his final two seasons in Iowa City, LaPorta caught 111 passes for 1,327 yards and then was an early second-round draft pick in 2023 by the Detroit Lions.
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No. 79 Minkah Fitzpatrick
There was a long list of programs involved with Fitzpatrick, including Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State and many others, but during his trip to Alabama’s spring game, the five-star safety committed to the Crimson Tide.
Fitzpatrick totaled 171 tackles, nine interceptions and five sacks in Tuscaloosa before going No. 11 overall in the 2018 draft to the Miami Dolphins. Now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fitzpatrick has 512 career tackles and 19 INTs.
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No. 78 Kyren Williams
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Notre Dame beat out Michigan, Missouri and others for Williams, who was a high three-star athlete but there were size concerns coming out of St. Louis (Mo.) St. John Vianney.
In his final two seasons at Notre Dame, Williams totaled 2,127 yards with 27 touchdowns before becoming a fifth-round NFL Draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams.
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No. 77 Trey Hendrickson
Ranked as a two-star tight end coming out of Apopka, Fla., at 222 pounds, Hendrickson picked Florida Atlantic over Western Kentucky and Florida A&M. After a strong career at FAU and developing into a 270-pound defensive end, Hendrickson was a third-round pick in 2017.
He’s totaled 174 tackles and 59.5 sacks during his time with the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals.
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No. 76 Dre Greenlaw
After decommitting from Arkansas State where his father coached the defensive line, Greenlaw committed to Arkansas and then-coach Bret Bielema. The Conway, Ark., standout was rated as a high three-star safety but he also played some linebacker.
After finishing with 321 tackles for the Razorbacks, Greenlaw was a fifth-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2019 draft. He has 446 career tackles.
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No. 75 Justin Herbert
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After not playing his junior season because of injury, Herbert had offers from Montana State, Northern Arizona and Portland State before Oregon got involved late. It was a dream for the Eugene (Ore.) Sheldon three-star quarterback to play for the Ducks and he made the most of it by throwing for 10,541 yards with 95 touchdowns and rushing for 13 more.
Herbert was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft and the third QB taken after Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa.
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No. 74 Jessie Bates
A former Toledo commit, in early February right before signing day the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider two-star safety flipped to Wake Forest. After a great career with the Demon Deacons, Bates was a second-round draft pick in the 2018 draft.
So far mainly with the Cincinnati Bengals and last season with the Atlanta Falcons, Bates has 611 tackles and 20 interceptions.
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No. 73 Jeffery Simmons
A five-star prospect who was the top-ranked strong-side defensive end in the 2016 class, Simmons chose Mississippi State over Ole Miss and Alabama. Simmons played very well in Starkville with 163 tackles but only seven sacks in three seasons.
The No. 19 pick in the 2019 draft, Simmons has played his whole career with the Tennessee Titans where he has 26.5 sacks.
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No. 72 Garrett Wilson
Wilson is one that will haunt us because we pretty much had his ranking perfect at No. 32 nationally but that recruiting cycle we named only 30 five-star prospects. Wilson chose Ohio State over Texas as he played high school football in Austin but grew up outside Columbus.
He was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2022 draft and he’s had more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first two NFL seasons with the New York Jets.
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No. 71 Laremy Tunsil
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The top-ranked offensive tackle and No. 14 overall prospect in the 2013 recruiting class, Alabama and Georgia led his recruitment for months but a final visit to Ole Miss sold the Lake City (Fla.) Columbia five-star on the Rebels and then-coach Hugh Freeze. He starred at Ole Miss until accusations of improper benefits sidelined him for seven games in his junior season.
Tunsil was still projected as a…
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