8 Overlooked High School Football Prospects Who Ended Up Being Superstars In College And Beyond

High school player rankings will never be perfect; predicting the success of an 18-year-old kid is hard. But sometimes they completely miss on a prospect who ends up being one of the best in the class and goes on to be a force to be reckoned with in college and the NFL.

These are some of the biggest college football recruiting misses

There are a lot of reasons guys slip through the cracks of the high school football recruiting landscape. Sometimes they are late bloomers, and their bodies develop later than others.

Sometimes they come from an area that isn’t highly recruited or respected. Other times schools are just flat-out wrong about someone’s potential, and it ends up coming back to haunt them.

But whatever the reason, these guys got an extra chip on their shoulder because colleges didn’t offer them, and it might’ve been the best thing for them.

Not every one of these guys lit up the college football world either, but they all went on to dominate the NFL after struggling to find a college roster spot.

J.J Watt

JJ Watt was a two-star recruit coming out of high school, and he was also listed as a tight end. Still, that was enough to earn him a spot at Central Michigan, where he caught eight passes for 77 yards as a freshman.

His coaches then pressured him to move to O-line, leaving JJ with a choice: move to the line or bet on himself and transfer colleges. JJ chose the latter, and despite not having an offer, he transferred to Wisconsin intending to walk on.

Watt instead transitioned to defensive end and went on to win Scout Team Player Of The Year at his walk-on tryout. He then went on to be a 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and will likely be a Hall of Famer when all is said and done. Not bad for a two-star recruit.

 Josh Allen

Khalil Mack had hoop dreams for the majority of his high school career, but a severe knee injury derailed them. Luckily, his high school football coach convinced him he could still play football effectively, and Mack joined the team his senior year.

On the Pardon My Take podcast, Mack explained that after his first-ever padded practice, his coach told him he thought he could get him a scholarship. And the coach was right; despite one year of experience, Mack earned an offer and committed to the University of Buffalo.

Since then, Mack became a top-five pick in the NFL Draft, won a defensive player of the year award, and recorded over 100 sacks in his career.

Antonio Gates

This one comes with a slight asterisk, as Antonio Gates is another guy who was a basketball star before realizing his football potential to the point where he never played a snap in college.

Gates initially committed to Michigan State, intending to play football for Nick Saban and basketball for Tom Izzo. But after seeing him play, Saban told Gates to drop his basketball dreams and commit to football full time.

Not yet willing to give up basketball, Gates landed at Kent State, where he shined as a power forward, averaging over 20 PPG as a senior. But he was not getting the attention he wanted from the NBA, so he decided to give football one more shot.

He set up private workouts with NFL scouts and eventually signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent. After that, he went on to catch more touchdowns than any other tight end in history and entered the NFL Hall of Fame in 2025. Maybe Saban was right…

Lamar Jackson

Another player who almost ended up in a completely different role was Lamar Jackson. Lamar was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, and his natural athleticism and shiftyness drew some national attention.

But all the big-name colleges wanted to convert Jackson to receiver or even defensive back. But when Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino promised Jackson’s mother her son would play quarterback, their decision was clear.

Lamar went on to make a lot of other teams look silly for not offering him a quarterback spot, and he won the Heisman in his second year as a starter.

He faced similar criticism entering the NFL, as teams still wanted to see him as a skill position player, but Jackson insisted he was a quarterback and once again proved himself right by winning an MVP in his second season.

Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield graduated high school with zero major conference offers. He was a die-hard Oklahoma Sooners fan and dreamed of playing for them but couldn’t get an offer.

He decided to walk on at Texas Tech and became the first true freshman walk-on to ever start the season opener at the FBS level.

After the season, Mayfield was disrespected again. The coaches flirted with bringing in other QBs, and Mayfield decided to leave and walk on again, this time at his childhood favorite team.

In three seasons at OU, Mayfield finished in the top five of Heisman voting every time. He won the Big 12 every year and became the number one overall draft pick.

Patrick Mahomes

Everyone knows Tom Brady was an underdog his whole career, but the second-best QB of all time didn’t have it easy either. Patrick Mahomes was a three-star QB, but his dad’s MLB success led many schools to believe he’d end up a baseball player.

Texas recruited Mahomes, but they offered him as a safety, not a QB. Like Lamar Jackson, Mahomes knew he wanted to be a quarterback and took one of the few major-conference offers to play QB: Texas Tech.

Mahomes didn’t have Mayfield-level success in college, but the two played a heck of a game against each other. In the NFL, Mahomes has shined, winning three Super Bowls and two MVPs, and his worst finish as a starter is a conference championship game loss.

Tyreek Hill

Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target for much of his career almost didn’t make it to the league. Coming out of high school, Tyreek Hill was viewed more as a track athlete than a football player.

Tyreek Hill was a zero-star recruit and, with limited offers, he took the JUCO route. At Garden City Community College, his electrifying speed made him impossible to ignore.

Finally, he had gotten some Power Five offers, but with family ties to Oklahoma State, he decided to commit. He did a bit of everything as a Cowboy, rushing, receiving, and returning, but it was only good enough for a fifth-round draft pick to Kansas City.

But once again, Hill proved that we overlooked him, as he went on to win a Super Bowl, earn eight Pro Bowl selections, and lead the league in receiving yards in 2023.