Daily Blog • April 2nd, 2010

Covering college football as I do takes 52 weeks a year as it is and while I personally do not scout the high school games and rate each player I do compile my rankings based on the many different recruiting services across the country that follow and scout HS football year round. I not only like to use all of the biggest and best services, but I also use regional reports as well. The colleges themselves use many of these services to get the latest information on recruits.

When we receive a recruiting magazine, we translate each player's ranking into a points system from 1-100 and then log each and every player into the computer and give them a point total from each source. Naturally, the more they are mentioned and the higher they are rated by each publication, the more total points they accrue. After months of entering all of this information, I sort the list by position and by total points and then rank the players from most points to least.

In today's blog I have included the top incoming freshman OL and DL for 2010. Each one of these players is ranked in the Top 500 prospects regardless of position and will appear in my preseason magazine. I have also posted the top individual classes for each position. Since we want the college preview to continue to be the most in-depth and accurate magazine out there, if you find any information that is wrong or if you are questioning a player's ranking please contact brandon@philsteele.com. I will be back on Monday with my top LBs and DBs. Have a great weekend!

Top Incoming Freshman OL

Rank
Name
Ht
Wt
Speed
School
1
Seantrel Henderson
6-8
301
5.15
USC
2
Robert Crisp
6-8
290
5.3
NC St
3
James Hurst
6-5
275
5.05
N Carolina
4
Jake Matthews
6-5
270
5.2
Texas A&M
5
Chaz Green
6-6
290
5.2
Florida
6
Morgan Moses
6-7
347
5.2
Virginia
7
Brent Benedict
6-5
285
5.2
Georgia
8
Andrew Norwell
6-6
265
5.3
Ohio St
9
Ja'Wuan James
6-6
285
5.3
Tennessee
10
Trey Hopkins
6-4
260
5
Texas
11
Matt James
6-8
280
5.2
Notre Dame
12
Nick Demien
6-6
290
5
Missouri
13
Andrew Rodriguez
6-6
300
5.5
Nebraska
14
Christian Lombard
6-5
280
5.1
Notre Dame
15
James Stone
6-4
300
5.2
Tennessee
16
Shon Coleman
6-7
282
5.3
Auburn
17
Miles Dieffenbach
6-5
285
5.4
Penn St
18
Damien Robinson
6-8
330
5.3
Miss St
19
Bronson Irwin
6-5
320
5.4
Oklahoma
20
Arie Kouandijio
6-5
315
5.1
Alabama
21
Eric Mack
6-4
310
5.2
Auburn
22
Dominic Espinosa
6-3
280
4.95
Texas
23
Brandon Linder
6-5
275
5.2
Miami, Fl
24
Ian Silberman
6-5
260
5.1
Florida
25
AJ Cann
6-3
265
4.7
S Carolina
26
Erik Kohler
6-5
265
5.1
Washington
27
Chris Ward
6-4
300
5.3
UCLA
28
Jimmy Gjere
6-7
275
5.1
Minnesota
29
Evan Washington
6-6
285
5.1
LSU
30
Alex Crosthwaite
6-5
302
5.2
California
31
Luke Joeckel
6-6
288
5.2
Texas A&M
32
Giovanni Di Poalo
6-4
265
5.1
USC
33
Cedric Ogbuehi
6-5
270
5.3
Texas A&M
34
Andrew Donnal
6-7
285
5.5
Iowa
35
Torrian Wilson
6-4
312
5.35
UCF
36
Quinton Spain
6-5
330
5.4
West Virginia
37
Tyrus Thompson
6-6
280
5
Oklahoma
38
Chad Lindsay
6-3
310
5.4
Alabama
39
Kolton Houston
6-5
275
Georgia
40
TJ Leifheit
6-7
300
5.3
N Carolina
41
Thomas Ricketts
6-6
265
5
Penn St
42
Cam Feldt
6-5
292
5.3
Arkansas
43
Nick Rowland
6-4
295
5.35
Oregon
44
Johnnie Farms
6-2
285
5.1
Memphis
45
Adam Shead
6-4
315
5.3
Oklahoma
46
Luke Graham
6-5
265
5.1
Penn St
47
Austin Woods
6-5
290
5.2
Oklahoma
48
Shep Klinke
6-6
292
5.3
Texas A&M
49
Matt Rotheram
6-6
310
5.6
Pittsburgh
50
Seth Betancourt
6-6
285
5.2
Boston College
51
Tavadis Glenn
6-5
265
5.25
Miami, Fl
52
Colin Porter
6-4
312
5.35
Washington
53
Skyler Schofner
6-7
280
5.0
Michigan St
54
Mark Shuman
6-6
280
4.9
Virginia Tech
55
Zach Fulton
6-4
306
5.2
Tennessee
56
Daryl Williams
6-5
255
5.1
Oklahoma
57
Robbie Havenstein
6-7
345
5.6
Wisconsin
58
Kalon Davis
6-5
335
5.1
Clemson
59
Shane McDermott
6-3
266
5.1
Miami, Fl
60
Trent Spurgeon
6-7
270
5.1
Arizona
61
David Yankey
6-5
275
5.1
Stanford
62
OC Brown
6-3
315
5.2
Southern Miss
63
Dillon Bonnell
6-4
275
5
Stanford
64
Aleon Calhoun
6-7
315
5.2
Texas Tech
65
Christian Pace
6-3
265
5.3
Michigan
66
Kody Innes
6-4
280
4.9
UCLA
67
Parker Mack
6-4
305
5.3
Princeton
68
Mike Moudy
6-6
265
5.3
Nebraska
69
Ed Christian
6-5
260
5.2
Auburn
70
Laken Tomlinson
6-5
285
5.1
Duke
71
Austin Shepherd
6-4
312
5.5
Alabama
72
Geoffrey Gibson
6-4
332
5.4
California
73
Tuni Kanuch
6-2
295
5
BYU

Top OL Classes

1. Texas A&M-The Aggies brought in a great group of OL led by #4 Jake Matthews whose Dad Bruce is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Jake will probably line up at the OT spot in college. Texas A&M also signed #31 Luke Joeckel whose dad played here and #33 Cedric Ogbuehi who was an Army All-American and will play Center.

2. Oklahoma-The Sooners signed five OL that ranked in the top 56 led by #19 Bronson Irwin who was named the Oklahoma District 6A-1 Lineman of the year. #37 Tyrus Thompson can play both OL and DL but has impressed many at OT. #45 Adam Shead was 1st-tm All-Texas as a senior and had 127 pancake blocks as a senior.

3. Penn St-The Nittany Lions bring in four Top 100 OL this year. #17 Miles Dieffenbach will probably play Center while #41 Tom Ricketts will line up at OT. Tom's dad (Tom Sr) is an ex-Steeler and Pitt Panther OL. #46 Luke Graham can play both OL or DL and may end up at OG.

4. Washington-The Huskies have a good group of OL coming in led by #26 Erik Kohler who played prep ball with Husky incoming Frosh QB Nick Montana. The Huskies also signed #51 Colin Porter who may play Center and also two top 100 OL in Micah Hatchie and Ben Riva.

5. Miami, Fl-The Hurricanes signed five OL that ranked my top 125. Their top prospect is #23 Brandon Linder who was an Army All-American and many think is ready to play right now. The Canes also welcome in #51 Tavadis Glenn and #59 Shane McDermott.

Top Incoming Freshman DL

Rank
Name
Ht
Wt
Speed
School
1
Ronald Powell
6-4
250
4.6
Florida
2
Jackson Jeffcoat
6-5
230
4.6
Texas
3
Sharrif Floyd
6-3
310
5.1
Florida
4
Chris Martin
6-4
240
4.65
California
5
Owamagbe Odighizuwa
6-3
230
4.7
UCLA
6
Dominique Easley
6-3
260
4.7
Florida
7
Reggie Wilson
6-3
238
4.7
Texas
8
Corey Lemonier
6-4
225
4.8
Auburn
9
TJ Stripling
6-6
215
4.6
Georgia
10
Taylor Bible
6-3
280
5
Texas
11
George Uko
6-4
285
4.95
USC
12
JR Ferguson
6-4
255
4.9
LSU
13
Corey Miller
6-3
235
4.6
Tennessee
14
Garrison Smith
6-3
250
4.7
Georgia
15
Brandon Willis
6-4
255
4.7
N Carolina
16
Jacques Smith
6-2
235
4.7
Tennessee
17
Jordan Allen
6-6
260
4.9
LSU
18
Kelcy Quarles
6-5
270
4.6
S Carolina
19
Louis Nix
6-2
300
5.1
Notre Dame
20
Ashton Dorsey
6-3
275
4.95
Texas
21
Ricky Heimuli
6-4
285
4.9
Oregon
22
TJ Clemmings
6-6
266
4.8
Pittsburgh
23
Sione Potoa'e
6-3
270
4.9
Washington
24
Calvin Barnett
6-3
325
5.5
Arkansas
25
Zack McCray
6-5
235
4.7
Virginia Tech
26
Gabe King
6-5
260
4.7
California
27
Evan Hailes
6-1
303
5
Penn St
28
Cassius Marsh
6-4
290
4.9
UCLA
29
Fre'shad Hunter
6-4
260
4.9
Unsigned
30
Kyle Baublitz
6-4
255
4.8
Penn St
31
Jeffrey Whitaker
6-3
285
5
Auburn
32
Bronson Kaufusi
6-8
240
4.75
BYU
33
Jamel Turner
6-2
215
4.6
Ohio St
34
CJ Olaniyan
6-5
230
4.75
Penn St
35
Leon Orr
6-4
305
5.3
Florida
36
Kony Ealy
6-5
232
4.65
Missouri
37
Carlos Thompson
6-5
220
4.6
Mississippi
38
Jalen Fields
6-5
250
4.8
Georgia
39
Darious Cummings
6-2
255
4.9
Florida St
40
Chase Rome
6-3
280
4.75
Nebraska
41
Lynden Trail
6-6
210
4.75
Florida
42
Craig Sanders
6-4
235
4.6
Auburn
43
Denzel McCoy
6-4
275
5.05
Georgia Tech
44
Todd Chandler
6-1
295
5.3
USF
45
Delvin Jones
6-6
230
4.7
Mississippi
46
Darryl Baldwin
6-6
265
4.7
Ohio St
47
JT Moore
6-3
230
4.6
Ohio St
48
Kaleb Eulls
6-4
250
4.7
Miss St
49
Nick Acree
6-5
292
4.9
Virginia Tech
50
Daniel Noble
6-4
275
4.9
Oklahoma
51
Daquan Jones
6-4
300
5.4
Penn St
52
Jackson Richards
6-4
240
4.8
Texas Tech
53
Michael Thornton
6-1
275
5.05
Georgia
54
Bryan Murphy
6-2
230
4.8
Pittsburgh
55
Greg Daniels
6-4
240
4.7
Texas
56
Kona Schwenke
6-2
215
4.7
Notre Dame
57
Carlton Martin
6-1
261
5.05
Mississippi
58
Raynard Randolph
6-2
325
5.05
NC St
59
JC Copeland
6-2
245
4.7
LSU
60
Chance Carter
6-4
250
4.7
Northwestern
61
Dexter Morant
6-7
240
4.9
Georgia
62
Aaron Donald
6-1
262
4.9
Pittsburgh
63
Beau Allen
6-3
292
5.1
Wisconsin
64
Bryan Jones
6-3
295
5.15
Arkansas
65
Julious Moore
6-1
260
4.8
Unsigned
66
Mike Hardy
6-5
262
4.9
Iowa
67
Lucas Vincent
6-3
270
5.1
Missouri
68
Calvin Smith
6-4
275
New Mexico
69
Jibreel Black
6-2
255
4.8
Michigan
70
Bruce Gaston
6-3
300
5.23
Purdue
71
Torrea Peterson
6-4
300
5.1
Oklahoma
72
Kareem Martin
6-6
229
4.7
N Carolina
73
Anthony Williams
6-4
230
4.9
Georgia Tech
74
Neiron Ball
6-4
210
4.55
Florida
75
Kenneth Carter
6-5
270
5.0
Auburn
76
Eddie Plantaric
6-5
245
4.85
Stanford
77
De'Antre Rhodes
6-3
280
Virginia Tech
78
David Perry
6-5
225
4.8
Miami, Fl
79
Bryon Bennett
6-3
255
4.9
Mississippi
80
Kirifi Leuta-Taula
6-4
275
5.1
Arizona
81
Jay Guy
6-2
300
5.0
Nebraska
82
Graham Rowley
6-4
265
5.0
BYU
83
James Kittredge
6-4
255
5.15
Vanderbilt
84
Dominique Jones
6-2
270
5.0
Baylor
85
Ken Wilkins
6-3
235
4.7
Michigan
86
Anthony Orr
6-4
270
Alabama
87
De'Aires Cotton
6-4
275
5.0
Texas
88
Alani Fua
6-4
200
4.6
BYU

Top DL Classes

1. Florida-The Gators signed six DL in the top 75 including three top 10 players led by #1 DE Ronald Powell who was the consensus #1 defensive player in the country. The Gators also welcome in two great DTs in #3 Sharrif Floyd and #6 Dominique Easley.

2. Texas-The Longhorns also signed an elite class of DL with three of the top 10 led by #2 DE Jackson Jeffcoat who was an Army All-American and named AP 1st-tm all-Texas. The Longhorns also picked up #7 Reggie Wilson who will play DE and #10 Taylor Bible a 300 lb DT.

3. Georgia-The Bulldogs signed six players that ranked in my top 100 including #9 TJ Stripling who played DE in high school but is expected to play OLB in the Bulldogs new 3-4 defense. Georgia also brought in #14 Garrison Smith who is now up to 285 lbs and will play DE.

4. Penn St-The Nittany Lions bring in four players who rank in my top 51. #27 Evan Hailes is a DT who enrolled in January and is participating in Spring Drills. #30 Kyle Baublitz also enrolled early and is expected to line up at DE. #34 CJ Olaniyan played both DE and TE in high school but will start out at DE in college.

5. Ohio St-The Buckeyes like Penn St bring in four highly touted players and are led by #33 Jamel Turner who has 4.6 speed and went to Fork Union prep school last year. Ohio St also welcomes in #46 Darryl Baldwin and #47 JT Moore who both expect to line up at DE this year.