When evaluating incoming collegiate recruits, we're always hearing about how many "stars" a given player has earned. A five-star recruit is in the most elite class; the bluest of the blue chip recruits. Four star recruits are hyped up and exciting while three-star guys are solid, if not spectacular. Not much is expected of two-star guys while one-star recruits are more or less afterthoughts.
Zero star recruits are hard to find, but they do exist, and you can already assume what most scouts think of the guys in this class.
However, it could all be starting to change, as a true zero-star recruit in the 2020 class, Cam Ward, went on to become the #1 overall pick in NFL Draft last year. Ward signed with Incarnate Word, an FCS school in San Antonio, over Texas Southern, which was the only other school to offer him.
At Columbia High School in West Columbia, TX, Ward ran a Wing-T offense, which isn't pass friendly. Ward's senior year, he completed 45% of his passes for only 948 yards and just eight touchdowns. Ward was just simply not on anyone's radar coming out of high school.
But he made a name for himself at UIW, and that name was strong enough to get a transfer to Washington State, where he became a star, and then later, the University of Miami.
The Tennessee Titans made him the first overall pick in the most recent NFL Draft, completing a story that proves "it's not where you start, it's where you finish."
The leading contender to be the first overall pick in the next NFL Draft, Heisman-winner Fernando Mendoza, was only the 140th-ranked quarterback and just No. 2,149 overall prospect in the 2022 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
Mendoza had no FBS offers, so he initially committed to Yale in August of 2021. Mendoza chose Yale over FIU, Bryant, Lehigh and Pennsylvania. In December, he finally got noticed by the University of California, and that was where be began his collegiate career. He put some decent numbers at Cal, but he was still somewhat obscure when he arrived at Indiana University.
He's the polar opposite of that now, as the Indiana Hoosiers QB has achieved the Heisman trophy, national championship winning combo. He is a strong favorite to become the top overall pick in April, and thus accomplish a trifecta which is as elite as it gets. So once again, where you were ranked upon entering college has no bearing on how you stack up once your college days are over.
It's a brave new world, and it's happening in the other revenue-generating sport, men's basketball, as well. And in some cases, you can vault up from the bottom to the top very rapidly. Take the case of Illinois Fighting Illini freshman combo guard Keaton Wagler.
Minnesota was the only high-major school, other than Illinois, to offer him a scholarship. As pointed out on Ratings.org, Wagler was just the 261st ranked recruit in his class. Now at midseason of his freshman year, Wagler is among the leading contenders for major national player of the year awards.
Come NBA Draft time, he's widely projected to go in the early lottery. Several NBA mock drafts have the Shawnee, KS native going somewhere in the top 8 overall.
Stories like these are inspirational; especially for our youth. The stories of Ward, Mendoza and Wagler convey an uplifting message of defying the odds, self-determination and overcoming the stigma of low expectations.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Mendoza and Ward convey it's not how you start, but how you finish