Being a five-star recruit ensures you nothing in the game of football. In basketball, yes, most four and five-star recruits translate well to the next level and end up making it to the NBA.
College football recruiting and how those players translate to the NFL is a crapshoot at best.
Take Sundays Super Bowl.
Both starting lineups had an average star rating of 2.4 as high school prospects, with neither the Seahawks or Patriots have a single five-star player on the roster.
288 recruits were given five-star status from 2002-11. The 2002 class had the most five-star recruits, with 38; the 2003 and 2004 classes had the fewest, with 25 each. The average number of five-star recruits in a class was 29.
123 of the 288 five-star recruits were drafted (42.7 percent), and 45 went in the first round (16 percent). Which brings us to one JJ Watt.
Watt, a defensive end, was a labeled only a two-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com at Pewaukee High School in Wisconsin.
Watt quietly committed to Central Michigan to play tight end, but was never given the opportunity to truly compete for a role. Imagine that.
Watt transferred, walked on at Wisconsin, and the rest is history. With all the signing day hoopla going on around the country, Watt sent out this tweet to remind folks that signing day is overrated and guarantees you nothing.
Annual reminder that it's not all about how many stars you have or how many cameras show up at your signing. It's what you do next.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 4, 2015