Either because of their stature or region, these guys have overcome long odds to earn football scholarships to one of the 128 Division I FBS schools.
College football recruiting is a numbers game. How many 5-, 4- and 3-star standouts can you nab? Quarterbacks must stand at least 6-foot-3 inches. Cornerbacks must run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds or faster. A lineman's arm-length should be no shorter than 34 inches.
The most obvious measurement is height and weight.
The shorter and lighter one is, the greater the odds they will get a shot in college football.
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With that in mind, of the country's top
300 recruits according to 247Sports, we present the lightest and littlest.
Obviously, what these boys lack in size, they make up for in speed, quickness and a whole lot of intangibles.
The shrimp squad
There isn't a top 24 recruit below 6-foot tall. The first to stand below the 72-inch standard is
Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.) wide receiver
Christian Kirk (5-foot-10, 191 pounds), the country's No. 25 recruit who is going to Texas A&M.
Jamycal Hasty, Longview
Photo by Lisa Owens
It takes another 20 recruits until you find another sub-6-footer and he is 5-10½, 213-pound bulldozer
Derrius Guice, a running back from
Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.), who is headed to LSU.
In all, there are only 42 among the top 300 who are below 6-foot, and only nine of those are listed below 5-10.
The winners of the shortest Top 300 recruits are all 5-8 and all from Texas. Isn't everything bigger in Texas? Evidently these guys are just big on heart and making big plays.
* Running back
Jordan Stevenson, a 185-pounder from
South Oak Cliff (Dallas, Texas) going to Wisconsin.
* Wide receiver
Ryan Newsome, a 170-pounder from
Aledo (Texas) who is headed to UCLA.
* Running back
Jamycal Hasty, a 185-pound all-purpose back from
Longview (Texas) who is headed to Baylor
The lightweights
Kids grow at different times, and although college can't promise to add inches in height, it can all but guarantees an addition to brawn and weight.
Of the top 300, only 20 weighed less than 180 pounds and of those eight were less than 170.
The three lightweights?
*
Miramar (Fla.) receiver
Jovon Durante (6-0, 162) is the third-lightest among the group — he's committed to West Virginia.
* The second least weighted player among the Top 300 is USC-bound cornerback
Isaiah Langley, a 5-11, 161-pounder from
Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.). He ranks as the 97th top recruit.
*
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) wide receiver
Kanya Bell was the lightest among the top 300 recruits at 160 pounds. The 6-foot Bell is headed to San Jose State.
The longshots
Three states — New Hampshire, North Dakota and Rhode Island — each landed a single player to Division I FBS programs. These gentlemen are:
*
Philippe Okounam, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound fullback and tackle — how's that for a combination — landed a full ride to the University of Connecticut. The
St. Paul's (Concord, N.H.) senior is a 3-star recruit.
*
Fargo South (Fargo, N.D.) running back
James Johannesson (6-1, 215) earned a scholarship to Minnesota. Johannesson rushed for 2,671 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, 2,072 yards and 32 TDs as a senior and has been compared to former Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead.
*
Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, R.I.) senior
Lee Moses is a 6-1, 190-pound free safety who has committed to University of Massachusetts. He did a little bit of everything for Warwick in his career with 425 yards rushing (9.2 yards per carry) and five TDs, 53 catches for 1,041 yards and 10 scores and 107 tackles and nine interceptions.
He's the lone dove from Rhode Island, as is Okounam from New Hampshire and Johannesson from North Dakota.
