The quarterbacks get a majority of the attention, but it's who they are connecting with that is drawing much of the attention in the current NFL playoffs. We rank the prep careers of the eight top receiving threats heading in Sunday's conference title games.
The criteria here is split 50-50 on their high school production and recruiting ranking.
Before there was Arch Manning and
after Peyton and Eli Manning, Beckham was the brightest light at Newman
(New Orleans) where he hauled in 95 passes for 1,753 yards and 29
touchdowns in two seasons. He was a four-star and top 100 national
prospect as a senior at for the Greenies, where he also starred on the basketball
court and track and field. His passion growing up was soccer where he
wanted to be like another Beckham — David — who is of no relation.
A 5-star recruit, Chase had 115 catches for 2,152 yards and 30 touchdowns in his prep career, leading the Raiders to 24 wins over three seasons. He committed to LSU where he won a national championship and was the Fred Biletnikoff Award winner in 2019.
Ja'Marr Chase, Archbishop Rummel
File photo by Parker Waters
High school: North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) |
Class: 2011 |
247Sports rank: 180Few could have seen Uzomah being the Bengals' top
tight end receiving threat at North Gwinnett, where he
played quarterback. As a junior he accounted for more than 2,500 yards
and 25 touchdowns as a dual threat. He was listed as an athlete on his recruiting page.
Like with the 49ers, Chapman coach Mark
Hodge found ways to get the three-star recruit the ball. During his
career, Tyshun (his birth name) had 166 catches for 2,751 yards and 36
touchdowns, while rushing 133 times for nearly 900 yards and 13 more
scores. He was a heck of a defensive player also with 12 interceptions
and 94 tackles in his career. He ranked the No. 112 receiver before heading to the South
Carolina Gamecocks.
One of the most dynamic track athletes ever to come out of Georgia — or any state — Hill was a blur both on the track and football field. He won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the 2012 Georgia 5A state meet and had remarkable best times of 10.19 and 20.14 seconds, threatening national records. Due
to grades, he was not a great high school football prospect, though his highlight tape is legendary (see above). It was at Garden Junior College in Kansas where he emerged as a top football prospect, ranking
No. 3 nationally by 247Sports in the Class of 2014.
Like many tight ends, Kelce morphed into the position, from his three-sport playing days at Cleveland Heights, including a three-year career at quarterback. As a senior, he accounted for 2,539 yards and 31 touchdowns, before taking to both the basketball court and baseball diamond. He was given a two-star recruiting rank.
Considering
Kupp got no FBS offers, it's understandable he was also given no stars
as a recruit despite piling up 110 career catches for 2,100 yards at
Davis. Kupp was a two-sport star, earning first-team 4A All-State honors
as a defensive back and honorable mention as a wide receiver. He had 60
catches for 1,059 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior in 2012 and
finished with a school-record 22 TDs overall. A three-year basketball
starter, he led his team to a 23-2 record and 4A state title as a
senior.
Another transformational player who found his niche at tight end, Kittle was actually rated a three-star wide receiver and strong safety prospect. He was the 199th-rated wide receiver at Norman where he had close to 50 catches for 630 yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons. As a junior he had five interceptions. He accepted his one college offer to Iowa.
