Shorties, lightweights and longshots on National Signing Day

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.

Check out the MaxPreps National Signing Day Home for the latest news and video on top recruits

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.

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.