High school football recruiting: Looking back at every No. 1 prospect since 1986

Being named the nation's No. 1 high school football recruit can often be a burden rather than a blessing. In the 35 years since SuperPrep, under the leadership of Allen Wallace, tabbed Jeff George of Warren Central (Indianapolis) as the top prospect, the moniker has been hard to live up to.

Of the 35 No. 1 recruits since 1986, only Chris Weinke has gone on to win a Heisman Trophy — the award that signifies the best player in college football. Only three have been selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft (George, Tim Couch, Jadaveon Clowney). Three have made the NFL Hall of Fame candidates list in Shaun Alexander, Hines Ward and Ricky Watters. Anquan Bolden and Adrian Peterson will be added when they become eligible.

Here's a look at how each of the No. 1 recruits has fared since George was selected in 1986. SuperPrep's No. 1 recruits are used from 1986 to 1999 with 247Sports' No. 1 recruits used from 2000 to 2021. No. 1 recruits since 19861986 — Jeff George, QB,  Warren Central (Indianapolis)
Signed with: Purdue, transferred to Illinois
Worth the hype? In two years at Illinois, he passed for 6,212 yards. He left one year early and was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.

1987 — Ricky Watters, QB/RB/WR, Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Signed with: Notre Dame
Worth the hype? Watters was a key player as a receiver and running back on the 1988 team that won the national championship and the 1989 team that finished No. 2. Spent 10 years in the NFL and gained 10,643 yards.

1988 — Xavier Crawford, RB, Trezevant (Memphis, Tenn.)
Signed with: Memphis
Worth the hype? Not really. After playing as a freshman, Crawford was involved in recruiting violations as a sophomore and injured his knee as a junior. Undrafted out of college, Crawford eventually ended up in prison for rape and robbery.

1989 — Terry Kirby, RB, Tabb (Yorktown, Va.)
Signed with: Virginia
Worth the hype? Became the all-time leading rusher at Virginia with 3,348 yards. Mostly a backup in the NFL.

1990 — Chris Weinke, QB, Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.)
Signed with: Florida State
Worth the hype? Not right away. Spent seven years pursuing a pro baseball career before returning to Florida State in 1997. Led the Seminoles to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1999 while winning the Heisman Trophy.

1991 — Marquette Smith, RB, Lake Howell (Winter Park, Fla.)
Signed with: Florida State, transferred to Central Florida
Worth the hype? Didn't pan out at Florida State but rushed for 2,569 yards at Central Florida and earned Division 1-AA All-American honors. A knee injury derailed a possible NFL career.

1992 — Amani Toomer, WR, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Signed with: Michigan
Worth the hype? Finished his career as the No. 2 all-time leading receiver for the Wolverines with 2,144 yards. Played 13 seasons in the NFL.

1993 — Ron Powlus, QB, Berwick (Pa.)
Signed with: Notre Dame
Worth the hype? One of the most hyped high school quarterbacks ever, Powlus had a respectable college career, but never quite lived up to the hype. Threw for 7,602 yards in four seasons, but never won more than nine games. Undrafted by the NFL and never threw a professional pass.

1994 — Hines Ward, QB/WR, Forest Park (Ga.)
Signed with: Georgia
Worth the hype? A quarterback in high school, Ward played receiver and running back at Georgia and finished with 3,870 all-purpose yards — second most behind Herschel Walker. Played 14 seasons in the NFL. Currently an NFL Hall of Fame 2021 candidate.

1995 — Shaun Alexander, RB, Boone County (Florence, Ky.)
Signed with: Alabama
Worth the hype? Alexander played four seasons with the Crimson Tide and held 15 school records while rushing for 3,433 career yards. Rushed for 9,453 yards in the NFL.

1996 — Tim Couch, QB, Leslie County (Hyden, Ky.)
Signed with: Kentucky
Worth the hype? Earned All-American honors and set several NCAA records in his final two seasons, but he only won 12 games in two seasons as a starter. Couch was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft but only played five seasons.

1997 — Randy Fasani, QB, Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.)
Signed with: Stanford
Worth the hype? Started his final two seasons at Stanford, throwing for 2,900 yards. Picked in the fifth round of the NFL draft, Fasani only played a handful of games with the Carolina Panthers.

1998 — David Givens, QB/RB/WR, Humble (Texas)
Signed with: Notre Dame
Worth the hype? While other recruiting services had Ronald Curry No. 1, SuperPrep went with the multi-dimensional Givens. A receiver at Notre Dame, Givens had 72 career catches for 814 yards with the Irish. Won two Super Bowls in the NFL with the Patriots.

1999 — Anquan Boldin, QB/WR, Pahokee (Fla.)
Signed with: Florida State
Worth the hype? A high school quarterback, Boldin switched to wide receiver and caught 118 passes for 1,790 yards while winning a BCS championship with the Seminoles. One of the few legitimate Hall of Fame candidates on this list with 13,779 career receiving yards in the NFL.

2000 — D.J. Williams, RB/LB, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Signed with: Miami
Worth the hype? Emerged as one of the nation's top linebackers his senior year at Miami. Played on the Hurricanes' 2001 BCS championship team. Had an 11-year NFL career.

2001 — Kevin Jones, RB, Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.)
Signed with: Virginia Tech
Worth the hype? Started as a freshman and ended his three-year career No. 2 on the school's all-time rushing yardage list with 3,475. Played six years in the NFL.

2002 — Vince Young, QB, Madison (Houston)
Signed with: Texas
Worth the hype? Definitely worth the hype. Young set multiple Texas and NCAA records in his two seasons as a starter, leading the Longhorns to a national championship with a win over favored USC. Played six seasons in the NFL and made two Pro Bowls.

2003 — Ernie Sims, LB, North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Signed with: Florida State
Worth the hype? Sims earned All-American honors as a sophomore, but he was unable to match that type of play as a junior. He played eight seasons in the NFL.

2004 — Adrian Peterson, RB, Palestine (Texas)
Signed with: Oklahoma
Worth the hype? Peterson put together one of the great college freshman performances of all time, rushing for 1,925 yards and finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting. Finished career with 4,041 yards with the Sooners. Like Boldin, Peterson is a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate with 14,274 career rushing yards.

2005 — Eugene Monroe, OL, Plainfield (N.J.)
Signed with: Virginia
Worth the hype? Monroe started 30 games at Virginia, earning All-ACC honors. The No. 8 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, he spent seven seasons in the NFL.

2006 — Andre Smith, OL, Huffman (Birmingham, Ala.)
Signed with: Alabama
Worth the hype? One of the nation's top linemen while in college, Smith won the Outland Trophy in 2008. The No. 6 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Smith has played 11 seasons in the NFL.

2007 — Joe McKnight, RB, John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)
Signed with: USC
Worth the hype? McKnight showed signs of living up to the hype in his first two seasons, but he never materialized as a game-breaking running back. Played four seasons in the NFL and was killed in 2016 in what was called a "road rage incident."

2008 — Da'Quan Bowers, DL, Bamberg-Ehrhardt (Bamberg, S.C.)
Signed with: Clemson
Worth the hype? Became one of the top defensive linemen in college football, leading the nation with 15.5 sacks and earning unanimous All-American honors. Knee surgery resulted in him slipping in the NFL draft to the second round. He played five seasons in the NFL.

2009 — Matt Barkley, QB, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Signed with: USC
Worth the hype? Barkley played four seasons at USC, throwing for over 12,000 yards. Projected as a No. 1 overall draft pick at various points in his college career, injuries dropped Barkley for the fourth round. He's played his entire eight-year NFL career as a back-up.

2010 — Ronald Powell, DL, Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Calif.)
Signed with: Florida
Worth the hype? Played sparingly with the Gators, due in part to two ACL injuries. Powell has played two seasons in the NFL.

2011 — Jadaveon Clowney, DL, South Pointe (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Signed with: South Carolina
Worth the hype? A two-time All-American with the Gamecocks, Clowney's best season was his sophomore year when he had 13.5 sacks. Drafted No. 1 overall by the Texans in the 2014 NFL Draft. He has played seven years with 32 career sacks.

2012 — Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.)
Signed with: Missouri
Worth the hype? After setting national high school career receiving records, Green-Beckham had two productive seasons at Missouri, but he was dismissed from the team for legal issues. Played only two seasons in the NFL.

2013 — Robert Nkemdiche, DL, Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Signed with: Ole Miss
Worth the hype? The anchor in the middle of a strong Ole Miss defense, Nkemdiche earned All-American honors in 2015. Drafted by the Cardinals, Nkemdiche spent four seasons in the NFL.

2014 — Leonard Fournette, RB, St. Augustine (New Orleans)
Signed with: LSU
Worth the hype? A strong sophomore season that earned him All-American honors preceded an injury-filled junior season at LSU. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Fournette is on his second team in four seasons.

2015 — Trenton Thompson, DL, Westover (Albany, Ga.)
Signed with: Georgia
Worth the hype? Thompson had a spotty college career, earning some accolades as a freshman, but otherwise getting just 5.5 sacks in his college career. Undrafted by the NFL, Thompson is playing in Canada.

2016 — Rashan Gary, DL, Paramus Catholic (Paramus, N.J.)
Signed with: Michigan
Worth the hype? Gary earned All-Big 10 honors twice in his three years with the Wolverines. He's in his second year with the Green Bay Packers.

2017 — Jaelan Phillips, DL, Redlands East Valley (Redlands, Calif.)
Signed with: UCLA, transferred to Miami
Worth the hype? After two seasons at UCLA, Phillips transferred to Miami and had a big year in 2020 with 15.5 sacks.

2018 — Trevor Lawrence, QB, Cartersville (Ga.)
Signed with: Clemson
Worth the hype? Perhaps the poster boy for "living up to the hype," Lawrence is 32-1 in his college career while winning a national championship and being in contention for a second. His only loss is in the national championship game to LSU. Considered a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the next NFL Draft.

2019 — Nolan Smith, DL, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Signed with: Georgia
Worth the hype? In 18 games over his two-year college career, Smith has five sacks and 39 total tackles.

2020 — Bryan Breese, DL, Damascus (Md.)
Signed with: Clemson
Worth the hype? Has appeared in 10 games this season for the Tigers, recording 24 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks.

2021 — Korey Foreman, DL, Centennial (Corona, Calif.)