Head of an elite class

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is on the cover of just about every preseason college football magazine. The former Nease High standout has won two national championships and a Heisman Trophy with the Gators. He's the No. 1 player in the game. Looking back, Tebow wasn't the No. 1 player coming out of high school. In fact, he wasn't even the top-rated player on the First Coast. That honor belonged to Union County High running back C.J. Spiller, who was ranked eighth overall and now starts at Clemson. Rivals.com, the most popular football recruiting Web site, graded Tebow as a five-star prospect, its highest ranking. But it also ranked him the nation's 22nd overall prospect and only the third-best quarterback. Nor was Tebow ranked among Florida's top two signees that year. Receiver Percy Harvin (No. 1 overall) and linebacker Brandon Spikes (No. 13) were both considered better prospects. Looking back on the 2006 class, Tebow has moved to the top of the pecking order in an unusually strong class of recruits. Highlighting the group was Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, Alabama offensive tackle Andre Smith, Ohio State running back Chris Wells and Harvin. All were among the top six players rated, and all were first-round picks in April's NFL Draft. Stafford was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The list of first-rounders in that top 21 will unquestionably grow in 2010 with players such as Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle, Notre Dame offensive tackle Sam Young, and Southern California safety Taylor Mays, as well as Spikes and Spiller, becoming eligible. All are projected first-round selections, according to ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay. "I think 2006 will be the best year of talent since we started doing this in 2002," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said. "It's an absolutely great year, especially considering 2005 and how many five-star players ended up screwing up. So it was nice to come back with such talent and get it right. It's rare to have so few misses, because it's such a crapshoot evaluating high school kids and projecting them to college ." While NFL experts now bicker as to how effective Tebow will be in the NFL, the debate raged in 2006 among recruiting analysts trying to predict the quarterback's future. "There was a lot of back and forth in opinions on Tim," Farrell said. "He was so athletic and so special as a football player, but he wasn't a great quarterback. He's still not a great quarterback. He's a lefty and there are a lot of NFL teams that won't draft a lefty, because everything on offense flips. His release isn't great. His arm strength is just OK, and his accuracy is average." So, how did Tebow earn his lofty five-star status? "His athleticism was just incredible," Farrell said. "You knew he'd be a special college football player and something special in the NFL, but you didn't know where. I think if Tim wasn't a quarterback, he'd have been one of the best linebackers or tight ends. We couldn't rank him less than a five-star player." Rivals' evaluation of Tebow might shed some light into what NFL general managers and scouts might be thinking next April, when he'll be on the board. "You hear that term value, and Tebow had too much value to be any lower than 22 on our list," Farrell said. "We had to put him there, and I think that will be similar to what you'll see in next year's draft. At the end of the first round, starting right around that 22nd spot, I think you'll see teams that will simply feel like they can't pass him up. He has too much talent, and he beats people with his will, athleticism and physicality." hays.carlyon@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4377 THE 21 AHEAD OF TEBOW Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was the nation's 22nd overall prospect, according to Rivals.com, in a loaded 2006 class. A look at the players ranked ahead of Tebow and how they've done. COLLEGE PLAYER POS. CHOICE UPDATE 1. Percy Harvin WR Florida First-round pick (22nd overall) by Minnesota in 2009 draft. 2. Andre Smith OT Alabama First-round pick (sixth overall) by Cincinnati in 2009 draft. 3. Chris Wells RB Ohio State First-round pick (31st overall) by Arizona in 2009 draft. 4. Gerald McCoy DT Oklahoma Projected No. 7 overall pick in 2010 draft by ESPN. 5. Sergio Kindle LB Texas Projected No. 10 overall pick in 2010 draft by ESPN. 6. Matt Stafford QB Georgia First-round pick (first overall) by Detroit in 2009 draft. 7. Vidal Hazelton WR USC Transferred to Cincinnati. 8. C.J. Spiller RB Clemson Projected 15th overall pick in 2010 draft by ESPN. 9. Allen Bradford LB USC Redshirted in 2008 with lingering hip injury. 10. Mitch Mustain QB Arkansas Transferred to USC, where he's now a backup. 11. Sam Young OT Notre Dame Projected 14th overall pick in 2010 draft by ESPN. 12. Myron Rolle S FSU 35 career starts, won Rhodes Scholarship. 13. Brandon Spikes LB Florida Projected 17th overall pick in 2010 draft by ESPN. 14. Reshad Jones S Georgia Second-team All-SEC after team-leading five INTs. 15. Brandon Graham LB Michigan Recorded 10 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in 2008. 16. Taylor Mays S USC Projected No. 8 overall pick in 2010 draft by ESPN 17. Robert Rose DE Ohio State Recorded 10 tackles and one sack in 2008. 18. Stafon Johnson RB USC Enters upcoming season with 1,395 career rushing yards 19. A.J. Wallace CB Penn State Set school record with 581 kickoff return yards in 2008. 20. Al Woods DT LSU Has started three games in career, projected starter in 2009. 21. Ricky Sapp DE Clemson Recorded 28 tackles and two sacks in 2008.