College football recruiting has changed with the rise of the transfer portal in recent years. Some Power 4 programs don’t invest as much energy into finding hidden gems as they once did.
But those under-the-radar guys are still out there. And they can make a big impact on very good teams.
I dug through a 10-year window (2015 class through 2024 class) and picked the best recruiting “find” for each school.
There was one parameter: Players had to be ranked outside the top 500 in the 247Sports Composite.
The goal was to find the right mix of an under-recruited player who produced at the college level and, in most cases, developed into an NFL Draft pick.
You get the idea…
Alabama: Irv Smith Jr., TE, 3-star, No. 520 (2016 recruiting cycle) — Alabama has had 71 homegrown NFL Draft picks since 2018. Only eight weren’t four- or five-star recruits out of high school. Smith, one of the eight, earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2018 and was a second-round pick by the Vikings in 2019.
Arizona: Noah Fifita, QB, 3-star, No. 690 (2022) — Fifita, a first-team All-Big 12 pick last year, has thrown for 9,055 yards and 72 touchdowns over the last three seasons. The Southern California native chose Arizona over Cal, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho State, New Mexico and Utah State.
Noah Fifita put Travis Hunter on skates in this run 😮💨😳@ArizonaFBall pic.twitter.com/4XOUmLTxKc
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 19, 2024
Arizona State: Keith Abney II, CB, 3-star, No. 1,260 (2023) — Abney, a Texas native, was part of Kenny Dillingham’s transition class and received only a few Power 4 offers (he was originally committed to Utah State). Abney broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore for the Sun Devils team that reached the College Football Playoff. He was a two-time All-Big 12 selection and was a fifth-round pick by the Lions in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Arkansas: Grant Morgan, LB, 3-star, No. 2,098 (2016) — Morgan earned second-team All-America honors in 2020 and won the Burlsworth Award — given to the nation’s top player who arrived at school as a walk-on — in 2021. He didn’t have any FBS offers out of Greenwood (Ark.) High School.
Auburn: Roger McCreary, CB, 3-star, No. 989 (2018) — The Mobile, Ala., native was the No. 87 cornerback in his class and was originally committed to South Alabama. He ended up as an All-American as a senior and was a second-round pick of the Titans in 2022.
Baylor: Jalen Pitre, S, 3-star, No. 991 (2017) — The Stafford, Texas, native had only one other offer, from SMU. Five years later, he was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Pitre was a second-round pick by the Texans in 2022.
Boston College: Zay Flowers, WR, 3-star, No. 1,188 (2019) — Flowers was ranked the No. 135 receiver in the Class of 2019. He became a two-time first-team All-ACC selection and is the school’s all-time leading receiver with 3,056 yards. The Ravens selected him in the first round in 2023.
BYU: Zach Wilson, QB, 3-star, No. 958 (2018) — His NFL career hasn’t exactly panned out, but Wilson was a late recruiting steal for Kalani Sitake, who flipped him from Boise State. Wilson starred as a junior for the Cougars, throwing for 3,692 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2020 before the Jets took him with the second pick in the 2021 draft.
Cal: Fernando Mendoza, QB, 2-star, No. 2,149 (2022) — Mendoza, a Miami native, won the 2025 Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to a national championship. But his career began in Berkeley, where he started 19 games for the Bears in 2023-24. He was committed to Yale before Cal came in with a later offer.
Cincinnati: Sauce Gardner, CB, 3-star, No. 1,605 (2019) — Marcus Freeman, then the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, landed the Detroit native over Kentucky, Indiana and Syracuse. Gardner was a three-time first-team American Athletic Conference selection and the conference’s defensive player of the year in 2021. He was selected No. 4 overall by the Jets in the 2022 draft.
Clemson: Jordan McFadden, iOL 3-star, No. 819 (2018) — The South Carolina native committed to Virginia Tech before Clemson flipped him late. McFadden started 39 games at tackle, earned All-ACC honors twice, and won the league’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 2022 before being selected in the fifth round by the Bears.
Colorado: Jordyn Tyson, WR, 3-star, No. 920 (2022) — New Mexico, Tulsa, and Colorado State were Tyson’s only offers before Karl Dorrell’s staff entered the picture. The Texas native starred in Boulder as a freshman before transferring to Arizona State, where he developed into a third-team All-American and was drafted No. 8 overall in April.
Duke: Daniel Jones, QB, 2-star, No. 2,282 (2015) — Princeton was the only FBS offer for Jones until his coach at Charlotte (N.C.) Latin School convinced David Cutcliffe to take a chance on him. Jones never earned conference accolades at Duke, where he went 17-19 as a starter, but he was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
#Duke QB Daniel Jones has that “sneaky” speed (UNC let him run for 186 yards on Saturday). pic.twitter.com/ZwXuY0SHrU
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 13, 2018
Florida: Kyle Trask, QB, 3-star, No. 2,065 (2016) — Trask never started a game after his freshman year in high school and didn’t start a game at Florida until his fourth season. The Texas native, whose other offers came from Houston Baptist, McNeese State and Lamar, finished his career as a Heisman finalist in 2020 after throwing for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns, breaking Danny Wuerffel’s 24-year-old school record. The Bucs selected him in the second round of the 2021 draft.
Florida State: Joshua Farmer, DT, 3-star, No. 650 (2021) — Cornerback Azareye’h Thomas and Farmer are the only two players to sign with the Seminoles out of high school in the Mike Norvell era who went on to get drafted. Farmer, a fourth-round pick in 2025, had offers from Texas A&M, Kentucky, Tennessee and Auburn.
Georgia: Ladd McConkey, WR, 3-star, No. 1,131 (2020) — Georgia and Vanderbilt were the only P4 programs to offer the Chatsworth, Ga., native, who won two national titles with the Bulldogs, was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2022, and was a second-round pick by the Chargers in 2024.
Georgia Tech: Jordan Mason, RB, 3-star, No. 1,676 (2017) — Most of the Yellow Jackets’ best players in recent years have been transfers from other programs, but Mason, a Tennessee native, was a productive four-year player. He rushed for 2,349 yards and 17 TDs in his career and earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2019 as a sophomore.
Houston: Patrick Paul, OT, 3-star, No. 2,066 (2019) — The Miami Dolphins’ starting left tackle was lightly recruited until his senior year at Jersey Village High School, when Tulsa and the hometown Cougars battled for his services. Paul was a three-time all-league selection for Houston, including in 2023, the school’s first season in the Big 12.
Illinois: Devon Witherspoon, CB, unranked (2019) — Credit former Illinois defensive backs coach Keynodo Hudson for finding Witherspoon, who didn’t start playing football until his junior year at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Fla. Witherspoon was the Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year and a consensus All-American in 2022 and was the fifth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Indiana: Micah McFadden, LB, 3-star, No. 1,985 (2018) — McFadden, a two-time All-Big Ten selection and a two-year starter in the NFL with the Giants, received his only other offers from UMass and Boston College.
Iowa: T.J. Hockenson, TE, 3-star, No. 1,464 (2016) — Iowa and Iowa State were the only Power 4 offers for the Cherokee, Iowa, native who emerged as the best tight end in the country, winning the Mackey Award and earning first-team All-America honors in 2018.
Iowa State: Will McDonald IV, edge, 3-star, No. 787 (2018) — Minnesota and Baylor were the only other P4 programs to show much interest in the Wisconsin native. McDonald was a three-time first-team All-Big 12 selection and a first-round pick by the Jets in 2023.
Kansas: Jalon Daniels, QB, 3-star, No. 2,278 (2020): Daniels, a product of Lawndale, Calif., committed to Middle Tennessee State before flipping to the Jayhawks on signing day. He went 19-26 as a starter over five seasons, earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2022, and ranks second all-time at KU in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Kansas State: Felix Anudike-Uzomah, edge, 3-star, No. 2,382 (2020) — Anudike-Uzomah was the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and is Kansas State’s only first-round pick since 2009. Bowling Green, North Dakota State, Tulsa and South Dakota were his only offers until just before signing day.
Kentucky: Josh Hines-Allen, LB, 2-star, No. 2,147 (2015) — Josh Allen, as he was known back then, was headed to Monmouth until Kentucky signed the New Jersey native. Hines won the Bednarik and Nagurski awards and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2018, finishing his career as Kentucky’s all-time sacks leader.
This was the exclamation point on another standout performance by #Kentucky OLB Josh Allen (4 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 FF). His added strength and seasoning in 2018 have made a HUGE difference. pic.twitter.com/kJxhnLVhZ6
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 1, 2018
Louisville: Jaire Alexander, CB, 3-star, No. 939 (2015) — Lamar Jackson was a three-star recruit who became one of the best college quarterbacks ever … but he doesn’t meet the criteria for this exercise (no recruits in the top 500). So Alexander, who was taken 14 spots ahead of Jackson in the first round of the 2018 draft, is the pick. He was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2016 who was originally committed to South Carolina before flipping to Louisville.
LSU: Justin Jefferson, WR, 3-star, No. 2,174 (2017) — Jefferson, whose other offers out of Destrehan (La.) High School were Northwestern, Tulane and Nicholls, is one of the best finds of the century. He tied for the national lead with 111 receptions as a key member of LSU’s record-setting offense that paved the way to the 2019 national title.
Maryland: Darnell Savage Jr., S, 3-star, No. 1,055 (2015) — Rutgers, Syracuse and Temple were the only other schools to pursue Savage, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2018 before Green Bay drafted him in the first round in 2019.
Miami: Anez Cooper, OL, 3-star, No. 1,156 (2022) — Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina and Syracuse showed interest in Cooper as a senior at Pleasant Grove (Ala.) High School, but he committed to the Hurricanes on the first day of the early signing period. Cooper was a three-year starter at right guard for Mario Cristobal and a sixth-round NFL Draft pick.
Michigan: Ronnie Bell, WR, 3-star, No. 1,473 (2018) — Bell, a Kansas City native, was committed to play basketball at Missouri State before Jim Harbaugh came in with a football scholarship. He led the Wolverines in receiving three times and was a third-team All-Big Ten pick in 2022.
Michigan State: Kenny Willekes, DE, unranked (2015) — The Michigan native received Division II offers from Wayne State and Ferris State but walked on in East Lansing and became a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and won the Burlsworth Trophy in 2019. He is Michigan State’s career leader in tackles for loss.
Minnesota: Antoine Winfield Jr., S, 3-star, No. 1,392 (2016) — Baylor, Houston, Michigan State and Northwestern offered the undersized defensive back out of The Woodlands (Texas) High School. He signed with the Gophers and became a unanimous All-American in 2019 before winning a Super Bowl and becoming a Pro Bowler with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Mississippi State: Will Rogers, QB, 3-star, No. 636 (2020): Rogers, a Mississippi native, passed on offers from Washington State (then coached by Mike Leach), Troy, and Tulane to sign with Mississippi State, where he played four seasons (three under Leach) and threw for 12,315 yards (second-most in SEC history) and 94 touchdowns. Rogers spent his last season in college at Washington.
Missouri: Tyler Badie, RB, 3-star, No. 1,527 (2018) — Badie passed on an offer from nearby Memphis and became a second-team All-American in 2021 with more than 1,600 rushing yards for Mizzou.
NC State: Jakobi Meyers, WR, 3-star, No. 1,930 (2015): Meyers, a quarterback at Arabia Mountain High School in Lithonia, Ga., moved to receiver after his freshman year at NC State and broke Torry Holt’s single-season school receptions record in 2018 en route to being named first-team All-ACC.
Nebraska: Emmett Johnson, RB, 3-star, No. 902 (2022): Johnson was Minnesota’s Mr. Football in 2021, but Nebraska was the only Power 4 program to recruit him. Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Kentucky were his other offers. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2025 and was drafted in the fifth round by Kansas City in April.
North Carolina: Javonte Williams, RB, 3-star, No. 1,476 (2018) — Williams moved from linebacker to running back as a senior at Wallace-Rose Hill High in eastern North Carolina and had limited offers, mostly from Group of 6 programs and Ivy League schools. He earned second-team All-ACC honors in 2020 and has been a starter in the NFL for the last three seasons.
Northwestern: Rashawn Slater, OL, 3-star, No. 645 (2017) — Slater, from Sugar Land, Texas, was not pursued by any of the Power 4 schools in his home state. He chose Northwestern over offers from Illinois, Kansas, Wyoming and Rice and developed into a first-round pick in 2021.
Notre Dame: Ade Ogundeji, DL, 3-star, No. 648 (2016) — The former Western Michigan commitment sustained a season-ending knee injury as a senior at Walled Lake Central High School in Michigan, but Notre Dame stayed with him. Ogundeji rewarded the Irish by finishing his career with 17 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. He was a fifth-round pick in 2021.
Ohio State: DaVon Hamilton, DT, 3-star, No. 993 (2015) — The Pickerington, Ohio, native was committed at different points to Toledo, Pittsburgh and Kentucky until he received a late offer from the Buckeyes. He earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2019 and has started 61 NFL games over the last six seasons.
Oklahoma: Delarrin Turner-Yell, S, 3-star, No. 894 (2018) — A one-time Baylor commitment from Hempstead, Texas, Turner-Yell was ranked 66th among safeties in the 2018 cycle. He started 31 games for the Sooners and was a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2021.
Oklahoma State: Malcolm Rodriguez, LB, 3-star, No. 1,504 (2017) — A state wrestling champ and a dual-threat quarterback at Wagoner (Okla.) High School, Rodriguez’s only offers were from Wyoming and Oklahoma State. He became a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2021 and was drafted in the sixth round by Detroit in 2022.
Ole Miss: Cedric Johnson, edge, 3-star, No. 995 (2020) — The Mobile, Ala., native chose the Rebels over Kansas. He started 29 games in Oxford and produced 19 sacks over the course of his career before being drafted in the sixth round.
Oregon: Bryce Boettcher, LB, 3-star, No. 2,820 (2020) — The former walk-on and standout baseball player from Eugene won the Burlsworth Trophy in 2024 and was a first-team All-American in 2025. He was drafted in the fourth round by the Colts last month.
Penn State: Shaka Toney, DE, 3-star, No. 831 (2016): Toney, a Philadelphia native, started 22 games at Penn State and was a two-time All-Big Ten pick. Duke, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia were among his other offers.
Pittsburgh: Calijah Kancey, DT, 3-star, No. 837 (2019) — The South Florida native was overlooked because of his size and took his only official visit to Pitt. He was a two-time first-team All-ACC selection, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and a unanimous All-American.
Purdue: Brycen Hopkins, TE, 3-star, No. 1,957 (2015) — Hopkins, a Nashville native whose dad Brad was a tackle in the NFL, received a late offer from Florida, but he was otherwise lightly recruited and committed to the first Power 4 school to offer him, Purdue. Hopkins was a two-time All-Big Ten pick and was drafted in the fourth round by the Rams in 2020.
Rutgers: Kyle Monangai, RB, 3-star, No. 1,964 (2020) — Monangai, raised in Roseland, N.J., to Cameroonian parents, had offers from Cal and Rutgers, along with a few Ivy League schools. He put together back-to-back 1,200-yard rushing seasons and was a first-team All-Big Ten pick in 2024 before being picked by the Bears in the seventh round.
Stanford: Elic Ayomanor, WR, 3-star, No. 926 (2022) — Notre Dame, Cal, Tennessee and Ole Miss also recruited Ayomanor, a native of Medicine Hat, Alberta, who became a track star in his final two years of high school in Deerfield, Mass. In his two healthy seasons at Stanford, Ayomanor caught 125 passes for 1,844 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was a fourth-round pick of the Titans in 2025.
Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor vs Colorado:
13 Receptions 294 Yards 3 TD
Stanford was losing 0-29 at halftime, they won the game 46-43 in 2OT 🤯 pic.twitter.com/bIHbjOm8XJ
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) October 14, 2023
Syracuse: Matthew Bergeron, OL, 3-star, No. 936 (2019) — The Quebec native started 39 games at tackle and earned second-team All-ACC honors as a junior before the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the second round in 2023. Syracuse was the only FBS school to offer Bergeron a scholarship.
TCU: Jeff Gladney, CB, 3-star, No. 1,548 (2015) — Before he died tragically in a car crash in May 2022, the Texas native was a four-year starter for the Horned Frogs, a two-time All-Big 12 selection and a first-round pick of the Vikings. His other scholarship offers were from Southern Miss, UTSA and Wyoming.
Tennessee: Cedric Tillman, WR, 3-star, No. 1,677 (2018) — The Volunteers offered the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman grad three days before signing day to sway him away from committing to either Hawaii, UNLV or Weber State. Tillman was a backup in Knoxville for three years before breaking out with 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021. He was drafted in the third round by the Browns in 2023.
Texas: Michael Taaffe, S, unranked (2021) — The Austin Westlake High grad was recruited by Rice, Brown and Colgate, but decided to take a preferred walk-on spot at Texas over those from Baylor and SMU. He started 36 games for the Longhorns and was a two-time All-American before the Dolphins drafted him in the fifth round last month.
Texas A&M: Erik McCoy, C, 3-star, No. 1,139 (2015) — McCoy, from Lufkin (Texas) High School, chose the Aggies over offers from Oklahoma State, Kansas, Houston and Louisiana and was a three-year starter in College Station. The Saints drafted him in the second round in 2019, and he’s started 88 NFL games.
Texas Tech: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, 3-star, No. 1,956 (2019) — The Red Raiders pulled Taylor-Demerson out of Oklahoma City, where he was being recruited by Air Force, Army and Utah State as a running back. He moved to safety in Lubbock, where he started 37 games and earned second-team All-Big-12 honors in 2023. He was a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2024.
UCF: Richie Grant, S, 2-star, No. 2,498 (2016) — The Fort Walton Beach, Fla., native picked UCF over offers from Georgia State, Chattanooga, The Citadel and Kennesaw State. He earned first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors three times and was a Jim Thorpe Award finalist in 2020. Grant was a second-round pick of the Falcons in 2021.
UCLA: Carson Schwesinger, LB, unranked (2021) —The Southern California native had an offer from Bucknell, but chose to walk on at UCLA instead, where he became a first-team All-American and a second-round pick of the Cleveland Browns. Schwesinger was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2025.
USC: Deontay Burnett, WR, 3-star, No. 668 (2015) — Arizona State, Miami, Utah and Colorado State were on Burnett’s tail before USC flipped him from his commitment to Washington State on signing day. He was a second-team All-Pac 12 pick in 2017.
Utah: Devin Lloyd, LB, 3-star, No. 1,593 (2017) — Lloyd was committed to UNLV before flipping to Utah, the only P4 program to offer him a scholarship. He started 32 games with the Utes and was a consensus All-American in 2021 before the Jaguars drafted him in the first round.
Vanderbilt: Justin Skule, OT, 3-star, No. 1,008 (2015) — Rutgers and West Virginia were Skule’s other offers before he committed to Vanderbilt. The Virginia native started 40 consecutive games at tackle to end his career and was a sixth-round pick in 2019.
Virginia: Bryce Hall, CB, 2-star, No. 2,222 (2016) —Hall, a Pennsylvania native, had five other Division I offers: Coastal Carolina, Delaware State, Duquesne, Albany and New Hampshire. He started 39 games at Virginia, earned second-team All-America honors in 2018 and was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft.
Virginia Tech: Christian Darrisaw, OT, 3-star, No. 1,816 (2017) — Virginia Tech was Darrisaw’s only FBS offer. The Maryland native started 35 games at left tackle and was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2020. The Vikings drafted him in the first round in 2021.
Wake Forest: Sam Hartman, QB, 3-star, No. 767 (2018) — Hartman, who picked Wake Forest over offers from Charlotte and Elon, is second all-time in the ACC in passing yards (12,967) and first in TD passes (110). He went 27-18 as a starter with the Deacons before transferring to Notre Dame to finish his career.
Washington: Nick Harris, C, 3-star, No. 1,249 (2022) — New Hampshire and Cal Poly were Harris’ offers before Washington jumped on him. The Southern California native started 40 games for the Huskies and was a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection.
West Virginia: Colton McKivitz, OT, 3-star, No. 1,594 (2015): The Ohio native switched his commitment from Miami (Ohio) to West Virginia and signed with the Mountaineers over other offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall and Toledo. He started 47 games in his career and was a second-team All-American in 2019 and a fifth-round pick of the 49ers in 2020.
Wisconsin: Matt Henningsen, DE, 2-star, No. 3,176 (2017) — Henningsen, a Wisconsin native, had offers from Northern Illinois, Buffalo, Illinois State and Western Illinois before deciding to walk on with the Badgers. He started 29 games for the Badgers and earned third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021.
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