Reclassification of blue-chip football prospects has become a growing trend in recruiting over the past decade. Close to 50 prospects have voluntarily skipped their final season of high school football to enter college, dating back to the 2016 recruiting cycle. The emergence of NIL has accelerated this trend in recent years, with double-digit prospects reclassifying in each of the 2024 and 2025 recruiting cycles.
We’re just now receiving the early returns from the first wave of reclassifications, which allow for initial conclusions after tracking the college careers.
Reclassifying lowers the chances of being a NFL Draft early entry
The easiest big-picture conclusion from this nascent reclassification trend is the impact on the odds of a player becoming an early entry NFL Draft prospect. Early entries are the three-and-out players who forgo college eligibility to enter the draft. This group often comprises a bulk of first-round picks annually.
Sixteen blue-chip prospects reclassified within the 2016-2022 recruiting cycles. The group accounts for all of draft-eligible reclassifications from the past 10 years. To this point, just one player who has reclassified has entered the NFL Draft early – former Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen (2021 cycle/4th round).
That sample includes five former five-star prospects: quarterback JT Daniels (2018 cycle/undrafted), cornerback Tony Grimes (2020 cycle/still in college, 4th program), quarterback Quinn Ewers (2021/7th round pick), linebacker Sonny Styles (2022/returned for senior season), and EDGE LT Overton (2022/returned for senior season). Former Georgia running back James Cook, Allen, and Ewers are the three draft picks from the group to date. Of the ones remaining in college from those cycles, Overton and Styles, both former Five-Star Plus+ prospects, are the only two who conservatively project as draft picks.
Most reclassifications result in a “hurry up and wait” situation for the player. Of the 34 reclassifications who have played in college football over the past ten years, nearly two-thirds saw the field for under 100 snaps as a true freshman. While a few made an early impact, the freshman year results in a huge adjustment period for most. In addition to being the only reclassification turned early entry draft pick, Braelon Allen was the first to be a true freshman All-American. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the second to be a true freshman All-American is Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, the only reclassification currently in college football who safely projects as an early entry draft pick.
The lack of true freshman impacts made by reclassifications directly affects the low number of early NFL Draft entries. For every Ryan Williams or Braelon Allen, ten former reclassifications worked on the scout team as a true freshman, lessening the odds of a big impact as an underclassman, and ultimately, early entry into the NFL Draft.
Reclassification is not optimal for quarterback development
Of all positions, the track record of reclassifications is particularly spotty at quarterback. Blue-chip quarterbacks who have reclassified have struggled to live up to the expectations of being a highly-touted signal caller, with the majority struggling to find a foothold at a Power 4 program.
- 8/9 quarterback reclassifications from the 2016-2023 recruiting cycles transferred at least once
- 6/9 transferred out of the Power 4 to a Group of Five or FCS program
- 1/9 has been drafted thus far (Quinn Ewers, 7th round)
Even the few reclassifications who played significant snaps as true freshmen from this group eventually ended up in the Group of Five: Jake Bentley (South Alabama), JT Daniels (Rice), and Gavin Wimsatt (Jacksonville State). The transferring trend extends to the 2024 cycle, as two of the four quarterback reclassifications from that cycle have already transferred out after a year on campus.
Much was made about Quinn Ewers‘s draft slide last month, with the former On3 Industry No. 1 overall prospect falling to the 7th round, despite leading the blueblood Texas Longhorns to back-to-back CFP semifinal appearances. Ewers’s reclassification and enrollment at Ohio State in the middle of fall camp in 2021 was a flashpoint in the NIL era. At the time, I expressed concern about how the move could affect his long-term development in addition to making for an incredibly murky evaluation, given he had played just 22 games against varsity competition.
Before Texas’s CFP semifinal game against Ohio State, Ewers talked about skipping his senior season to enroll early and the difficult transition during his four months in Columbus.
“It was definitely tough,” Ewers said. “I’ve never really been a backup in my life. Obviously, C.J. (Stroud) was very much deserving to be playing, for sure. I’m a young kid. It’s tough whenever you’re supposed to be a senior (in high school) and you see all your buddies you grew up with still playing football and I’m just sitting obviously, because I wasn’t prepared to go play a game. I had just got (to Ohio State) in the middle of fall camp.
“It was just a shock for me, going from high school level to college level.”
While it’s impossible to truly quantify how skipping his senior season of high school football affected Quinn Ewers‘s long-term development, it’s safe to say the reclassification did him no favors in that regard. At quarterback, valuable in-game reps and production are critical for building confidence and establishing a play style that translates to the game’s highest level.
Comparing Quinn Ewers to first-round pick Jaxson Dart, a fellow five-star prospect in the 2021 cycle, can prove instructive. Dart was a late riser with a fraction of Ewers’s recruiting hype. He vaulted up recruiting boards and in the rankings on the heels of a monster senior season that saw him named Gatorade National Player of the Year. Of all the quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, Dart had the high school profile most fitting of a future first-rounder. And compared to Ewers, he entered college with much more experience, attempting 326 more passes while totaling 4,898 more yards, and 47 more touchdowns.
No. 1 pick Cam Ward played in a Wing-T offense in high school. He attempted 109 passes as a senior and received zero FBS offers. Ward headed to Incarnate Word, where he benefited from nearly 900 confidence-building pass attempts at the FCS level before transferring to Washington State and later Miami. When the dust settled, Ward had thrown over twice as many passes as Ewers in college.
The lower-level experience allows quarterbacks to hone their on-field identity while developing confidence, learning from mistakes, and pushing boundaries before facing much tougher competition. Most importantly, the extensive reps allow for improvement, the true hallmark of top talents at the position. Players like Jaxson Dart, Cam Ward, and dozens of first-round quarterbacks before them showed steady growth. While Quinn Ewers had a strong career at Texas and led the Longhorns to a bunch of big wins, it’s safe to say his best individual season came nearly six years ago as a sophomore in high school.
Ryan Williams is a huge outlier
When most fans think about reclassification, Alabama phenom Ryan Williams is likely the first name that comes to mind. The former Five-Star Plus+ prospect burst on the national scene last fall. His true freshman season is probably taken for granted, as he’s in the same class as Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a generational talent at the position.
Blue-chip prospects (and their parents) will likely look at Williams’ success in the SEC as a 17-year-old and yearn for similar. In the same way that Travis Hunter is a unique two-way player, Ryan Williams is a massive outlier among reclassifications.
After his reclassification, Ryan Williams was still the most productive top wide receiver prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle. In his final two years at Saraland (Ala.) High, Williams caught 160 passes while accounting for 4,660 total yards and 65 touchdowns. He was the back-to-back Mr. Football in the state of Alabama. No other prospect who has reclassified to this point comes close to his level of high school production.
Williams still has at least two years of college football left to play, but at this point, he is conservatively tracking as a 1-in-every-100 type of reclassification. He is anything but the norm when it comes to players who reclassify.
Maximizing future value starts with patience
The trend of reclassifications is still fairly young and looks to be here to stay. Five blue-chip prospects have already reclassified from the 2027 to the 2026 recruiting cycle this year.
Each prospect and most of their support systems are going through the recruiting process for the first time. The idea of beginning the earning window a year earlier is understandably enticing. That said, important context is needed to understand the dynamics of how player value is assessed and development is optimized in the current landscape.
- The best way to maximize value in college football is to play at a high level – in college.
- NIL deals for touted recruits who don’t produce as underclassmen are reworked every year.
- Making an early impact increases value and earning potential.
- Early impact is affected by how good a player is upon enrolling.
- A player’s ability upon enrolling is maximized by dominating at the high school level for an extended period, also allowing time for continued physical development.
- College football is increasingly less developmental, with teams adding experienced players via the Transfer Portal annually.
- In-game experience is most easily attained at lower levels, namely high school.
- Jumping the line, whether being held back, or reclassifying, has no discernible long-term developmental benefits for most players.
Attempting to accelerate the process unnecessarily opens the door for volatility in the developmental pace and career arc. From a developmental perspective, most blue-chip prospects are better off playing out their high school career. While every financial situation is different, the best way to optimize career earnings is to hit the ground running upon matriculating to the next level, in college football and the NFL.
Dominating high school football may not feel challenging for the best prospects, but it’s crucial for growth as a player. The game slows down, and peak confidence is established before the increased competition at the college level. Many players are still growing physically. The time also allows for multi-sport participation and breadth of skill acquisition that is harder to gain at the college level. Parents can get bored and antsy at this stage, wanting to rush the process. Despite the muddied evaluation, some college coaches and personnel staffers view reclassifications as a chance to get a prospect in their program earlier with less of a recruiting fight.
In reality, the odds of a prospect being unaffected by the leap, like Ryan Williams, while possible, are low. Unfortunately, development, which is the number one driver of long-term success and earning potential, doesn’t work that way for most prospects.
Here is the list of reclassifications to enter college football, beginning in the 2016 recruiting cycle:
2016 cycle
QB Jake Bentley – South Carolina, Utah, South Alabama (undrafted)
2018 cycle
QB JT Daniels (5-star) – USC, Georgia, Rice (undrafted)
RB James Cook – Georgia (2nd round)
2019 cycle
CB Sheridan Jones – Clemson (undrafted)
2020 cycle
CB Tony Grimes (5-star) – North Carolina, Texas A&M, UNLV, Purdue (still in college)
EDGE Donell Harris – Texas A&M, Louisiana-Monroe
WR Malcolm Johnson – Auburn, Bowling Green (undrafted)
S Kamar Wilcoxson – Florida, Temple
2021 cycle
QB Quinn Ewers (5-star) – Ohio State, Texas (7th round)
RB Braelon Allen – Wisconsin (4th round)
QB Ari Patu – Stanford, North Alabama
2022 cycle
LB Sonny Styles (5-star) – Ohio State (returned for senior season)
EDGE LT Overton (5-star) – Texas A&M, Alabama (returned for senior season)
QB Gavin Wimsatt – Rutgers, Kentucky, Jacksonville State
WR Kyler Kasper – Oregon
CB Marcus Washington – Georgia, Louisville, Syracuse
QB Cameron Edge – Maryland, Eastern Michigan
2023 cycle
CB Dezz Ricks (5-star) – Alabama, Texas A&M
QB Austin Mack – Washington, Alabama
QB Austin Simmons – Ole Miss
CB Antione Jackson – East Carolina, UCF
QB Myles Jackson – Stanford, Tulsa
2024 cycle
WR Ryan Williams (5-star) – Alabama
DL Armondo Blount (5-star) – Miami
TE Davon Mitchell – Oklahoma, Louisville
QB Cutter Boley – Kentucky
EDGE Max Granville – Penn State
CB Tarrion Grant – Purdue, Texas Tech
DL Steve Mboumoua – Alabama
QB Colin Hurley – LSU
QB EJ Colson – UCF, Purdue
OT Enoch Wangoy – Florida
RB Antwan Raymond – Rutgers
QB Davi Belfort – Virginia Tech, UCF
2025 cycle
DL Jahkeem Stewart – USC
QB Julian Lewis – Colorado
CB RJ Sermons – USC
CB J’Vari Flowers – Florida
WR Donovan Murph – South Carolina
S Demetres Samuel – Syracuse
QB Brady Hart – Texas A&M
WR Jordon Gidron – South Carolina
S Zelus Hicks – Texas
CB Dominick Kelly – Georgia
LB Zach Weeks – LSU
WR Malachi Toney – Miami
RB Raycine Guillory – Utah
IOL Kail Ellis – Auburn
