The 5 Most Mis-Evaluated Positions in High School Football Recruiting

Why the sport keeps getting these five wrong — and what it actually takes to project them to Saturdays

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning takes notes during warm ups as the Oregon Ducks host the Idaho Vandals Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Before I ever sat down to write about recruiting, I spent years inside the rooms where these decisions are made. I coached at Virginia Tech, Virginia, Miami, and Christopher Newport, and later evaluated prospects as an NFL scout with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints. If there is one thing those experiences taught me, it is this: college staffs do not miss because they are careless.

They miss because certain positions are incredibly hard to project. I have seen five star quarterbacks who could not handle pressure. I have seen under the radar tackles become pros. I have seen corners with all the measurables struggle when it mattered. Some positions simply look different on Friday nights than they do on Saturdays.

These are the five most mis-evaluated positions in modern recruiting — and why the industry keeps getting them wrong.

1. Quarterback: The Impossible Projection

Quarterback recruiting is part talent evaluation, part psychological study, and part future-forecasting. Every year, highly ranked quarterbacks flame out, and two- or three-stars rise to become the heartbeat of championship programs. Why? Because the industry still values what’s easy to see — arm strength, camp performance, aesthetics — over what’s difficult to quantify:

Colonel Crawford High School's Payne DeGray (78) pressures Reedsville Eastern High School's quarterback Braxton Yonker (4) during OHSAA Division VI regionals first round high school football action Friday, Oct. 31, 2025 at Colonel Crawford High School. / TOM E. PUSKAR/MANSFIELD NEWS JOURNAL / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

• How fast a quarterback processes
• How consistently he anticipates
• How he responds to chaos
• His ability to lead veterans as a teenager
• His emotional discipline in crisis situations

A quarterback can throw a pretty ball in a clean environment, but can he move safeties with his eyes? Can he anticipate windows? Can he elevate the players around him? These traits don’t go viral — but they win games. The truth: Quarterback is the only position where maturity and mind matter more than measurables, and most evaluations are built backwards.

2. Offensive Line: The Slowest Developing Position in Football

Offensive line is consistently mis-evaluated because it demands the longest physical and technical development arc of any position.

Most high school linemen dominate because of size, not skill. Rarely do they face defenders with college-level length, twitch, leverage, or IQ, making the film misleading.

Then there’s the body transformation. A 16-year-old who weighs 285 might enter college at 315 with completely different strength, foot quickness, and flexibility. Meanwhile, the skinny 240-pound tackle with unbelievable bend and balance — the kid nobody offers — might morph into an All-Conference guard.

Thurston offensive lineman Parker Edwards lines up to snap the ball as the Thurston Colts host the Bend Lava Bears in the first round of the OSAA 5A state championships on Nov. 7, 2025, at Thurston High School in Springfield. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The factors that actually predict success are subtle:

• Ankle and hip mobility
• Patience in pass pro
• Competitive toughness
• Ability to bend instead of hinge
• Coachability and work ethic

But those rarely shine on a highlight tape. Evaluators too often fall in love with the finished product instead of betting on the athlete who hasn’t physically matured yet. O-line recruiting isn’t about who a player is today. It’s about predicting who he can become at 20 years old. And that's where the misses happen.

3. Cornerback: The Most Mental Position on Defense

Cornerback looks easy to evaluate — until you have to project what a 17-year-old will look like covering a 20-year-old who runs a 4.3 and knows how to manipulate leverage.

Corners are routinely misjudged because so many of their required traits aren’t visible on film. High school corners often play in soft coverages. They rarely press elite receivers, rarely face college-level route runners, and almost never play in environments where mistakes are punished immediately.

Sep 5, 2025; Ramsey, New Jersey, United States; Monarch High School of Florida at Don Bosco. M #7 Amari Deer breaks up a pass intended for DB #1 Isaiah Alvarez. / Michael Karas-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yet the things that matter most are mental and instinctive:

• Aability to read route stems
• Patience at the line of scrimmage
• Comfort playing through contact
• Competitive short-term memory
• Ball skills when hips are turned and vision is compromised

A corner can run fast and look the part in shorts — and still struggle when the lights come on.
The position demands a level of confidence, fearlessness, and anticipation that can’t be measured at camps, which is why it remains one of recruiting’s biggest gambles.

4. Edge Rusher: The Mirage of High School Production

The edge rusher position might be the most deceptive in terms of high school statistics. Many dominant high school pass rushers win because they’re simply the best athlete on the field — longer, faster, more explosive than the linemen trying to block them. But sacks don’t tell the complete story.

Mountain View defensive end Parker Foster (13) rushes Centennial quarterback Titus Hill (14) during a playoff game at Mountain View High School in Mesa, Ariz. on Nov. 14, 2025. / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What translates isn’t production; it’s how the production is created:

• The player must understand hand usage and leverage
• He must corner efficiently instead of running past the quarterback
• He must be able to fight pressure with pressure
• He must recognize the zone read
• He must have a counter move rather than relying on one speed

And perhaps the biggest question: Does he dominate when he’s blocked — or only when he’s unblocked? Edge prospects with freaky athletic traits get ranked highly, but the ones with advanced technique, motor, and football IQ are the ones who become nightmares for offensive coordinators at the next level. Too often, the former gets attention while the latter gets undervalued.

5. Wide Receiver: The Position Highlight Culture Ruined

Receiver recruiting has exploded because the position is tailor-made for social media. One-on-ones provide viral clips. Camp routes look polished without a real pass rush or safety rotation. And highlights spotlight explosive plays rather than the hidden details that separate good receivers from great ones.

West Boca wide receiver Calerbe Hermane (15) catches a touchdown pass against Mitchell in the first quarter on Nov. 28, 2025, in Boca Raton, FL. / JEFF ROMANCE/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But the receiver position is built on details that rarely get attention:

• Winning through contact
• Separating without relying on pure speed
• Attacking leverage intelligently
• Adjusting to coverage post-snap
• Finishing contested catches in traffic
• Understanding spacing within a concept
• Blocking with urgency

In a world where every receiver post crisp off-season releases and edited highlights, the hardest thing to evaluate is how they perform when timing, physicality, and coverage disguise are reintroduced. Many receivers are ranked on flash. The ones who succeed are built on discipline.

Why These Positions Keep Getting Mis-Evaluated

There’s a common thread across these five positions: The traits that predict college success are not the traits that dominate high school football. That gap creates blind spots. Rankings get skewed by off-season environments, inflated measurables, or matchups that don’t resemble what players will face in college.

• Quarterbacks are judged on aesthetics instead of decision-making
• O-linemen are judged on size instead of movement
• Corners are judged on speed instead of instincts
• Edges are judged on sacks instead of technique
• Receivers are judged on highlights instead of toughness and timing

Until evaluations prioritize development, football intelligence, and translatable traits over entertainment value, these five positions will continue to be the most misread in recruiting.

Final Thought

The best recruiters — the ones who consistently win — aren’t the ones who chase stars or camp heroes. They’re the ones who understand nuance. They look beyond the surface, beyond the hype, beyond the moment. Because projecting a 16-year-old to compete against grown men is never simple. But acknowledging which positions are hardest to predict is the first step toward getting it right.