An AAF game this past Sunday had as many former five-star recruits as the Super Bowl between the Rams and the Patriots did.
According to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, the AAF game between the Memphis Express and Birmingham Iron featured six five-star recruits, which is the exact same amount that played in the Super Bowl when the Patriots beat the Rams.
My goodness, what a nugget from @BruceFeldmanCFB‘s Feldman Files column today. https://t.co/BeWSq5ilRx pic.twitter.com/6DGRuus4lm
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) February 12, 2019
Most notably, Trent Richardson and Christian Hackenberg were both elite recruits, and are now in the AAF with Birmingham and Memphis respectively. (RELATED: San Diego Fleet Quarterback Mike Bercovici Suffers Brutal Hit During AAF Opener)
There’s the Christian Hackenberg we all know and love pic.twitter.com/gu7hw4TrgQ
— Barstool OSU (@BarstoolOSU) February 10, 2019
This wild stat tells me to major things. First, it’s a sign that not all elite talent sticks around in the NFL, and apparently the AAF scooped up a lot of it.
Let’s not forget that at one point in time, Hackenberg was considered as a potential option for the first overall pick in the NFL draft. He went in the second round and flamed out before ever taking a snap.
It also tells me that you don’t need to be a five-star recruit coming out of high school in order to dominate in the NFL.
There were 106 players in the Super Bowl, which means 100 of them weren’t five-star recruits. If you’re a high school player busting your back to get to college and then the NFL, you’re ranking as a recruit doesn’t mean everything.
Hell, Tom Brady was overlooked coming out of Michigan, and now he has six Super Bowl rings. Again, rankings don’t mean everything.
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Again, this is just the latest piece of evidence that the AAF might have a great shot at success.