Evaluating college football prospects has proved to be an inexact science. It's extremely difficult to predict how 18-year-old high school players will adjust to all the unknown variables at the college level.
But No. 1 talent level on tape will stand out to even the most inexperienced scout in the room. Each of the players listed here dominated the high school landscape and had the physical skills and transferable talent to project highly as college prospects.
We ranked our former No. 1 prospects from 2006 to 2019. (We had to omit Julian Fleming, the top-rated prospect in the Class of 2020.