Mistakes were made, part 2: The On3 Preseason 3-star All-America defense

Basic math proves recruiting rankings to be generally accurate and predictive in projecting future top NFL draft picks. Still, some of the best players ultimately fall through the cracks, missed by some college football powers and the recruiting industry alike. With that in mind, On3 presents its Preseason 3-star All-America team.

Today, we unveil the defensive team. We looked at the offense Monday.

For this exercise, we selected three-star prospects who have thoroughly outplayed their ranking. The group represents many of the best players in college football heading into the 2021 season. The team was selected by Gerry Hamilton, On3’s senior national recruiting analyst, and Charles Power, On3’s director of scouting and rankings.

DL Logan Hall, Houston

The buzz: Hall enters his fourth season at Houston with high expectations. He started games in each of his first three seasons despite being a player who was still developing physically and from a skill perspective. The feeling is Hall (6 feet 6, 275 pounds) could be even better than former teammate and first-round pick Payton Turner. Hall has shown progressive improvement over the past few yearsm and is a highly athletic and versatile player. He can line up at any spot on the defensive front. We wouldn’t be shocked to see him emerge as a top NFL draft prospect. Hall was a low three-star prospect coming out of Belton (Texas) High in the 2018 cycle. He moved in from Oklahoma in the middle of high school and had a rapid growth spurt. A late bloomer, the physical gifts are readily evident on Hall’s senior video. At 6-6 and 225, Hall was quick off the ball. He was consistently disruptive and showed high-end athleticism in tracking plays sideline to sideline. He was a no-doubt four-star talent as a senior who went largely unnoticed because of his later development. — Charles Power

EDGE Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati

The buzz: Sanders came out of Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County in the 2018 class as a twitchy 6-4, 223-pound defensive end. After appearing in 10 games as a reserve as a true freshman, Sanders became a starter in 2019 and heads into this season as a possible first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. Sanders, now 6-5 and 255, tallied 31 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks last season, emerging as one of the top edge players in the nation. Sanders played his senior season at Camden County after playing his first two seasons at Jacksonville Raines. He flashed his edge ability at both Raines and Camden County, culminating with All-Region 1-7A first-team honors as a senior. But Cincinnati was his lone official visit. He also considered offers from Rutgers, Illinois, Kentucky and Maryland, among others. — Gerry Hamilton 

EDGE Ochaun Mathis, TCU

The buzz: Mathis is another evaluation special on defense by Gary Patterson. Mathis (6-5, 260) recorded 46 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and a Big 12-best nine sacks in 2020, when he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors. He made a huge jump in production from his redshirt freshman season, when he had 2.5 sacks, to last season. Mathis came out of Manor (Texas) High, near Austin, as a 6-5, 235-pound prospect. He chose TCU over offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Purdue and SMU. He flashed the ability to rush the passer at Manor with 18.5 sacks over his final two seasons. — Gerry Hamilton

EDGE Jeffrey Gunter, Coastal Carolina

The buzz: We’re cheating here, as Gunter (6-4, 260) actually was a two-star prospect. Gunter, who has impressed NFL scouts, is the top defensive player on a Coastal Carolina team that’s in the preseason top 25 and had an undefeated regular season in 2020. He broke out as a sophomore at Coastal in 2018, tallying 14 tackles for loss and five sacks en route to first-team All-Sun Belt Honors. He then transferred to NC State and sat out the 2019 season in Raleigh before returning to Coastal for 2020. Gunter was highly disruptive last fall with 12.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. Gunter came out of Durham (N.C.) Riverside in the 2017 cycle. He worked as an off-ball linebacker as a junior before growing into a pass rusher. Gunter had a strong senior season with 55 tackles and 10 sacks. He also played some tight end. He showed a quick first step and strong play speed in tracking down ballcarriers in pursuit. By the time he was a senior, Gunter clearly was a Power 5-level talent. — Charles Power

EDGE Amare Barno, Virginia Tech

The buzz: The junior college ranks always account for a number of unheralded prospects who hit it big in college football. That’s the case with Barno, who came to Virginia Tech from Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan. Barno was a wide receiver and defensive back in high school at Blythewood (S.C.) Westwood. He grew considerably in his time after high school and played as a long, rangy off-ball linebacker at Butler. Barno was around 6-6 and 220 at Butler. He’s continued to add weight and is now a 245-pound edge player for the Hokies. Barno had a monster 2020 season, leading the ACC with 16 tackles for loss. He’s a rapidly ascending player who should only continue to improve. — Charles Power

LB Mike Rose, Iowa State 

The buzz: Where Rose is selected in the 2022 NFL Draft remains to be seen, but he’s a tremendous college linebacker. He’s the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and he won the award in 2020. Forget making a 3-star All-America team; Rose is a candidate for a “regular” All-America team. Rose (6-4, 250) has started every game he has played in at Iowa State. He led the Big 12 in tackles in 2020 with 96. He enters his senior season with 248 career tackles, 29 tackles for loss and six interceptions. Rose came out of Broadview Heights (Ohio) Brecksville-Broadview Heights as a quick-footed 6-4, 215-pound defensive end who also played linebacker and flex tight end as a senior. His initial movement skills and reactive quickness stood out on senior tape. His ability to react and close was that of a Power 5 prospect. That said, Rose was a lightly recruited prospect. He picked Iowa State over offers from Ball State, Air Force and Colgate. — Gerry Hamilton

LB James Skalski, Clemson

The buzz: Though Skalski (6-0, 240) might not have the long-term prospects of others on this “team,” he’s a highly impactful college player. Skalski enters his sixth season at Clemson with a mastery of Brent Venables’ defense. He took over for Ben Boulware as the Tigers’ disruptive blitzing linebacker and has been a staple of their strong defenses over the past several seasons. Skalski is a coach on the field, and we would not be surprised to see him venture into coaching after his playing days. A prospect in the 2016 cycle, Skalski’s high school days mirrored his college career. He was a highly productive high school player at Newnan (Ga.) Northgate, in the Atlanta suburbs, racking up 148 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and one interception as a senior. Skalski doubled as the punter and also was a top prep soccer player. He’s never been a player or prospect who will blow you away with his physical traits, but the production always has been there. — Charles Power

LB Leo Chenal, Wisconsin

The buzz: Chenal (6-2, 230) worked his way into a key role on the Badgers’ defense in 2020, teaming with Jack Sanborn to form one of the better linebacker duos nationally. He finished 2020 with 46 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks and one interception in seven games. Chenal was a dominant small-school player at Grantsburg (Wis.) High and was a two-way threat as a running back and linebacker. As a senior, Chenal rushed for 2,038 yards and 42 touchdowns and also accounted for five more offensive touchdowns. On defense, he had 120 tackles and two interceptions. With that production, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Chenal was Wisconsin’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2018. He also registered a throw of more than 46 feet in the shot put as a junior. — Charles Power

CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU

The buzz: The nephew of TCU and NFL legend LaDainian Tomlinson, Hodges-Tomlinson had a strong sophomore season in 2020 and pairs with Noah Daniels (when healthy) to comprise one of the nation’s top cornerback duos. A prospect in the 2019 cycle, Hodges-Tomlinson saw his stock rise as a senior at Waco (Texas) Midway. He added late offers from Kansas State, Baylor and ultimately TCU before signing with the Frogs. It’s fairly normal to see high school cornerbacks make the move to safety, but we don’t usually see safeties move to corner. That’s what Hodges-Tomlinson did. He was an active player in the Waco Midway back half, jumping passes, ripping off long interception returns and delivering big hits. Hodges-Tomlinson is on the small side, measuring 5-9 and 171 pounds. He had some strong athletic markers, though. Hodges-Tomlinson was clocked at 4.59 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a 4.16-second short shuttle and a 39.3-inch vertical jump at The Opening regional before his senior season. He also had four 100-meter times under 11.08 seconds, with a personal best of 10.76 seconds as a sophomore. — Charles Power

CB Roger McCreary, Auburn

The buzz: McCreary earned a full-time starting role at Auburn in 2020 after seeing a bunch of playing time as a sophomore in 2019. He enters his senior season as a preseason third-team All-SEC selection. McCreary (5-11, 190) was a big riser as a senior prospect out of Mobile (Ala.) Williamson in the 2018 cycle. McCreary was committed to hometown South Alabama for much of the process. The increased attention certainly was earned on the field: McCreary had eight interceptions and more than 100 tackles as a safety. He showed off his athletic ability by racking up 2,100 yards as a quarterback and receiver for Williamson. The Power 5 offers started to come in, prompting McCreary to decommit from South Alabama in December 2017. He took January official visits to Auburn, NC State and Duke before signing with the Tigers. — Charles Power

S Brandon Joseph, Northwestern

The buzz: Joseph was a breakout player nationally last season. After playing sparingly as a true freshman in 2019, Joseph (6-1, 192) earned first-team All-American honors last season, when he also was named the AP Big Ten Newcomer of the Year. Joseph went from four tackles as a freshman to 52 tackles and six interceptions in nine games in year two. He picked off two passes against both Wisconsin and Iowa last season. Joseph was a member of the College Station (Texas) High 5A state championship team as a senior. He earned all-state honors on the field and academically. Joseph’s relatively light recruitment was a head-scratcher, considering he posted 214 tackles and 12 interceptions in his final two prep seasons. Joseph chose Northwestern over Texas Tech after decommitting from the Red Raiders. He also considered offers from Iowa State, Vanderbilt, Colorado, Arizona, Purdue and Arizona. — Gerry Hamilton

CB Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati

The buzz: Gardner has become an All-American at Cincinnati. He took over as a starter midway through his freshman season in 2019, earning various Freshman All-America honors. In 2020, Gardner earned first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, and was a first-team All-AAC selection. He enters his third season with 59 tackles and six interceptions in two seasons. Garner (6-2, 188) came out of Detroit Martin Luther King as a two-way standout. He was named first-team all-state at defensive back, and was just as productive at receiver. Gardner played a big role in King winning the Division 3 state championship in 2018. He was not a highly recruited prospect; Gardner selected Cincinnati over offers from Kentucky and Indiana. He ran the 40 in the low 4.7s at camps, and that kept some Power 5 programs away. But his height, length and reactive quickness were not in question. — Gerry Hamilton