Super Bowl LVI: How Cincinnati Bengals starters ranked as recruits

Tinseltown is ready for Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. It should come as no surprise there are stars everywhere on the Cincinnati Bengals roster. In fact, many of the starters for the Bengals were heralded recruits in their high school days. On3 looks back at how the Cincinnati Bengals starters rank as high school recruits. On3 also reviewed how the Los Angeles Rams starters ranked in high school.

The Bengals’ roster includes four former five-star ranked recruits. It also includes 12 players who rank as four stars coming out of high school. That means 72% of the Bengals’ starters were highly coveted recruits, which is quite impressive for scouts of the four major recruiting services that evaluated the prospects coming out of high school.

QB Joe Burrow

Class of 2015
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: 372
The Skinny: Much has been written about Joe Burrow’s winding path from high school to Ohio State to LSU and then to NFL stardom with the Bengals. This includes the now unforgettable story about how Nebraska passed on him when he was coming out of high school in Ohio and how the Huskers then again bypassed him when he wanted to transfer from the Buckeyes. During his high school recruitment, Burrow didn’t receive many offers to major schools. Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Kentucky, NC State, Vanderbilt, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa State, Fresno State, Cincinnati, Western Michigan, Toledo and East Carolina offered along with Ohio State. But former Buckeye offensive coordinator Tom Herman believed in him and was one of the only coaches at Ohio State who did.

RB Joe Mixon

Class of 2014
Star ranking: 5 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 27
The Skinny: The 2014 running back class was stacked, and Joe Mixon ranked fifth in the country behind Leonard Fournette, Bo Scarbrough and Dalvin Cook. Mixon was heavily recruited coming out of Oakley (Calif.) Freedom, committing to the Sooners in January of his senior year after also visiting Florida State, Wisconsin, Washington, Cal and getting heavy, heavy interest from UCLA. He ended up surprising some with his decision to pick the Sooners over the Bruins at the Army All-American Bowl.

WR Tee Higgins

Class of 2017
Star ranking: 5 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 18
The Skinny: Tee Higgins was one of the nation’s most coveted high school prospects in the Class of 2017 coming out of Oak Ridge, Tenn. Only 247Sports had him ranked outside of the top 30 nationally, with Rivals.com and ESPN both listing him as the No. 2 overall receiver. Higgins was a huge recruiting victory for then Clemson assistant coach Jeff Scott, picking Clemson on July 4, 2016. He was also a commitment to Tennessee at one point during his recruitment.

WR Ja’Marr Chase

Class of 2018
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 50
The Skinny: There’s been a lot written during the NFL playoffs about former LSU coach Les Miles telling Ja’Marr Chase he couldn’t play receiver in college. But he certainly was recruited like a player that was coveted at the position coming out of Metairie (La.) Archbishop Rummel with offers from more than 20 schools. In fact, Chase visited LSU, Auburn, TCU and Michigan before eventually signing with the Tigers on National Signing Day. There was also some intrigue with Chase’s recruitment through the process. He was set to commit to TCU before his senior year. But the televised announcement with the NFL Network had technical issues and never happened. He would then commit to Florida before backing away from that pledge and eventually landing in-state with LSU.

WR Tyler Boyd

Class of 2013
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 125
The Skinny: Coming out of Clairton (Pa.) High, Tyler Boyd was ranked as one of the top 25 receivers in the country by all the recruiting media companies. Boyd originally committed to Pitt during the U.S. Army All-American Game. But he would later take official visits to West Virginia and Tennessee. He took his recruitment up all the way to Signing Day and eventually decided to stay in-state with Pitt.

TE C.J. Uzomah

Class of 2011
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 216
The Skinny: Interestingly, C.J. Uzomah was recruited throughout most of the process as a quarterback, including at Auburn, where he would eventually land. The Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett native had other major offers from Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, South Carolina and others. Most schools saw the pure athleticism on display when he was at quarterback.

OL Jonah Williams

Class of 2016
Star ranking: 5 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 14
The Skinny: Simply put, Jonah Williams was the most heralded recruit coming out of the Golden State in the Class of 2016. Williams was also the second-ranked offensive tackle and in the top 25 regardless of position with all of the major recruiting media companies. He committed to Alabama rather early in the process. He picked the Crimson Tide in May of his junior year. Williams had offers from virtually everybody that recruits NorCal. But he was wowed with the opportunity to play at Alabama.

OL Quinton Spain

Class of 2010
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 137
The Skinny: Everybody – except for ESPN – had Quinton Spain ranked as a four-star coming out of Petersburg, Va., in the Class of 2010. Spain made an early commitment to West Virginia. He picked the Mountaineers in February of his junior year. WVU was the first school to show him interest, and the attention paid off.

OL Trey Hopkins

Class of 2010
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 76
The Skinny: Coming out of Galena Park (Texas) North Shore, Trey Hopkins was the first commitment for the Texas Longhorns in the 2010 class. Hopkins didn’t waste any time jumping on the offer from former Longhorn coach Mack Brown. He had offers from Texas A&M, Rice, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Houston before he picked the Horns. He went on to be ranked as the No. 3 interior lineman in the 2010 class.

OL Hakeem Adeniji

Class of 2016
Star ranking: Unranked
The Skinny: Hakeem Adeniji was lightly recruited in high school. He originally signed a letter of intent with Air Force – his older brother Moshood also played football there – before the school sent him an email to say his medical waiver had been denied because of a cashew allergy. After reaching out to his high school coach Jeff Jordan, who would become the director of personnel at KU, Adeniji was offered a spot with KU and joined the Jayhawks before the 2016 season. He went on to start all 48 games with KU during his college career.

OL Isaiah Prince

Class of 2015
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 85
The Skinny: Coming out of Greenbelt (Md.) Eleanor Roosevelt, Isaiah Prince ranked as the No. 5 offensive tackle and top-overall prospect in Maryland. He had a long list of national offers. But in the end, it came down to local favorite Maryland and national powers Alabama and Ohio State. He visited Alabama and Ohio State in January before committing to the Buckeyes on National Signing Day. In fact, many observers projected Maryland as the team to beat for his commitment back then.

DL Sam Hubbard

Class of 2014
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 275
The Skinny: When you’re a star high school player in the state of Ohio and you get an offer from the Buckeyes you jump on it quickly. That was the case for Sam Hubbard coming out of Cincinnati Moeller in the 2014 class. He did have a long list of other offers, but he committed to Ohio State in April of his junior year. He went on to become ranked as one of the 10 best prospects in the state.

DL D.J. Reader

Class of 2012
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 293
The Skinny: Ranked as the No. 10 recruit in North Carolina coming out of Greensboro’s Grimsley High School, D.J. Reader waited until National Signing Day to make his college choice. In the end, he picked Clemson over Maryland because he connected with the Tiger coaches and felt like the program was on the rise.

DL B.J. Hill

Class of 2014
Star ranking: 3 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 1047
The Skinny: B.J. Hill committed to NC State in May of his junior year, picking the Wolfpack over offers from UNC and East Carolina. His high school coach at the time, James Johnson, described Hill as a late bloomer that was just discovering the weight room during his senior year of high school.

DL Trey Hendrickson

Class of 2013
Star ranking: 3 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 1800
The Skinny: Trey Hendrickson was actually ranked as a two-star by a few recruiting media companies, and his only major offers were from FAU, Florida A&M, New Mexico and Western Kentucky coming out of Apopka, Fla. Nebraska was also close to offering Hendrickson at one point but decided to not go after him.

LB Logan Wilson

Class of 2015
Star ranking: Unranked
The Skinny: You have to give credit to Wyoming coach Craig Bohl for helping Logan Wilson figure out where he belonged. Coming out of Casper, Wyo., Wilson was lightly recruited, unranked, and had more experience as a punter than a linebacker. But Bohl remembered watching Wilson in high school and noticing him making a few plays where he ran 20 yards up the field to sack the quarterback. Bohl moved Wilson to linebacker for the Cowboys. Now here Wilson is – set to start in the Super Bowl.

LB Germaine Pratt

Class of 2014
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 338
The Skinny: Germaine Pratt of High Point (N.C.) Central was a huge local recruiting victory for then first-year head coach Dave Doeren at NC State. He picked the Wolfpack over UNC, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, East Carolina and others. He was ranked by Rivals.com and 247Sports as a top-15 linebacker nationally. But one thing that bumped his On3 Consensus ranking down some was a No. 77 ranking at his position by ESPN.

DB Mike Hilton

Class of 2012
Star ranking: 3 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 904
The Skinny: Mike Hilton was a longtime Ole Miss commitment throughout most of his recruitment coming out of Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy Creek. However, the Rebels did have to withstand a late push from North Carolina. The Rebels were able to get him to visit last before Signing Day and that won him over for good. He was considered a top-80 prospect in Georgia’s 2012 class.

DB Chidobe Awuzie

Class of 2013
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 1331
The Skinny: Chidobe Awuzie was a three-star recruit coming out of San Jose (Calif.) Oak Grove. He picked the Buffaloes over offers from San Jose State, Washington State, Wisconsin, Utah, Utah State and Colorado State. He briefly committed to Washington State during an in-home visit with Cougars then head coach Mike Leach but decommitted the next morning.

DB Eli Apple

Class of 2013
Star ranking: 4 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 45
The Skinny: Eli Apple was the No. 1 overall recruit in New Jersey’s 2013 class coming out of Voorhees Eastern. Apple had a long list of national offers early on, but he knew that Ohio State was where he wanted to be, so he committed to the Buckeyes almost a year before he could sign his letter of intent.

DB Vonn Bell

Class of 2014
Star ranking: 5 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 27
The Skinny: Vonn Bell was the third-ranked safety, fourth-best player in Georgia and a five-star recruit with both 247Sports and Rivals.com coming out of Rossville, Ga. With a resume like that, it was no shock that his offer list was among the best in the country. He did take official visits to Ohio State, Alabama and Tennessee in January of his senior year. But he picked the Buckeyes on National Signing Day largely because of the bond he built with then Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

DB Jessie Bates III

Class of 2015
Star ranking: 3 stars
On3 Consensus ranking: No. 1396
The Skinny: Jessie Bates was ranked as an On3 Consensus three star coming out of Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider. Interestingly, Rivals.com had him ranked as a two star, while ESPN and 247Sports listed him as a three. Bates did have some B1G attention early in the process. But in the end, he visited Wake Forest and Toledo in January of his senior year. The Demon Deacons got the last visit, and it ended up paying off with the commitment.