I am no expert on recruiting, but I have watched John Stephen Jones in action in the last two 5A-1 championship games in Texas and he is spectacular. I have also looked for his name on ESPN and 247 and I cannot find it anywhere. Surely a player of his ability deserves 3 stars.
It’s got to be his size that kills him.
He’s a little guy and that doesn’t project well at the next level.
He is a player though, really fun to watch.
247 and Rivals do have pages on him – but those pages do not include a rating.
<LINK_TEXT text=“https://247sports.com/Player/John-Steph … s-46039810”>https://247sports.com/Player/John-Stephen-Jones-46039810</LINK_TEXT>
<LINK_TEXT text=“https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/ … nes-196746”>https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/john-stephen-jones-196746</LINK_TEXT>
Many of those rating systems are way over rated, just like Mel Kiper draft expert.
I think when they become the focus of a recruiting battle, they get rated. And, when you lack a certain trait (height, speed, etc.) they generally forget about you. There are often players who can play in college who are not rated. They get rated when they go to a school’s summer camp and word gets out that a coach liked them. Sad, but true.
I talked to a guy in Texas I really respect after watching JSJ vs. Lovejoy and the guy said JSJ wasn’t a DI QB and I disagreed with him. I think seeing him in person makes you appreciate his talent more so than on film.
I’m not sure JSJ would standout in a camp setting because of his size. I know he was at the Nike camp in Dallas. He doesn’t standout when taking reps because most of the QBs are 6-1 and above. His arm strength is good, not great but on par with most other QBs.
He stands out during games and I’m not sure many people have seen him play this season.
Big part of it. Trust your evaluation and not rate kids until they start receiving offers or up their ranking when so called big schools start to offer. Prime example Noah Banks. His rating went up after Texas and Florida offered.
The regional recruiting director on Scout told me publicly in the board that he often changed rankings of certain schools offered. At that point, I saw the rankings for what they are–not particularly helpful once you get beyond the Top 200-250 players in the country.
Well, by damn, he might not be rated, but he dang sho passes the eyeball test during the game, My friend TeeMighty days JSJ will set the football world on fire in college and will lead the Hogs to the highest of worldly glories. I have to say he is something special.
Who assigns the rankings? What are their backgrounds? Do they publish that type information?
For all we know, it’s people with Communications or Physical Education degrees that have never been near a football field as a coach or player.
All the public knows are the Davenports or Otis’s of the world who do a good job covering, but they don’t actually assign ratings?
Btw, how many stars did Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield have?
Probably not many stars, since he walked on
Rivals gave him three stars. But check the list of schools recruiting him.
<LINK_TEXT text=“https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/ … ield-19025”>https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2013/baker-mayfield-19025</LINK_TEXT>
A long time acquaintance of mine from Dallas just posted on Facebook about JSJ— “May not be a better clutch quarterback in the history of Texas high school football. The kid simply wins”
This friend of mine is not a Razorback fan but is a Highland Park guy. Makes me very excited to see how he does in college!
FWIW, I asked JSJ if he had a timeline for a decision and he said last night he was still sorting things out.