Recruiting is far from an Exact Science: 2004 Recruiting Class

With a little less than a week remaining till National Letter of Intent Day otherwise known as LOI Day. Around this time college coaches are flying all over the country trying to make sure their top verbal commitments are still...commitments. Also they are making their last pitch to a top recruit who has not yet made his decision. These recruits better soak it all up now because once they sign their LOI, they no longer have the upper hand. Between now and LOI day I plan on looking at the Top 10 Recruits according to Rivals.com for 2004. I did a similar piece back in June of 2006 looking at the top 5 recruits from the 2003 recruiting season. Top 10 of the 2004 Recruiting Season 10. Xavier Lee - Lee committed to Florida State and finished his prep career as Florida's all-time leader in passing yards (9,082), completions (549) and touchdowns (98). He was ranked 78 spots higher than his fellow competitor Drew Weatherford. Lee's career so far has not been what he has expected. In his two years at Florida State he has thrown for a total of 1300 yards and 10 touchdowns while he has watched his counterpart Weatherford struggle, yet still find a way to keep his job. It is going to be tough for Lee to unseat Weatherford, and even if Lee were to transfer he would have to sit out a year and only have 1 year of eligibility remaining if he were to go to a Division 1-a school. 9. Jeff Schweiger Jr. - This defensive end from San Jose, CA picked USC over a host of other schools. Schweiger had an impressive resume'. In his junior and senior seasons in high school he amassed 280 tackles and 31 sacks. Can't miss prospect right? Wrong, Schweiger is struggling to see the field at USC. Mostly due to all the talent that Pete Carrol seems to get every February. Schweiger has played 1 game in his two playing seasons at USC. In that one game he had 7 tackles and 2 sacks. He currently sits second on the depth chart behind Kyle Moore, who is a year younger than him. 8. Derrick Harvey - Harvey chose Florida as his choice of schools and he did this during the Ron Zook era. Harvey will be a redshirt junior next season. In the BCS Championship year that the Gators had Harvey started opposite of Jarvis Moss and racked up 25 tackles and 10 sacks. He certainly has the skills to become a top player in the league and look for him to cause even more havok in opposing backfields next season. 7. Brandon Miller - The Georgia native decided to stay in-state with the Bulldogs. There were rumors flying around that Miller might skip his Senior season and turn pro, but as David Ching so eloquently put it; 'What the heck?' you might ask yourself, which would be understandable. He started a whopping five games and registered 23 tackles at strongside linebacker this year. That right there about sums up the career of Brandon Miller so far. There still seems a lot to be desired. 6. Willie Williams - Go to a children's bookstore and get a Where's Waldo Book. Because you have about as good of a chance of finding Waldo on that page as you will finding where Willie Williams will be playing. He committed to Miami, but the University took a lot of flack for taking in this player who was being tried on numerous criminal acts. Williams played sparingly in 2005, netting 17 tackles. Where he will be next year is one of life's big mysteries. Dennis Dodd has been saying that Williams will sign with Louisivlle come LOI Day. I guess we will all have to wait anxiously and find out. 5. Keith Rivers - When the ink dried, Rivers made his intentions that he would play for Southern California. The senior to be has been a two year starter for the Trojans and was the leading tackler in the 2006 season. Rivers had 85 tacklers, 7.5 of them for a loss with 3 forced fumbles and 1 recovered. He gave thought to turning pro after this season but decided against it. He will be a key ingredient in the Trojans' run toward a National Title next season. 4. Rhett Bomar - Bomar had the world by the nuts. He redshirted his first year and in his second season he became the quarterback of the Oklahoma Sooners by the second game of the season. He struggled a bit early in the year but by the Holiday Bowl he hit his stride. 2006 was suppose to be a big year with Bomar at quarterback and Peterson (see #1) at running back. Before the season started Bomar was kicked off the team for receiving $18,000 for a job he worked only 5 hours a week. He is currently enrolled at Sam Houston State and will continue his career there next season. See kids, it doesn't pay to take money for work you didn't do. 3. Early Doucet - Early kept his state happy by choosing to play for LSU when LOI day came around. LSU knew that they were getting a big play receiver when Doucet came to campus. As a true freshman he made a spectacular touchdown catch against Arizona State late in the 4th quarter. He has played three years for the Tigers, improving each year. In 2006 he had 59 catches for 772 yards and 8 touchdowns. Doucet also added 2 more scores on the ground. He is a big play receiver and has easily played up to his 5 star rating. 2. Ted Ginn Jr. - Ted Ginn is a big play receiver just like Doucet, but Ginn has a facet of his game that Doucet doesn't, he can return kicks. The only play Ohio State wants to remember from the BCS title game was his opening kickoff for a touchdown. In his three seasons as a Buckeye Ginn caught 135 passes for 1935 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also had 8 touchdowns on kickoff and punt returns. Ginn has announced he will enter the NFL Draft in April. 1. Adrian Peterson - In his senior season in High School, Peterson rushed for over 3000 yards. He followed that up the following year with a 2000 yard season as a true freshman at Oklahoma. That ended up being Peterson's best season as a Sooner. In his two following seasons he will still a major force, but injuries hampered a career that could have ended with Peterson being the all time leading rusher in NCAA history and most likely a Heisman Trophy. I don't think anyone will be shedding any tears for Peterson though. He will be a 1st round draft pick this April, but is he durable enough to withstand the punishment of the NFL. That remains to be seen, but he was well deserving of the #1 recruit in the 2004 class.