Whatever happened to the top 40 players from 2003

We all get excited when our team signs a 5 star prospect. The possibilities seem endless. Visions of conference championships and even national titles dance in our head as we take for granted that "5 stars" guarantees us a great player.

How often does reality meet fantasy? Not as often as you'd like to think. Athlon Sports revisited the top 40 recruits of 2003 in their annual college football magazine in a piece entitled “Whatever happened to Athlon Sports’ Top 40 Recruits of 2003".

Over the next few days I'll count down this list and include a summary of Athlon's summary of each player’s career with a final “grade”. The grade was assigned by me, not Athlon.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1) Obviously the grades are subjective.

2) The grades are split into 5 categories:
a. Bust
b. Marginal Contribution
c. Solid Contribution
d. All-Star
e. All-American

3) In one case, a player’s career was permanently ended early by an injury. This player was given an incomplete.

Without further ado, here are the first ten in reverse order:

40. Tony Cade – DB – Oklahoma (Lewisville, TX) – Played in 11 games in ’04 mostly on special teams. Transferred to the City College of San Francisco and then to UNLV where he started 4 games in ’06 and 8 in ’07. Final Grade: Bust.

39. Tyrone Moss – RB – Miami (FL) (Pompano Beach, FL) – Often injured and sometimes suspended. Earned All-Conference honors in 2005 despite only playing in 8 games. Undrafted free agent cut by Browns in May 2007. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

38. Turk McBride – DL – Tennessee (Camden, NJ) – First team All-SEC (AP) in 2006. Selected in 2nd round of 2006 NFL Draft by Kansas City. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

37. Mario Williams – DL – North Carolina State (Richlands, NC) – Starter from game one of true freshman season. 14.5 sacks in 2005. Number 1 overall pick of NFL Draft in ’06. Final Grade: All-Star.

36. Sean Bailey – WR – Georgia (Alpharetta, GA) – 39 receptions for 615 yards and 5 touchdowns as a senior in ’07. Career: 75 catches, 1269 yards, 12 touchdowns. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

35. Paul Oliver – DB – Georgia (Kennesaw, GA) – Became a full-time starter as a fourth year junior in ’06 and totaled 57 tackles and 3 interceptions. Declared academically ineligible for the ’07 season and entered the NFL Supplemental Draft where he was taken in the 4th round by the Chargers. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

34. Jarvis Moss – DL – Florida (Denton, TX) – 5th in sacks in the SEC in ’05 (7.5) despite not starting a game. Also had 7.5 sacks as a starter on the ’06 UF National Championship team. Left school with one year of eligibility remaining and was drafted in the 1st round of the ’07 draft by Denver. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

33. Lawrence Jackson – DL – USC (Inglewood, CA) – 4 year starter, 2 time all PAC- 10, 2nd team AP All-American (2007). 52 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks in career, 4 PAC – 10 titles, one national championship. 1st round selection of the Seahawks in 2008. Final Grade: All-American.

32. Robert Meacham – WR – Tennessee (Tulsa, OK) – Had a breakout year as 4th year junior in ’06 with 71 catches for 1,298 yards. Ended career with 125 catches for 2,140 yards and a 17.1 yard average. Left school with one year of eligibility left and was a 1st round draft choice of the Saints. Final Grade: All-Star.

31. Steve Smith – WR – USC (Canoga Park, CA) – 190 receptions, 3019 yards, 22 touchdowns. 48-4, two national titles, 2nd round pick of Giants. Final Grade: All-Star.