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Before Bryce Young was considered one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL draft, before he led Alabama to the College Football Playoff and before he won the Heisman Trophy, he was a five-star college football recruit ranked No. 5 overall in the 2020 ESPN 300.

But not all first-round draft picks started out as highly touted college recruits. Sauce Gardner, the fourth pick in the 2022 draft, was a three-star recruit out of high school, developed his game at Cincinnati and became a Pro Bowl cornerback in his rookie season in the NFL.

We highlight six players who went from unranked (and in some cases, ungraded) high school recruits to potential Day 1 NFL draft picks thanks to years of improvement, growth and opportunity.

Texas A&M and Texas Tech | 2018 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 6

Wilson originally signed with Texas A&M before transferring to Texas Tech. It took some time, but he exploded into one the country’s top defensive linemen, posting 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks in only 10 games as senior in 2022.

Looking back at our scouting notes, we referred to Wilson as an “intriguing prospect” with length, quickness and a promising ceiling for development. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, we had concerns about his lack of power, but likely should have put more emphasis on his production, as he recorded 126 tackles, 38 TFLs, 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries as a high school senior.

We were accurate in identifying his high ceiling, however. Wilson has grown two inches while adding 51 pounds of muscle. He can now swing between the interior or edge, which is a significant value add at the NFL level and a major reason why he will come off the board early.

Illinois | 2019 recruiting ranking: Ungraded

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 7

Witherspoon’s journey to Champaign, Illinois, and the top of the cornerback class of this year’s draft board has been anything but ordinary. He didn’t start playing football until his junior season at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida. His first love was basketball and he excelled in track (11.2 100-meter and 6-foot-5 high jump). Once he strapped on the helmet, he was an immediate standout, recording seven interceptions as a senior.

It was not until Witherspoon earned a qualifying SAT score late in the process that he earned his only Power 5 offer from Illinois, as he cleared the NCAA requirements in July. Witherspoon enrolled during training camp after initially planning to attend Hutchinson Community College (Kansas).

The rest is history. He developed into an All-American corner who excels in an array of coverages and is a physical ball hawk on run support. How did every recruiting service fail to anoint a first-round talent with even one star? It’s a simple answer. He went to a smaller school, didn’t start playing until his junior season and had nonqualifying test scores until training camp of his freshman year. To that end, if prospects were ranked on perseverance alone, Witherspoon would be a five-star.

Iowa | 2020 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 11

Van Ness was highly athletic in high school, even playing hockey at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. In the defensive trenches, his game wasn’t flashy; it was built more on power and less on edge speed, which is why he slid under the radar and had just three Power 5 offers.

He didn’t even start at Iowa, yet he was a disruptive force who saw action in 27 games and was plenty productive with 19 tackles for loss. He maximized his frame, as he now stands at 6-5, 272 pounds, while increasing his speed and acceleration.

His draft stock soared from his coveted measurables and his agility. His versatility to play most positions along the D-line is also highly sought-after at the NFL level. On the biggest stage at the NFL combine, he ran a 4.58 40-yard dash. By comparison, 2014 No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney ran a 4.53 as a defensive end in 2014.

San Diego and Utah | 2018 recruiting ranking: Ungraded

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 14

Kincaid was a high school basketball star at Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas who came out to the gridiron as a senior. While he was productive — 745 yards, eight touchdowns — it was too late to garner much recruiting attention, and he lacked film with in-line blocking plays. (Lutheran didn’t use a blocking tight end, utilizing Kincaid outside for mismatches with his ball skills and jumping ability.)

While our scouts missed on Kincaid, Brent Browner, head coach at top high school power Bishop Gorman (Nevada), did not. “We actually devised a game plan to contain him but it obviously didn’t work,” he said, reflecting on when Kincaid had three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown against his team. “He was able to create mismatches with his length and athleticism. I believe his touchdown was the first we let up in six games.”

Kincaid walked on at the FCS level with San Diego, and after an All-American season in 2019 (835 yards, eight TDs), he transferred to Utah, where he broke out. Over the past two seasons, Kincaid totaled 1,400 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, as Utah won back-to-back Pac-12 titles.

Boston College | 2019 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 21

Flowers was listed at 5-10, 160 pounds in high school, but even that was generous. He hasn’t grown much in height, but he put on 22 pounds of explosive muscle during his time in Chestnut Hill. From a positional standpoint, he was the No. 123 WR nationally; next week, he is projected to be among the first at his position to come off the board.

Flowers was a consensus three-star from Florida without offers from any of the in-state blue bloods. Aside from lacking size, he also lacked exposure. Flowers was a modest prospect who stayed off the camp and combine circuits and didn’t run track to capture any verified speed metrics. He was a two-way starter at wide receiver and defensive back. He was extremely quick but had yet to refine his pass-catching skills.

Boston College was the perfect spot to contribute early and utilize his versatility. In four seasons, he totaled 3,056 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns, including 1,077 yards and 12 scores in 2022. Success is often based on circumstance, and Flowers was given the perfect opportunity to soar with the Eagles.

Kansas State | 2020 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 31

Anudike-Uzomah had one Power 5 offer out of high school: Kansas State. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Wildcats are one of the best programs in the country at identifying and evaluating sleepers. While we saw a three-star prospect despite his big frame (6-3, 220) and ability to move well, Kansas State saw more.

“We saw a long frame that could handle 260 and retain that great upfield quickness he flashed in high school,” said Hank Jacobs, Kansas State’s director of recruiting. “We also thought he had an extremely high ceiling because of his work ethic.”

Anudike-Uzomah went on to dominate at KSU as sophomore and junior, earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022 with team highs of 11 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks included in 46 total stops during 14 starts. Although he is a bit raw in terms of NFL projections, he’s considered one of the top-rated defensive ends in the draft, far surpassing his No. 220 positional ranking out of high school.

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Bowman secures pole for Cup race at Bristol

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3 hours ago

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April 14, 2025

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Bowman secures pole for Cup race at Bristol

  • Field Level Media

Apr 12, 2025, 09:44 PM ET

BRISTOL, Tenn. — A little ray of sunshine was all Alex Bowman needed to secure the pole position for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Well, not quite all. Bowman also had to turn a blistering lap in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during Saturday’s time trials at the 0.533-mile short track, and he did just that.

Bowman covered the distance in 14.912 seconds (128.675 mph) — the fastest lap ever run at Bristol in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen car. That was good enough to hold off fellow Chevrolet driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (128.563 mph) by 0.013 seconds to secure the top starting spot for the ninth Cup Series race of the season.

It wasn’t just the Busch Light Pole Award that had Bowman salivating. Extensive tire wear in the practice session that preceded qualifying compared to last year’s spring event in Thunder Valley, where tire fall-off was a crucial aspect of the competition.

“I think we’re all much more prepared than we were last spring,” said Bowman, who ran his lap under favorable cloud cover — with the sun coming out shortly after his qualifying attempt and warming the track slightly on an otherwise chilly day.

“I’m excited for a tire management race. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll see what we’ve got,” he added.

“We started practice with rubber already on the track from the Xfinity cars, peeled it right up and sawed the tires right off. Yeah, confusing why we’re doing it again when we didn’t do it in the fall.

“It’s going to be warmer tomorrow. Maybe that changes it. It’s really difficult to say. I think it’s going to be like that [the spring race], but we’ll find out together, I think.”

Kyle Larson (128.511 mph) qualified third after winning the pole position for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race earlier in the day. Denny Hamlin, winner of the past two Cup events, was fourth in the fastest Toyota at 128.460 mph, and Ryan Blaney topped all other Ford drivers with a fifth-place qualifying lap at 128.305 mph.

In seven of the past eight Cup races at Bristol, the winner has come from the top five spots on the starting grid — two from the pole and two from the second starting position.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell claimed the sixth and seventh starting spots, with AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley claiming eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Kyle Busch was 15th fastest in qualifying, but he spun off Turn 4 on his second lap and flat-spotted his tires. Joey Logano, who qualified immediately after Busch, broke loose off Turn 2 and smacked the outside wall with the right rear of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Logano will start 38th on Sunday.

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NASCAR’s appeal rips ruling for MJ’s 23XI Racing

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3 hours ago

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April 14, 2025

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NASCAR's appeal rips ruling for MJ's 23XI Racing

  • Field Level Media

Apr 8, 2025, 09:03 PM ET

In response to the preliminary injunctions granted to 23XI Racing — owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — and Front Row Motorsports, NASCAR filed a brief on Friday urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reverse the decision.

In the appeal, NASCAR contends that 23XI and Front Row sought and received injunctions binding them to the 2024 charter agreement despite contending that the charter violates antitrust law.

NASCAR asserted that U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell misapplied antitrust laws and portrayed the release of claims as standard business practice, not anti-competitive conduct. NASCAR argued that businesses, per case law, have a right to choose the terms and conditions of their agreements and that it’s the teams’ choice to accept or decline those terms.

Per the appeal, NASCAR went on defend exclusivity agreements with racetracks and limited non-compete clauses, emphasizing their importance in cost control and consistency for race operations and media rights.

NASCAR presented 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports as investments by entrepreneurs such as Jordan, contrasting them with antitrust cases involving athletes restricted by monopolistic environments.

In the appeal, NASCAR explained its competitiveness in attracting capital, fans and owners, citing high turnover and the need for continual investment.

Meanwhile, 23XI and Front Row in court filings have maintained that NASCAR’s business practices are monopolistic and anticompetitive and deny teams a fair shake.

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Officials: Ex-LSU WR Lacy died in apparent suicide

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3 hours ago

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April 14, 2025

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Officials: Ex-LSU WR Lacy died in apparent suicide

  • ESPN News Services

Apr 13, 2025, 09:58 PM ET

Former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy, who was found dead Saturday night in Houston, died in an apparent suicide in his car while being pursued by authorities, according to a Harris County (Texas) sheriff’s report released Sunday.

According to Harris County authorities, police responded to a call from a female family member who said Lacy had discharged a firearm into the ground during a verbal argument late Saturday night. When they arrived on the scene they learned that the suspect, Lacy, had fled in a vehicle.

Authorities say their pursuit of Lacy ended when Lacy crashed. When officers approached the vehicle to extract Lacy, they say he had died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the report said.

Lacy, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. He had been facing criminal charges stemming from a fatal car accident in Louisiana in December.

“We’re saddened to learn of the tragic passing of former LSU football student-athlete Kyren Lacy,” LSU said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, as well as his former teammates and coaches impacted by his passing.”

In a social media post Sunday, Lacy’s father, Kenny Lacy, urged parents to check in on their children’s mental health from an early age.

“Our lives have changed forever and this will never be ok, but God needed my baby more than he was needed here,” Kenny Lacy wrote on Facebook. “This has to be the biggest pill our families have had to swallow but I know the love and compassion in our families will get us through.”

Kyren Lacy was accused of causing a crash that killed a 78-year-old man Dec. 17 and then fleeing the scene without rendering aid or calling authorities. On Jan. 12, he turned himself in to authorities, was jailed and then released on $151,000 bail, according to police records.

Lafourche (Louisiana) Parish Sheriff’s Office records indicated that Lacy was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle. A grand jury was to begin hearing evidence in the case Monday.

“It is with profound sorrow that we confirm the tragic passing of Kyren Lacy. First and foremost, we ask that the public and the media give his family the space and time they need to grieve this unimaginable loss in peace,” Lacy’s attorney, Matthew Ory, said in a statement to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.

Ory added that he was “very confident the evidence, after being fully collected and reviewed, would lead to a declination of charges” and that, “we will be demanding a full and transparent review of how this investigation was conducted and why.”

Lacy declared for the NFL draft Dec. 19, two days after the crash, and did not play in LSU’s win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl. He participated in March at LSU’s pro day and was ranked as high as the No. 6 receiver prospect in the draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. in December. Lacy was not ranked among the top 10 available wide receivers in Kiper’s most recent Big Board, which was published last month.

Lacy played three seasons at LSU after starting his career at Louisiana. Lacy had his best season last year when he caught 58 passes for 866 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns.

Information from ESPN’s Chris Low and Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was included in this report.

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