Stay sleeping: These 2018 football recruits won't be unrated for long

These guys remind us that early football recruit rankings are incomplete at best.

I’ve espoused many times in this space that while college football recruiting rankings are excellent, they don't necessarily start out that way.

As an example of this, I found 19 players with major offers who, at the time of this writing, are still unrated. Not underrated, but unrated, meaning they have no rating on the 247Sports Composite -- a blending of the four major recruiting services.

Some of these players have had their big offers for months. But the truth of the matter is that rankings eight months from National Signing Day are incomplete at best. Luckily, they do change a lot, as the rating services show a willingness to fight confirmation bias.

Jalen Jordan

Jordan is a 6’5, 210-pound receiver who impressed me when I stopped in to IMG’s spring practice this May, and again in the IMG Spring Game. He impressed coaches, too, landing offers from South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Boston College, UCLA, and Cincinnati. And half of his offers came in March, so he didn’t just begin to be known.

Andrew Johnson

Johnson is a 6’2, 220-pound linebacker from Tifton (Ga.) Tift County. He is unrated despite claiming offers from Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon, and West Virginia. I’d say a prospect with those offers is far from a zero-star.

Caleb Kelly

Out of Atlanta (Ga.) Hapeville Charter, Kelly is a 6’3, 215-pound linebacker with offers from Michigan State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Virginia. Plus, Georgia has shown some interest.

Jesus Gibbs

Gibbs, an offensive tackle out of Potomac (Va.) Dumfries has no rating despite claiming offers from five ACC schools, plus South Carolina.

Chandler Jones

This corner out of powerhouse Miami (Fla.) Central claims four SEC offers, plus Virginia and Utah, yet no rating.

Traevon Kenion

This Monroe (NC) receiver is listed at 6’4, with offers from Duke, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, and South Carolina.

Jermaine McMillian

McMillian, a lanky DB out of powerhouse Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington, claims offers from three SEC schools, plus Baylor and N.C. State.

Kingston Harris

Harris is a 6’4, 272-pound defensive lineman from the IMG Academy. He holds offers from Michigan State, Tennessee, Maryland, Rutgers, and UCF. That’s a strong offer list for an emerging player. And Harris has held all of these offers since the first week in March, so it is not as if he just received them.

Doug Johnson

Johnson, an offensive lineman from Fort White (Fla.), is still unrated despite claiming offers from Florida, Georgia, Louisville, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Utah. Auburn has also shown interest in the 6’6, 325-pounder.

Jaylen Joyner

Joyner, an edge rusher from Orlando (Fla.) Jones is still unrated, despite claiming offers from North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and USF.

JaVeon Marlow

Out of Winter Haven (Fla.) Senior, this running back claims offers from Duke, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Pitt.

Antoine Green

A 6’3 receiver out of Rockledge (Fla.) Senior, Green now claims offers from Oregon, Georgia, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Tennessee. He’s yet another example of why starting ratings are much better late in the cycle, after they’ve caught up.

Russell Brown

Out of Lehigh Acres (Fla.), Brown is a 6’3 receiver with offers from Oregon, South Carolina, and USF, among others. Brown is a physical player who even plays some h-back for his team when the Lightning need an extra wing blocker.

Coleton Beck

This running back from Blacksburg (Va.) has no rating despite holding five Power 5 offers, including North Carolina.

Jordan McFadden

The Roebuck (SC) Dorman offensive tackle is without a rating despite holding offers like Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, South Carolina, N.C. State, and Virginia Tech.

Rocky Jacques-Louis

Out of Ft. Myers (Fla.) Dunbar, Jacques-Louis broke Lee County’s single-season sack record, previously held by a player named Jevon Kearse. His twin brother, Shocky, a receiver, is committed to Kentucky.

Jeremiah Salaam

Out of Frostproof (Fla.), I’ve written about Salaam recently.

Ohio State extended an offer to Jeremiah Salaam, of Frostproof (Fla.), which is a very remote part of the state, located about 90 minutes East of Tampa, and 90 minutes South of Orlando. Salaam is currently unrated on the 247Sports Composite. It is hard for prospects to go under the radar in Florida, given how many schools recruit the state. But Frostproof is the type of place where it could happen. Salaam measured in at 5’10 and 165 pounds at the Orlando Nike Opening Camp in February of this year, which is 3 inches and 15 pounds smaller than his listed 6’1 and 180 pounds on recruiting sites. And his Nike Rating, a score measuring 40-yard dash, shuttle, powerball, and vertical jump was just 78 — 127th overall at the event. Given that Notre Dame, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kentucky have also offered, despite pedestrian testing numbers for a safety, I figured Salaam plays faster than he tests. His highlight tape shows an instinctive, physical player with ball skills.

I still have not seen him in person, but likely will soon.

Jamari Brown

Out of Pompano Beach (Fla.) Blanche Ely, Brown now claims offers from Oregon, South Carolina, N.C. State, Pitt, USF, and Kentucky. I have not seen the 6’3 corner yet, but if he can play corner at that size, and not safety, I’d expect his offer list to keep growing and for his rating to rise.

Jar’Tavius Martin

Martin, a 6’0 safety from Lehigh Acres (Fla.), is catching a lot of interest from coaches this spring, and recently picked up offers from Southern Miss, Tulane, and Georgia Southern. Maryland and Illinois are also monitoring him.

Caleb Johnson

Johnson, a linebacker from Columbus (Ga.) Northside, just picked up a rating of three stars in the last week, after previously being unrated. This, despite reportedly adding offers from Missouri, Florida, Maryland, and Ole Miss in February, LSU in March, and Miami and Tennessee in April.

Jarvis Ware

Ware, one of the better corners I’ve seen on the camp circuit this year, just got ranked on March 31. He’s added Oregon and Virginia Tech in recent weeks, among others.