3-star defensive end who sparked outrage among media signs with Noles

College football recruiting is a funny game. The number of stars a player has is subjective, and usually the star ranking has more to do with what happens off the football field than on.

The reaction of fans to how many stars a player has drives an industry of subscription recruiting sites worth millions. Everyone doesn’t have the ability to watch player film or a player in person to conduct a proper evaluation and projection of a high school recruit. Most college fans and football writers would fall into that category, which made what happened in the recruitment of Cam Brooks.

The Back Story

Cam Brooks was a four-star composite-ranked defensive end (top 200 player nationally) in Florida State’s backyard in Georgia in April. The coaching staff was recruiting him, but not pushing him to commit, and he ultimately committed to California in April. Admittedly, he grew up an FSU fan, and because of that and being close to FSU, and a position of need, some FSU media went on a social media tirade bashing the FSU staff for allowing him to commit to California.

I never believed the young man should have been ranked as high as he was at the time. He is roughly the same size as two former FSU legacy players (Lamont Green Jr and Aaron Hester), who never produced at FSU and ultimately entered the transfer portal.

Fast forward seven months, and Cam Brooks is a composite three-star ranked No. 600 nationally. Brooks de-committed from California last week after they fired their head coach. Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, or any other local schools really pushed for his commitment. He took an official to Tennessee recently, but signed with FSU on Wednesday.

None of the fans cared because he wasn’t a four-star anymore. He’s the same player as he was in April, just fewer stars. The point is, fans and media don’t know how to properly evaluate players. Brooks should not have been a No. 200 player nationally. Can he develop into a good player? Absolutely, but the social media tirades were so over the top it’s not funny. It's not like he is some can't miss player.

The point is, don’t put too much stock into early recruiting rankings. It is a different world with players getting paid, so there will be more good players choosing places they normally wouldn’t. However, if a player in Georgia is good, he’s likely going to stay in the southeast or a major school like Ohio State, etc.

A player from Georgia committing to California in April? That should tell you all you need to know. Hopefully, he develops into a good player for FSU. He grew up an FSU fan, and FSU sorely needs better defensive end play.