OUInsider - Owen Field

A look back at our 2007 list of the state's top high school recruits and what happened to them after signing day:

Rank, player | Pos. | High school (class) | College | Note

1. Terrance Toliver WR Hempstead (2A) LSU 2011 Cotton Bowl MVP started 31 games, with 126 catches

2. Ryan Mallett QB Texas High (4A) Michigan Transferred to Arkansas, became one of nation's top passers

3. John Chiles ATH Mansfield Summit (5A) Texas Switched from QB to WR, started 15 games with 65 catches

4. Curtis Brown ATH Gilmer (3A) Texas Second-team All-Big 12 as a senior, 28 starts, 3rd-round draft pick

5. Tray Allen OL S. Grand Prairie (5A) Texas Started only six games in injury-plagued career for Horns

6. Richetti Jones DE Dallas Lincoln (4A) Oklahoma State Honorable mention all-conference, as a senior

7. Lennon Creer RB Tatum (2A) Tennessee Transferred to Louisiana Tech; had 2,000-plus yards past two years

8. Andre Jones DE Dallas Lincoln (4A) Texas Never played; legal issues resulted in him leaving the program

9. Derrick Stephens LB Houston Cy-Falls (5A) Texas A&M Had to retire from football because of injuries

10. Keenan Robinson LB Plano East (5A) Texas 2011 Butkus semifinalist had 38 career starts for Horns

11. Michael Huey OL Kilgore (4A) Texas Started 20 games for Longhorns, played in 38 total

12. Ben Wells DB Beaumont Ozen (4A) Texas Never found substantive playing time, transferred to Stephen F. Austin

13. Malcolm Williams WR Garland (5A) Texas Caught 80 career passes before quitting football his senior year

14. Cody Johnson RB Waller (4A) Texas His 35 career TDs are seventh-best in UT history for RBs

15. Russell Carter DE Houston Westbury (5A) Texas Horns backup transferred to NAIA's Evangel, in Missouri

16. Ron Brooks WR Irving MacArthur (5A) LSU Became a top DB reserve, with 3 career interception returns for TDs

17. Aundre McGaskey OL La Marque (4A) Texas Quit UT, then started at Blinn College, then moved to New Mexico State

18. Dez Bryant WR Lufkin (5A) Oklahoma State 2008 All-American was Cowboys' first-round pick in 2010

19. Earl Thomas DB West Orange-Stark (4A) Texas 2009 All-American was Seahawks' first-round pick in 2010

20. Christian Scott DB Dallas Skyline (5A) Texas Started 14 games; career hindred by injuries, academic issues

21. Ahmard Howard TE Brenham (4A) Texas Played in 45 career games for Horns, but never started one

22. Von Miller DE DeSoto (5A) Texas A&M Two-time All-American was the second pick of the 2011 draft

23. Jarvis Jones OL Rosenberg Lamar (4A) LSU Dismissed from LSU, ended up a part-time starter at Oklahoma

24. Jarrett Lee QB Brenham (4A) LSU Threw 32 TD passes, seventh-best in school history

25. Bradley Stephens RB McAllen Memorial (5A) Texas A&M Career backup graduated early and quit football

26. William Cole ATH Cedar Hill (5A) Oklahoma State Suffered a knee injury, then transferred to Texas Tech

27. Chris Perry DT Keller Fossil Ridge (4A) Miami Transferred to Texas Tech, became a career backup

28. Kyle Hix OL Aledo (4A) Texas Started 39 games for Horns; now on injured reserve with New England Patriots

29. Billy Chavis TE Beaumont Westbrook (5A) Texas A&M Backup at A&M, ended up transferring to Lamar U.

30. James Kirkendoll WR Round Rock (5A) Texas Caught 121 career passes, with 28 starts for Horns

31. Desmond Jackson DB Seguin (5A) Oklahoma Was a backup during his Sooners career

32. Brandon Williams ATH Beaumont Central (4A) Texas A&M Never qualified academically

33. Jeremy Kerley ATH Hutto (3A) TCU Top WR/returner was a fifth-round pick by Jets in 2011

34. Nick Foles QB Westlake (5A) Michigan State Transferred to Arizona, became one of the country's top passers

35. Brandon Collins ATH Brenham (4A) Texas Promising career ended by academic, legal problems

36. Travis Lewis LB San Antonio Lee (5A) Oklahoma Was a four-time All-Big 12 selection for Sooners

37. Sam Acho DE Dallas St. Mark's (Priv.) Texas Won nation's academic Heisman, was a 4th-round draft pick

38. Justin Sturns RB Rusk (3A) Navarro J.C. Never signed a Division I scholarship, ended up as a Tarleton backup

39. Ben Bass DE Plano West (5A) Texas A&M Was a career backup at both defensive line, tight end

40. Marcus Mendoza RB Houston Spring Woods (5A) Nebraska Was a career backup at both I-back, defensive back

41. Dominique Hamilton DT El Paso Chapin (4A) Missouri Ended up a three-year starter for the Tigers

42. Lonnie Edwards OL Brownsboro (3A) Texas Tech Started three years for the Red Raiders

43. Brandon Herron LB Fort Bend Dulles (5A) Michigan Career backup, had a school-record 94-yard INT return

44. Brock Mansion QB Dallas Episcopal (Priv.) California Played mostly backup in his career, with 71 completions

45. Jacob Amie WR Tyler Lee (5A) Texas Tech Ended up transferring to Cisco Junior College

46. Curtis Thomas DB Aldine (5A) Minnesota Transferred to Texas Southern, was a two-time All-SWAC pick

47. Tekerrein Cuba DB Tyler Lee (5A) TCU Was Horned Frogs' second-leading tackler as a senior

48. Jermaine Love LB North Garland (5A) Arkansas Was a career backup for the Razorbacks

49. Joseph Reese RB Hendrickson (4A) Arizona Left the Wildcats program before exhausting his eligibility

50. Jerrod Gooch OL Vidor (4A) Texas Tech See Reese; left the Red Raiders program before exhausting eligibility

51. Foswhitt Whittaker RB Pearland (5A) Texas Ended career as a fan favorite, all-conference returner as a senior

52. Alex Russian TE Round Rock (5A) LSU A career backup for Tigers, as a deep snapper

53. Lavar Brown DE Rosenberg Lamar (4A) Arizona Didn't qualify academically

54. Jamell Fleming DB Arlington Seguin (4A) Oklahoma A two-time All-Big 12 selection for the Sooners

55. Nick Fanuzzi QB San Antonio Churchill (5A) Alabama Ended up transferring to Rice, started four games

2007's Fab 55: On second thought ...

If we had it all over to do again, our top 10 recruits from the 2007 Fabulous 55 would look a bit different:

No. 1: Von Miller, DE, DeSoto. Miller, who signed with Texas A&M, originally was No. 22 on our 2007 list. The Aggies' two-time All-American and Butkus Award winner was the No. 2 pick of the 2011 NFL draft, and made the Pro Bowl his rookie season.

No. 2: Earl Thomas, S, West Orange-Stark. The state's 19th-ranked recruit on our 2007 list, Thomas was an All-American for Texas in 2009 and a Thorpe finalist. He left school after his sophomore season, but was a first-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks.

No. 3: Dez Bryant, WR, Lufkin. Our No. 18-ranked player in 2007 was the fourth receiver on the list, but blossomed at Oklahoma State, earning All-American honors in 2008. The Dallas Cowboys made him a first-round pick in 2010.

No. 4: Kendall Hunter, RB, Tyler John Tyler. How much of a missed target was this current San Francisco 49er? Hunter didn't even crack the 2007 list. But he was a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State, in 2008 and 2010.

No. 5: Tank Carder, DB, Sweeny. One of two Top-10 TCU recruits on this revamped list, Carder wasn't even ranked among our top 55 in 2007. All he did was sign with TCU, become a two-time All-American, and earn MVP honors at the 2011 Rose Bowl, saving the game with a broken-up 2-point conversion pass late in the game.

No. 6: Ryan Mallett, QB, Texas High. He certainly wasn't a miss in 2007 — Mallett was the state's No. 2-ranked recruit on our list. He signed with Michigan, but then transferred to Arkansas, where he led the SEC in passing in 2010. The third-round pick in the 2011 draft is Super Bowl-bound, as one of Tom Brady's backups in New England.

No. 7: Jeremy Kerley, WR/KR, Hutto. Our 33rd-ranked player in 2007, Kerley continued his success forged in Hutto at TCU, where he was an effective receiver for quarterback Andy Dalton, played in two BCS bowl games and earned All-American honors as a returnman in 2010. He was a fourth-round pick by the New York Jets in 2011.

No. 8: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Big Spring. Like Hunter and Carder, Tannehill didn't crack our Fabulous 55 that year. But he enjoyed a good college career and is one of the top-rated quarterbacks entering this year's NFL draft. He signed with Texas A&M, made his early mark as a wide receiver, then became the Aggies' starting quarterback midway through 2010. He's the only player in NCAA history to have 200-yard games as a passer and a receiver.

No. 9: Sam Acho, DE, Dallas St. Mark's. Originally ranked No. 37 (just behind future Oklahoma linebacker Travis Lewis), Acho became one of the leaders of the Texas defense his final two seasons, earning All-Big 12 honors in 2010. He also got it done in the classroom; Acho won the academic Heisman his final year. He's playing for the Arizona Cardinals.

No. 10: Nick Foles, QB, Westlake. Our 34th best recruit in 2007 (rated right behind Kerley), Foles — like Mallett — did some traveling in college. He originally signed with Michigan State, then transferred to Arizona. This past season, he ranked fifth nationally in passing and should be taken in this year's NFL draft.

— Suzanne Halliburton