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National Signing Day: How Did Current Vikings Rate As Recruits?

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

If you're a fan of college football, you're definitely already aware that today is National Signing Day in the world of college football. . .or, as some might call it, the one day a year that fax machines still have relevance.

You're going to see a lot of talk about 5-star recruits and other levels of "star" ratings if you're following the signings today. So, we decided to take a look back and see how current members of the Minnesota Vikings were viewed by scouts during their high school days when they were being pursued by colleges.

Player Position Star Rating College Chosen Other Notes
Matt Asiata RB *** Utah #34 RB in Rivals' 2005 class; #4 player in Utah
Joe Banyard RB ** Texas-El Paso Originally signed to TCU, transferred as freshman
Anthony Barr LB **** UCLA Mostly recruited as running back; #50 overall player, Rivals' class of 2010
Joe Berger G N/A Michigan Tech No recruiting data found
Robert Blanton S **** Notre Dame #22 safety in Rivals' 2008 class; #7 player in North Carolina
Teddy Bridgewater QB **** Louisville #6 "dual-threat" QB in Rivals' 2011 class; #23 player in Florida, #113 overall nationally
Jasper Brinkley LB *** South Carolina Transferred from Georgia Military College; twin brother Casper also a *** recruit at LB that followed same path
Carter Bykowski OT ** Iowa State Started out as tight end; #10 player in Minnesota in Rivals' 2008 class
Matt Cassel QB N/A Southern Cal No recruiting data found
Audie Cole LB ** North Carolina State Actually listed as a "dual-threat quarterback." No, seriously, look for yourself.
Scott Crichton DE *** Oregon State #12 player in Washington State, Rivals' class of 2010
Ahmad Dixon S **** Baylor #10 safety in Rivals' 2010 class; #18 player in Texas, #133 nationally
Vladimir Ducasse G N/A Massachusetts No recruiting data found
Rhett Ellison TE *** Southern Cal #23 tight end, Rivals' class of 2007; #39 player in California
Antone Exum S *** Virginia Tech #14 player in Virginia, Rivals' class of 2009; #39 "athlete"
Jerome Felton FB N/A Furman No recruiting data found
Sharrif Floyd DT ***** Florida #4 overall player in Rivals' class of 2010
Chase Ford TE *** Miami (FL) No other notable data
Brandon Fusco G N/A Slippery Rock No Rivals data found; only offered scholarships by Division II schools
Chad Greenway LB N/A Iowa No recruiting data found
Everson Griffen DE ***** Southern Cal #6 overall player, Rivals' class of 2007
Mike Harris OT *** UCLA #45 guard, Rivals' class of 2007; #77 player in California
Gerald Hodges LB **** Penn State #12 outside linebacker, Rivals' class of 2009
Greg Jennings WR N/A Western Michigan No recruiting data found
Charles Johnson WR N/A Grand Valley State No recruiting data found
Charlie Johnson G ** Oklahoma State Originally started as tight end; #53 tight end, Rivals' class of 2002
Tom Johnson DT *** Southern Mississippi Got his start at Gulf Coast Community College
Linval Joseph DT *** East Carolina Listed by Rivals as an offensive tackle
Henry Josey RB *** Missouri #39 "athlete," Rivals' class of 2010
Josh Kaddu LB ** Oregon No other notable data
Matt Kalil OT ***** Southern Cal #11 player nationally, Rivals' class of 2008
Zach Line FB ** Southern Methodist Listed by Rivals as outside linebacker
Phil Loadholt OT **** Oklahoma Transferred from Garden City Community College in Kansas
Jeff Locke P *** UCLA Listed as kicker; #2 kicker, Rivals' class of 2008
Cullen Loeffler LS N/A Texas No recruiting data found
Michael Mauti LB **** Penn State #8 player in Louisiana, Rivals' class of 2008
Jerick McKinnon RB *** Georgia Southern Listed by Rivals as wide receiver
Captain Munnerlyn CB ** South Carolina No other notable data
Cordarrelle Patterson WR **** Tennessee Transferred from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas
Adrian Peterson RB ***** Oklahoma #1 overall player in America, Rivals' class of 2004
Christian Ponder QB *** Florida State #16 "pro-style" quarterback, Rivals' class of 2006
Shaun Prater CB *** Iowa #7 player in Nebraska, Rivals' class of 2008
Jabari Price CB *** North Carolina #83 cornerback, Rivals' class of 2010
Xavier Rhodes CB *** Florida State Listed by Rivals as wide receiver
Antonio Richardson OT **** Tennessee #1 player in New Jersey, Rivals' class of 2011
Josh Robinson CB **** Central Florida #18 "athlete," Rivals' class of 2009
Brian Robison DE *** Texas Listed by Rivals as inside linebacker
Kyle Rudolph TE ***** Notre Dame #1 tight end in America, Rivals' class of 2008; #2 player in Ohio
Andrew Sendejo S ** Rice No other notable data
Marcus Sherels CB N/A Minnesota Originally recruited as wide receiver
Harrison Smith S **** Notre Dame #7 player in Tennessee, Rivals' class of 2007
Shamar Stephen DT ** Connecticut No other notable data
John Sullivan C **** Notre Dame #3 center, Rivals' class of 2003
Adam Thielen WR N/A Minnesota State-Mankato No recruiting data found
Justin Trattou DE **** Florida #5 player in New Jersey, Rivals' class of 2007
Blair Walsh K *** Georgia #7 kicker in America, Rivals' class of 2008
Brandon Watts LB *** Georgia Tech #59 outside linebacker, Rivals' class of 2009
Austin Wentworth OL ** Fresno State No other notable data
Corey Wootton DE *** Northwestern Listed by Rivals as offensive tackle
Jarius Wright WR **** Arkansas #3 player in Arkansas, Rivals' class of 2008; #30 wide receiver, #218 overall nationally
David Yankey G *** Stanford #47 offensive tackle, Rivals' class of 2010

So, the Vikings have five players on their roster that were five-star recruits in high school. . .Sharrif Floyd, Everson Griffen, Matt Kalil, Adrian Peterson, and Kyle Rudolph. Peterson has obviously worked out pretty well, and Floyd and Griffen appear to be making the jump as well. The jury is obviously still out on Kalil, and if Rudolph could stay on the field, he could probably fulfill that potential as well.

But, on this recruiting day, that's a look at the majority of the players on the current Minnesota Vikings' roster. Does anyone stick out to you? Are there any surprises? (Besides, obviously, "dual-threat quarterback Audie Cole," I mean.)