Following the signs – WBNews

A decade ago, they were the best of the best, by all accounts, on the precipice of greatness. They’d been graded, assigned stars and sent off to college with the highest of expectations. So 10 years later, what became of the elite group of high school football players who were tabbed as the nation’s top 100 prospects? Football offers no guarantees, even to the most promising high school seniors of 2007, as designated by the recruiting site Rivals. This Wednesday is National Signing Day, the first day recruits can commit formally to a college program. On that day every year, they’re all promising athletic stars, but a decade later, their paths have splintered in all directions. They’re celebrities, coaches, cops and convicts. They sell cars and houses, and many have had to reinvent themselves several times over. Of the top 100 in 2007, 39 were eventually drafted into the NFL. Twenty are still in the league. Seven made the Pro Bowl. Four are dead. Twenty-six transferred to other schools. And at least one-third obtained degrees from the school they committed to on signing day 10 years ago. Some names are familiar, including No. 66 Aaron Hernandez (prison for murder), No. 2 Joe McKnight (killed last month in apparent road-rage incident), No. 28 Cam Newton (NFL MVP), No. 54 Dez Bryant, No. 3 Eric Berry and No. 59 Joe Haden (all Pro Bowl honorees). Many lived briefly on the NFL fringe — practice squads, training camp rosters, midseason tryouts — but…more detail