15 High School Football Recruits Who Spurned In-State Favorites in 2013

Top 15 Players Leaving Home State For College Football

College Football Recruiting is a fickled process.

To try and understand it is like attempting to understand the opposite sex. It's as predictable as the weather, and it's a year-round process.

In other words, recruiting is awesome.

If every prospect did exactly as we thought they would, it wouldn't be any fun, now would it?

For instance, assuming that a prospect will value a schools location above all, and always stay in-state is one of the greatest misconceptions in recruiting.

If there's an elite player from Ohio, naturally everyone assumes he's bound for the Ohio State Buckeyes. A prospect from Alabama? Either The Crimson Tide or Auburn Tigers, right? And what big prospect from Oregon would ever turn down their home-state Oregon Ducks?

Well, hate to break the news to ya folks, but home-state ties are overrated.

At best, it might give a program a slight edge in the sales pitch, but not much more.

Years ago, the home-state school status played a huge role in the recruiting process, especially before commercial airlines became so common. A school that was within a few hours drive always held a tactical advantage over the schools that were on the other side of the country.

But these days, parents and kids can fly back and forth from home to school in just a few hours. If a parent can't fly or drive to every game, more than likely you can find the game on the television, or, at worst, watch it online. So nowadays prospects feel much more open to the idea of playing a few thousand miles away from mom and dad.

Don't get me wrong, the pressure from the local fan bases and townspeople to play for 'their' team is abundant. But more and more, prospects want to break out on their own and do something different.

So who are the top prospects in this recruiting class that will be heading out of state? This list will break that down for you. Considering we're still a few weeks away from National Signing Day, there's always a chance a prospect will change his mind, but the guys on this list are giving every indication they're spurning the in-state programs.

Without further ado...

#15- Altee Tenpenny- Running Back- North Little Rock, Arkansas

The 6'0'' 215lb tailback is verbally committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. I can't say I blame any running back for wanting to play in 'Bama's scheme, but consider the caliber of other tailback prospects joining him in their class, he could be making a mistake going out of state. Now that Bret Bielema has taken over Tenpenny's home-state Arkansas Razorbacks, the star running back could change his mind, but he's giving no indication he's heading anywhere other than Tuscaloosa next year. This is a huge in-state recruiting loss for the Razorbacks, who frequently get outfoxed within their own state lines.

#14- Max Redfield- Safety- Mission Viejo, California

For a long time, the 6'2'' 200lb safety was fully planning on staying in-state with the Southern Cal Trojans. Unfortunately for Trojans, they have a lame-duck head coach who is struggling to maintain his once dominant class, and many one-time commits are headed elsewhere now. Throw Redfield in that mix as well. Redfield changed his mind about SC, and is now committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A coup for the Irish against their hated rivals in Los Angeles.

#13- Ty Isaac- Running Back- Joliet, Illinois

This bruising 6'3'' 215lb tailback never gave his home-state Illinois Fighting Illini much of a chance, and has been committed to the Southern Cal Trojans since last May. Similarly to other Trojan commits, Isaac is beginning to consider other schools besides SC. Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State have been circling in on Isaac, and there's a very real chance he'll pick one of the three by Signing Day. This much is certain: he won't be playing in Illinois next year.

#12- Leon McQuay III- Safety- Seffner, Florida

Just when SC loses one five-star safety to Notre Dame (Redfield), they get another in McQuay. In addition to the Trojans, the star safety was also considering Vanderbilt. McQuay sees a future for himself in the music industry, and Los Angeles is a little bit bigger in that scene than central Florida. The in-state Florida State Seminoles had a chance at one point, but the music program at SC was the key selling point.

#11- Greg Bryant- Running Back- Delray Beach, Florida

Bryant is arguably the best running back in the class, and for him to choose the cold and blustery midwestern school of Notre Dame over one of the major programs in home-state Florida is very surprising. This is another huge coup for the Irish, who are officially players again on the national recruiting scene. Bryant never gave the Florida schools much of a chance, as South Carolina and Auburn were the other schools he was seriously considering.

#10- Jalen Ramsey- Cornerback- Nashville, Tennessee

Ramsey has been committed to the Southern Cal Trojans since last July. His official visits have been to Washington, Mississippi State, Florida and Florida State. With two SEC schools in-state, it's shocking he's never considered staying very close to home. Not too much explaining to do here, folks- he's just not going to be playing in the state of Tennessee next year.

#9- Derrick Green- Running Back- Richmond, Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia has a bumper crop this year (next year's could be even better), and almost none of them are staying in-state. Green is considered by many to be the top tailback in the country, and he's definitely taking his talents elsewhere. He considered Virginia Tech at one point, but has since lost all interest in staying close to home. Michigan, Tennessee and Auburn are the front runners for Green at this point.

#8- Jonathan Allen- Defensive End/Linebacker- Ashburn, Virginia

Another elite player from Virginia heading out of state. Allen has been a long time commit to the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he'll probably play outside linebacker. Allen put the Virginia Cavaliers fourth on his list early last year, then shut them out entirely after naming 'Bama and Florida the leaders. It's a major problem for both Virginia Tech and Virginia that their best players in-state aren't even giving them much of a chance.

#7- Kenny Bigelow- Defensive Tackle- Elkton, Maryland

Bigelow has been dead-set on the Southern Cal Trojans for nearly a year and a half. While other Trojan commits are wavering, Bigelow is rock solid. The home-state Maryland Terrapins have never even been in the hunt for Bigelow, which speaks volumes. The other two big name prospects (Khaliel Rodgers and David Sills) from Bigelow's school (Eastern Christian Academy), are also Trojan commits, and also haven't given the Terps much of a chance.

#6- Laremy Tunsil- Offensive Tackle- Lake City, Florida

There's still a chance the Florida Gators could come out on top for the services of Tunsil, but it's looking highly unlikely these days. Tunsil has the Georiga Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide at a dead lock for number one on his list, with the Ole Miss Rebels as the long shot. Florida schools haven't done as good in-state this year as they normally do.

#5- Laquon Treadwell- Wide Receiver- Crete, Illinois

Treadwell announces his decision tomorrow (1/17), and there's no Illinois schools anywhere near consideration in his mind. Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are clear and away the top three. Even before he trimmed his list to three, all other schools on his list were out of state. Say what you will about Ron Zook's days leading the Illini, but he would have at least been in the hunt for Treadwell and Isaac (#13).

#4- Kendall Fuller- Cornerback- Olney, Maryland

Similarly to Virginia, Maryland has an excellent crop of talent in-state this year, and they're all heading out of state. The home-state Maryland Terrapins never had much of a chance for Fuller, who'll be the fourth member of his family to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies. Regardless of family ties- if the number one cornerback in the country is 30 minutes away from your campus and you're not even in the running, something's wrong.

#3- Max Browne- Quarterback- Sammamish, Washington

Think this stings Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian? Imagine you're one of the top quarterback coaches/offensive minds in the country, and the number one quarterback in the country is right in your backyard. Then he goes and signs with your former employer and current rival Southern Cal Trojans. Yep, this one hurts.

#2- Carl Lawson- Defensive End- Alpharetta, Georgia

Lawson is a long-time Auburn Tigers commit. With National Signing Day right around the corner, there's been a lot of buzz about Lawson considering other schools, but the in-state Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets haven't even been considered. Clemson and Tennessee (along with Auburn) round out Lawsons final three. It's become readily apparent Lawson won't be living in the Peach State this fall.

#1- Robert Nkemdiche- Defensive End- Loganville, Georgia

Last, but certainly not least, is the top player in the country, Mr. Nkemdiche. Nkemdiche at one point was committed to Clemson, but has since de-committed and is considering Ole Miss, LSU and Florida. This is a tremendous year for talent in the Peach State, with three five-star defensive linemen alone, but there's a very real chance all three go out of state. Think about how rare this is: the top two players in the country are not only both defensive ends, but they're both from Georgia, and neither one of them is considering the Bulldogs. And to think that merely weeks ago, the Bulldogs were five yards away from playing in the National Championship.

Is College Football Recruiting awesome or what?