Top 30 Most Overlooked High School Recruits to Go Pro Since 2000
By Zach Bigalke
Originally born in Cleveland, Aqib Talib moved to Texas as an adolescent, he became a three-sport letterman at Berkner High School in Richardson. With the Rams, Talib was the team’s top defensive back as a senior as he earned first team All-District honors. Rivals and Scout each rated Talib as a two-star prospect, and he was ranked 230th in the 247Sports composite rankings at defensive back from 2004. Arizona and Baylor offered Talib scholarships along with Wyoming and Tulsa, but he ultimately decided to play for Mark Mangino at Kansas.
In Lawrence, Talib was redshirted before getting his first taste of action in 2005. As a freshman, he put up 54 total tackles and two interceptions. As a sophomore, he added six more picks to his career total. It was as a junior, though, that he did a bit of everything for the Jayhawks. In addition to his cornerback duties, where he returned two of his five interceptions for scores and racked up 66 tackles, he also caught eight passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns. He helped lead Kansas to the 2008 Orange Bowl, where he returned one of this two pick-sixes of the year and earned MVP honors. Leaving school early, he was picked 20th overall by Tampa Bay in the 2008 NFL Draft and has also played for New England and Denver.