Pac-12 Breakdown: Players exceeding recruiting ratings

Recruiting evaluations are, like the NFL Draft process, an inexact science. It isn’t uncommon for players to play better than their recruiting rating indicated. Here are some Pac-12 players that are out-performing their recruiting rating.

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Recruitment: Grant committed to Arizona in the summer before his senior year over offers from New Mexico State, San Diego State, UCLA, Utah and Washington State. He was a fringe top 100 prospect in the California state rankings. His speed and athleticism was definitely unquestioned coming out of high school but there were some concerns about his size.

College: In 2014, Grant finished with 45 catches for 718 yards and six scores and then last season he was fifth on the team with 31 receptions, 301 yards and two touchdowns. The diminutive wide receiver who mainly played running back in high school is second on the struggling Wildcats so far this season with 19 catches, 251 yards and tied for the team lead with three touchdowns. Grant has had a solid career at Arizona and has been a reliable asset for years in Tucson. He could move to running back this week.

Recruitment: A three-star running back in high school, Richard picked the Sun Devils over Washington and many other Pac-12 schools. He was rated as the No. 38 running back in the 2014 class.

College: Richard has been a tremendous player in the Sun Devils’ offensive attack and had 1,407 yards from scrimmage last season, rushing for more than 100 yards in seven games. Through eight games this season, Richard leads the team with 532 rushing yards on 134 attempts and three touchdowns.

Recruitment: Hansen was not even on the Rivals.com radar in high school, especially since he had not been receiving major FBS interest. He played for one season at Idaho State before transferring to Cal.

College: Hansen is having a phenomenal career with the Golden Bears and in only six games this season he has 59 catches for 770 yards and eight touchdowns, far and away the team leader in all three categories. He’s even drastically outpacing former five-star Demetris Robertson in every statistical category even though Hansen missed one game due to injury.

Recruitment: A low three-star prospect in high school, Lindsay had always been leaning to Colorado and he committed to the Buffaloes in the spring before his senior season over his only other offer, Utah. His father played at Colorado State. Lindsay was the first commit in Colorado’s 2013 recruiting class.

College: By a wide margin, Lindsay is the top running back for one of the up-and-coming programs in the Pac-12 with 745 rushing yards and nine touchdowns so far this season. He’s averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Lindsey broke the all-time Colorado freshman record with 1,358 all-purpose yards and then last season he led the team in rushing as well.

Recruitment: Schooler was a fantastic player at Mission Viejo but landed a two-star ranking and his only offer was from Wyoming. It looked like he could end up with the Cowboys but decided to hold off on making any kind of decision for months after Signing Day. Then in the early summer, Schooler landed an offer from Oregon and he jumped at the opportunity.

College: Playing defensive back, Schooler is second on the struggling Ducks with 40 tackles and a team-high two interceptions. In Oregon’s most recent loss to Cal last week, Schooler tallied a team-high eight solo tackles and he finished with 11 total stops.

Recruitment: Ranked as a three-star tight end in high school, Nall picked Oregon State over Portland State and Northern Colorado. He played all over the field at Portland Central Catholic and many thought he would wind up at middle linebacker for the Beavers although they pegged him as a halfback/tight end early on.

College: In six games, Nall is the leading rusher for the Beavers with 464 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. The 6-foot-2, 234-pound Nall began fall camp last season as a tight end/H-back but moved to straight running back because of injuries.

Recruitment: Originally a Cal commitment, Hoffpauir picked Stanford over Arizona State, the Golden Bears and others. He was a three-star safety in high school ranked No. 29 at his position and No. 11 in the Arizona state rankings.

College: Hoffpauir, known as a fierce competitor and big-time hitter, is second on the Cardinal with 32 tackles and he also has three pass breakups. He had 44 tackles (four for loss) along with five pass deflections last season.

Recruitment: Brown was a mid-level three-star linebacker who committed to UCLA early in his senior season over offers from Colorado and Colorado State.

College: Brown leads the Bruins with 13 more tackles than anyone else with 72 stops so far this season. The former Long Beach Poly standout also has 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions. Last season, after entering the starting lineup following Myles Jack’s injury, Brown finished with a team-high 93 tackles.

Recruitment: Darnold was a four-star prospect who was rated as the eighth-best dual-threat quarterback and No. 179 overall in the 2015 class but was ranked behind former USC quarterback Ricky Town after Town's strong showing during all-star week. Colorado State, Duke, Nevada, Northwestern, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Tennessee, Utah and Wake Forest had also offered.

College: Taking over the starting job from former five-star Max Browne early this season, Darnold has excelled. He’s completing nearly 67 percent of his passes for 1,334 yards with 13 touchdowns and two picks. He’s also rushed for two scores.

Recruitment: Out of San Diego (Calif.) University, Patrick went to El Cajon (Calif.) Grossmont C.C. and was a two-star prospect who picked Utah over Colorado State, Kansas, Nevada and others.

College: Patrick has been marred by injuries throughout his career at Utah but has really exploded on the scene this season leading the Utes with 24 catches for 429 yards and five receiving touchdowns, all team-highs.

Recruitment: Pettis was a mid-level three-star athlete in the 2014 class who picked Washington over Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State and SMU.

College: Pettis is second on the Huskies, who are averaging more than 48 points per game, with 27 receptions for 457 receiving yards and eight touchdowns so far this season. The former three-star was mainly used as a big-time threat in the return game in his first two seasons.

Recruitment: Falk was a two-star recruit in the 2013 class out of Logan, Utah, who had also briefly played at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian. He started his college career at Cornell before transferring to Washington State.

College: So far this season, Falk has completed nearly 73 percent of his passes for 2,511 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. Last season, he threw for 4,566 yards with 38 scores and eight picks and could emerge as one of the top five or so quarterbacks taken in the NFL Draft.