Happy National Signing Day.
For thousands (maybe millions) of college football fans, it's a bit like Christmas morning. Via fax, colleges around the nation find out which high school seniors--and sometimes junior college standouts--have signed with the program.
Once upon a time, the players making up the current Houston Texans' roster went through this rite of passage. We touched on it here last year, and also did a slideshow about it.
Relying mainly on the rankings provided by Rivals.com, we came up with some fun findings. The team's two best players, Pro Bowlers Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt, were on opposite ends of the spectrum coming out of high school.
While the Rivals database we searched only goes back to 2002, Johnson would've likely been a 5-star receiver. After all, if you look at his college bio page he was a Parade All-American when he joined Miami in 1999, and was the Sporting News' top-ranked wide receiver in that class.
Watt, meanwhile, was a 2-star tight end recruit who signed with Central Michigan. In late 2006 he was set to be a Minnesota Golden Gopher under then-head coach Glen Mason. But things changed when Texas Tech stormed back from a 31-point third quarter deficit in the Insight Bowl to win, 44-41. Mason was fired shortly thereafter, and Watt switched his commitment. He spent 2007 as a Chippewa, transferred to Wisconsin and flourished in 2009 and 2010 as a defensive end.
Ultimately, however, Watt didn't give much credence to the ranking system and tweeted this out last year on National Signing Day.
Last year's Texans rookie class was highlighted by first-round wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, second-round safety D.J. Swearinger and sixth-round tight end Ryan Griffin. Respectively, that trio had four, three and two stars coming out of high school.
The only Texans' 5-star recruit according to Rivals.com, was wide receiver DeVier Posey. From Cincinnati's LaSalle High School, he signed on to be a Buckeye at Ohio State in 2008.
Here's a look back at how some of the Texans stacked up, star-wise according to Rivals.com, on the first Wednesday in February.
OFFENSE
| RATING | NAME | HIGH SCHOOL | CITY | COLLEGE |
| 5 Star | WR DeVier Posey | LaSalle H.S. | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio State |
| 4 Star | WR DeAndre Hopkins | D.W. Daniel H.S. | Central, SC | Clemson |
| 3 Star | RB Arian Foster | Mission Bay H.S. | San Diego, CA | Tennessee |
| 3 Star | LT Duane Brown | Hermitage H.S. | Richmond, VA | Virginia Tech |
| 3 Star | RG Brandon Brooks | Riverside University H.S. | Milwaukee, WI | Miami (OH) |
| 3 Star | WR Keshawn Martin | John Glenn H.S. | Westland, MI | Michigan State |
| 3 Star | RG Ben Jones | Bibb County H.S. | Centreville, AL | Georgia |
| 2 Star | QB Case Keenum | Abilene Wylie H.S. | Abilene, TX | Houston |
| 2 Star | TE Ryan Griffin | Londonderry H.S. | Londonderry, NH | Connecticut |
| 2 Star | RT Derek Newton | Hinds Community College | Utica, MS | Arkansas State |
DEFENSE
| RATING | NAME | HIGH SCHOOL | CITY | COLLEGE |
| 4 Star | ILB Brian Cushing | Bergen Catholic H.S. | Oradell, NJ | Southern California |
| 4 Star | CB Kareem Jackson | Fork Union Military Academy | Fork Union, VA | Alabama |
| 3 Star | CB Johnathan Joseph | Coffyville Community College | Coffyville, KS | South Carolina |
| 3 Star | DE Antonio Smith | Northeast Oklahoma A&M J.C. | Miami, OK | Oklahoma State |
| 3 Star | OLB Whitney Mercilus | Garfield H.S., | Akron, OH | Illinois |
| 3 Star | S DJ Swearinger | Greenwood H.S. | Greenwood, SC | South Carolina |
| 3 Star | LB Jeff Tarpinian | Millard North H.S. | Omaha, NE | Iowa |
| 3 Star | LB Justin Tuggle | (at QB) Blinn J.C. | Brenham, TX | Kansas State |
| 3 Star | OLB Brooks Reed | Sabino H.S. | Tuscon, AZ | Arizona |
| 2 Star | DE J.J. Watt | Pewaukee H.S. | Pewaukee, WI | Central Michigan (transfer Wisconsin) |
| 2 Star | CB Brice McCain | Terrell H.S. | Terrell, TX | Utah |
| 2 Star | S Shiloh Keo | Archbishop Murphy H.S. | Woodinville, WA | Idaho |
| 2 Star | LB Mike Mohamed | Union H.S. | Brawley, CA | Cal |
SPECIAL TEAMS
| RATING | NAME | HIGH SCHOOL | CITY | COLLEGE |
| 3 Star | K Randy Bullock | Klein H.S. | Klein, TX | Texas A&M |
