Players who have gone from under the radar to stars

Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner once considered playing Division I-AA before taking the Deacons' last scholarship. AP

Admit it. Some of you are obsessed with stars, and not the ones pictured in Us Weekly who occasionally forget to wear their underpants. No, your galaxy consists of those precious stars handed out by recruiting services such as Rivals.com. All year, you hope and pray your team can land enough four- and five-star recruits to push your team's ranking into the top 10.

The rest of us know those team rankings don't mean anything. This isn't an indictment of the rankings by any means; Rivals and Scout.com are just as accurate at predicting success as most big-money coaches. That's why SI.com has picked our first All Two-Star (And Fewer) Team. It features players who barely made a blip on the recruiting radar but wound up becoming stars.

Offense

QB Riley Skinner, Jr., Wake Forest (Rivals: 0 stars)

Hopefully, Demon Deacons assistant Tom Elrod got a bonus for finding a gem in Jacksonville. Skinner, who almost committed to I-AA Samford, got Wake's last scholarship in 2005. In 2006, he led the Deacons to an ACC title. In 2007, he was the nation's most accurate passer, completing 72.4 of his throws.

RB P.J. Hill, Jr., Wisconsin (Rivals: 2 stars)

The Badgers took a chance on a lightly-recruited New York back, and Hill rewarded them by winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award as a redshirt freshman in 2006, and he gained 1,212 yards and rushed for 14 touchdowns in 2007.

WR Stephen Williams, Jr., Toledo (Rivals: 2 stars)

This speedster from Missouri City, Texas, with a 36-inch vertical jump, drew little interest coming out of high school. He redshirted in 2005 and caught only five passes in 2006. Last season, he caught 73 balls and averaged 16 yards a catch.

WR Tiquan Underwood, Sr., Rutgers (Rivals: 2 stars)

Underwood moved from quarterback to receiver as a senior at Notre Dame (Lawrenceville, N.J.), but an injury in the third game ended his season. With little evidence that Underwood could play receiver, most schools passed. Whoops. In 2007, Underwood caught 65 passes for 1,100 yards.

WR Brennan Marion, Sr., Tulsa (Rivals: 0 stars)

Marion was a relative unknown at DeAnza College in Cupertino, Calif. He transferred to Tulsa prior to the 2007 season and proceeded to break the NCAA record for average yards per catch (31.9). He caught 39 passes for 1,244 yards.

TE Dennis Pitta, Jr., BYU (Rivals: 0 stars)

Pitta graduated from Moorpark (Calif.) High in 2003. He took a grayshirt (meaning you delay your enrollment until the spring) at BYU and played as a freshman in 2004. He returned from a two-year mission to the Dominican Republic in 2007, then caught 59 passes for 813 yards.

OL Mitch Petrus, Sr., Arkansas (Rivals: 0 stars)

Petrus, a former walk-on, played fullback in 2006, blocking for Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. He did the same thing in 2007, but as an offensive guard. In his first season as a starter on the offensive line, Petrus was named second-team All-SEC by conference coaches.

OL Anthony Collins, Sr., Kansas (Rivals: 2 stars)

Collins came to Lawrence as a defensive tackle, but he blossomed as an offensive tackle. Last season, he was named first-team All-Big 12.

OL Alex Mack, Sr., Cal (Rivals: 2 stars)

Cal got the jump on Northwestern and Utah State by offering a scholarship to Mack for the 2005 class. That decision paid off. Mack was ranked the top junior center in the nation by ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, but Mack decided to return for his senior season. There is speculation that he might move to tackle.

OL Greg Isdaner, Sr., West Virginia (Rivals: 0 stars)

West Virginia was the only Division I-A school recruiting Isdaner in 2004, but his parents refused to co-sign his Letter of Intent because they wanted him to consider Harvard, Penn and Georgetown. Isdaner held firm, and WVU reoffered the scholarship after a player quit to become a rapper. Good thing. Isdaner was named first-team All-Big East in 2007.

C Jonathan Luigs, Sr., Arkansas (Rivals: 2 stars)

Luigs drew interest from some pretty big schools, but that didn't nudge his star rating north. Bit it didn't matter. The center won the Rimington Trophy last season, then turned down a chance enter the NFL draft to return for his senior season.

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