singular or plural, [noun] as S +V

[Sitifan]

1. Promising baseball player as they are, my students are never too proud of themselves.
2. Promising baseball players as they are, my students are never too proud of themselves.
Which of the above sentences is correct?
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Thank you very much for your reply.

[Barb_D]

Certainly use the plural, since you're talking about more than one student, but I'd write "Although they are promising baseball players, my students..."