Recruiting Winners & Losers

[Codaxx]

24/7 sports had Oregon projected around 20th IIRC. That's impressive after such a poor season, but they still aren't far enough away from when they were a top 10 team to have a difficult time recruiting. It seems they placed about where they should be.

I'm impressed with Kentucky. They still keep churning out top 30 classes.

Georgia continues to blow me away. They have rarely won a big game over the past decade, and have won 2 SEC titles in the past 30+ years, but still bring in the big names on recruiting day. If they ever get a coach that can put things together, they would OWN the SEC East for a LONG time. Maybe Kirby will be that guy once he gets his own players in place.

I thought South Carolina did pretty well for as poor a season as they have had too.

Tennessee's class looked a little weak to me. I think fizzling out last year, when everyone predicted their SEC East dominance hurt them. They were beat up for most the season, so perhaps things will change next year.



For having a coaching change, mid season, LSU put together a darn good class. VERY impressed with it, in the middle of turmoil.

What happened to Ole Miss??? They were dominating the recruiting rankings just a few seasons ago.

Clemson absolutely KILLED it. With only 14 spots, they took 11 four and five star players! That is how you get a lot better with a small recruiting class.

Dead on about Clemson. Lot of rankings are about the number of kids you take, not the quality. One reason I like to look at the average recruit rating. Clemson's average recruit rating was 92. Only Bama, OSU, Stanford, and Georgia were higher. Class around 90 is a great class.

If there was a huge winner in the Pac it was Stanford. It is funny Oregon is a huge winner and Texas is loser, but Texas had a higher average recruit ranking. Difference in ranking 26 v 19 was the 6 extra kids. That is not me claiming that Texas had a great class, just showing how short sighted people are about rankins

 

[belcherboy]

With Chubb and Michel returning, and Eason with a full season under his belt, on top of this amazing recruiting class, there is no reason that Georgia shouldn't win the SEC East...fairly easily IMO. Tennessee should be down a notch or two (plus they play @Alabama and LSU from the West, while UGA plays Miss St and @Auburn), Florida doesn't seem to be able to match up that well with Georgia, but that hasn't stopped them from beating them the past few games.

Bottom line, UGA has WAY too much talent in a weaker SEC East to not win it next year IMO. This class should help make them pretty stout.

 

[Across The Field]

I give your av 5*s. Please add full size pic to http://sportshoop.la/threads/dark-haired-lasses.158398/

I will do that later on when I am not on my work computer, hombre.

 

[WizardHawk]

You will have to excuse duck fans. They are still new enough to college football that they don't understand what class rankings really mean.

Stanford finished outside the top 10, but killed it in terms of actual talent taken. Only picking up 14 meant their point total wasn't going to be there. No team in the top 10 had less than 21 recruits. Those standings are based off point totals so they are not comparing apples to apples.

Duck is pounding his chest over his class ranking, but it took them picking up 24 to get near the same points as the same UW team he bashes when they only took 18. 6 more kids to equal the same value.

Average is a far more telling story given that some teams can take as many as 10 more kids than other schools.

Sure, UW lost out on a couple of kids late and that hurt, but they will never be a top 10 class under Petersen with his 'OKG' stuff. While I wish he would drop that stuff and go get as dirty in the trenches as the other top programs are, you cannot argue with the results he has had with those 20ish classes he has already brought in. Maybe, just maybe he knows more about the kids he gets than the scouts who rank them do. It's either that or he's just better than almost everyone else at making mid level talent shine. Either way this is his 3rd full class (not counting coming in late to his first he inherited) and he will finally have some of his own kids in the upper class ranks.

The biggest area of need in this class was at WR and TE and by all accounts they destroyed it picking up exactly what they needed. They finally have a 6'4 kind of possession receiver which they haven't had in years. They added speed and a TE that can both block and catch that should also make a big impact on this team.

If you look at 247's averages (I'm sure other sites are comparable) and put the Pac in order based off that you see less surprises. It would go

Stanford
USC
UW
UCLA
Oregon
Utah
ASU
Colorado
Oregon State
Cal
Arizona
WSU

Nothing on that list should really stand out except maybe Colorado being that low?

 

[Across The Field]

Dead on about Clemson. Lot of rankings are about the number of kids you take, not the quality. One reason I like to look at the average recruit rating. Clemson's average recruit rating was 92. Only Bama, OSU, Stanford, and Georgia were higher. Class around 90 is a great class.

If there was a huge winner in the Pac it was Stanford. It is funny Oregon is a huge winner and Texas is loser, but Texas had a higher average recruit ranking. Difference in ranking 26 v 19 was the 6 extra kids. That is not me claiming that Texas had a great class, just showing how short sighted people are about rankins

I definitely agree on your Clemson perspective. They had a fantastic class given their space available.

However, I don't know how you can say Texas wasn't a loser. Their highest rated player by a lot was Ehlinger, a QB who is going to likely not even play for the next 3 years barring an injury. Moreso, this was the first year in a very long time that Texas failed to land a single top 10 player in the state. Hell, only two of the top 10 guys even stayed in state, so I'd say the entire state was a loser in that regard. The highest rated player in the state to go to UT was 20th. This was a huge whiff for Herman, despite the fact he only over 2 months to make up ground.

 

[WizardHawk]

I definitely agree on your Clemson perspective. They had a fantastic class given their space available.

However, I don't know how you can say Texas wasn't a loser. Their highest rated player by a lot was Ehlinger, a QB who is going to likely not even play for the next 3 years barring an injury. Moreso, this was the first year in a very long time that Texas failed to land a single top 10 player in the state. Hell, only two of the top 10 guys even stayed in state, so I'd say the entire state was a loser in that regard. The highest rated player in the state to go to UT was 20th. This was a huge whiff for Herman, despite the fact he only over 2 months to make up ground.

He said he wasn't saying Texas had a great class. He was telling the OP that Texas had a better average than the team he was giving high praise to.

 

[Codaxx]

I definitely agree on your Clemson perspective. They had a fantastic class given their space available.

However, I don't know how you can say Texas wasn't a loser. Their highest rated player by a lot was Ehlinger, a QB who is going to likely not even play for the next 3 years barring an injury. Moreso, this was the first year in a very long time that Texas failed to land a single top 10 player in the state. Hell, only two of the top 10 guys even stayed in state, so I'd say the entire state was a loser in that regard. The highest rated player in the state to go to UT was 20th. This was a huge whiff for Herman, despite the fact he only over 2 months to make up ground.

I specifically said Texas did not have a great class. He was left with 6 recruits and had to cobble together an entire class with 5 weeks (excludes the dead period). Outisde of Chaisson and Marvin all the big names in Texas were early enrollees. I would have considered it a success if Herman closed on Chaisson. Marvin was close with Strong and he never even gave Texas a shot after Strong was fired. Chaisson was a complete whiff. I give him credit for not having a single decommithing, but a C- for his close. He was dealt a bad hand, but he did not do much to improve it. I think that is a fair assessment

 

[Codaxx]

He said he wasn't saying Texas had a great class. He was telling the OP that Texas had a better average than the team he was giving high praise to.

This guy gets it

 

[Brasky]

Aside from what was expected, here is my list of teams who over/under performed recruiting...

Winners:

Oregon- Team in disarray. New coaching staff from Florida. Started with terrible PR. Still, took was probably going to be a class around 40th and worked it to 18th. And, secured O/D-lines well. All things considered, maybe the #1 winner of the year.

Miami- This team was down a couple of years ago and now they are back recruiting very well. Excellent turn around.

Maryland- Never thought I'd see them in the top 20. Excellent job.

Utah- Considering how well many of the other PAC-12 teams did, this was a surprise at #25.

Losers:

Clemson- WTF? You win the natty in dramatic fashion and recruit at #22? Now, that said, they only have 14 players and 3 are 5-stars so maybe this one isn't a loser after all.

Washington- Made the playoffs. Tons of national exposure. Very well regarded head coach. How the hell do you end up 23rd and 5th in the Pac-12???? Disappointing.

Texas- I have always like Texas. But it's surprising to see them slide into the 30's in recruiting. I think one strong season and that will turn around.

Wisconsin- 35th seems very disappointing for this program that has been strong year in and year out. I expected to see them in the top 20.

This is one seriously elaborate post just for the sole purpose of patting yourself on the back and trolling U-Dub fans.

 

[Brasky]

Can we all be serious for a second and take note that OP never would have made a "Recruiting Winners & Losers" thread if Oregon closed out shitty and Washington had a great class?

 

[Across The Field]

I specifically said Texas did not have a great class. He was left with 6 recruits and had to cobble together an entire class with 5 weeks (excludes the dead period). Outisde of Chaisson and Marvin all the big names in Texas were early enrollees. I would have considered it a success if Herman closed on Chaisson. Marvin was close with Strong and he never even gave Texas a shot after Strong was fired. Chaisson was a complete whiff. I give him credit for not having a single decommithing, but a C- for his close. He was dealt a bad hand, but he did not do much to improve it. I think that is a fair assessment

Fair enough. I'll be honest, I expected Herman, with his reputation on the recruiting trail, to at least wrap up some of the top uncommitted guys in Texas but he ended up losing on each one. Even the ones that were early enrollees, they didn't start school until January. He was hired in late November. Levi Jones is a guy that I thought should have been made a priority, but it doesn't look like Herman even visited him. Chaisson was an enormous whiff. I was genuinely worried when Herman went there that he was going to start moving on on these Texas recruits right away, like when Urban took the Buckeyes job in November of 2011. He took us from somewhere in the high 20s/low 30s to 5th. I know Herman isn't Urban, but damn.

Sorry, not trying to pile on or be a dick. I was just very surprised by how things ended up. At least there's nowhere to go but up for Herman.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Aside from what was expected, here is my list of teams who over/under performed recruiting...


Washington- Made the playoffs. Tons of national exposure. Very well regarded head coach. How the hell do you end up 23rd and 5th in the Pac-12???? Disappointing.
.

What ever helps you sleep at night and hoping Dawgs don't hang another 70 on the Ducks this season!

Oh and in before you say "Dawgs run up the score".....

Enjoy your potato salad tool!

 

[Across The Field]

Oregon had a terrible season but this class is standing still not moving forward. Its three 4* CBs who are all under 6' tall ,heck one is 5'9". A 4* dulal threat QB which is nice but you just had a freshman take over behind center so thats just insurance but it wont really help. The rest of the class is all three star kids . That doesnt make you worse but doesn't make you much better unless winning 7-8 games is the goal and hardly winning the recruiting day.

I'd be willing to bet that Oregon has the shortest team on average in the top 25. Out of their 24 guys, only 13 are over 6' tall, and most of those are either interior linemen or a kicker.

 

[TexasExes98]

USC surging back from the abyss just a few months ago to finishing with the 4th ranked recruiting class.

SC always has top 10 recruiting classes. Nothing new here.

 

[TexasExes98]

I think Baylor is a winner. I thought for sure they would finish somewhere in the 70's considering everything that has happened but still wound up with a top 35 class, not to mention Waco is still the butthole of all buttholes of towns in the USA......

 

[blazer prophet]

You will have to excuse duck fans. They are still new enough to college football that they don't understand what class rankings really mean.

Stanford finished outside the top 10, but killed it in terms of actual talent taken. Only picking up 14 meant their point total wasn't going to be there. No team in the top 10 had less than 21 recruits. Those standings are based off point totals so they are not comparing apples to apples.

Duck is pounding his chest over his class ranking, but it took them picking up 24 to get near the same points as the same UW team he bashes when they only took 18. 6 more kids to equal the same value.

Average is a far more telling story given that some teams can take as many as 10 more kids than other schools.

Sure, UW lost out on a couple of kids late and that hurt, but they will never be a top 10 class under Petersen with his 'OKG' stuff. While I wish he would drop that stuff and go get as dirty in the trenches as the other top programs are, you cannot argue with the results he has had with those 20ish classes he has already brought in. Maybe, just maybe he knows more about the kids he gets than the scouts who rank them do. It's either that or he's just better than almost everyone else at making mid level talent shine. Either way this is his 3rd full class (not counting coming in late to his first he inherited) and he will finally have some of his own kids in the upper class ranks.

The biggest area of need in this class was at WR and TE and by all accounts they destroyed it picking up exactly what they needed. They finally have a 6'4 kind of possession receiver which they haven't had in years. They added speed and a TE that can both block and catch that should also make a big impact on this team.

If you look at 247's averages (I'm sure other sites are comparable) and put the Pac in order based off that you see less surprises. It would go

Stanford
USC
UW
UCLA
Oregon
Utah
ASU
Colorado
Oregon State
Cal
Arizona
WSU

Nothing on that list should really stand out except maybe Colorado being that low?

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

It has to be galling how poorly UW has recruited this year. Losing 2 of the top in-state kids.........

Still, I admit you have a really good team.

 

[blazer prophet]

Can we all be serious for a second and take note that OP never would have made a "Recruiting Winners & Losers" thread if Oregon closed out shitty and Washington had a great class?

Well, not true. I was going to make the post regardless.

AND GO FALCONS!!!!!!!

 

[UKnation87]

How in the world does Miss St not get recognized as a surprise story? Starkville is a dreadful city, no football history at the school, and yet they produce a top 25 class?

I was thinking the same thing about my Cats... no history to speak of and ended up with a top 30 class overall.

 

[Brasky]

I still can't refute the fact that this was a rough signing day for Washington though. My biggest belief is success begets success. I've said for years if Nebraska could just get over the hump and win a conference championship, the blue chips would start flooding in. Mind you, our classes have been well above average, but we just can't sneak into that top 10 to 15 on a regular basis.

I'd be seriously disappointed if I was a Washington fan. If Nebraska made the playoffs and landed the class they landed this season I'd be up in arms and our class really wasn't that bad (average of 21st over all platforms)

 

[blazer prophet]

I'd be willing to bet that Oregon has the shortest team on average in the top 25. Out of their 24 guys, only 13 are over 6' tall, and most of those are either interior linemen or a kicker.

For better or worse, UO goes after speed and that means shorter players. They also go after "athletes" and that concerns me. A good friend of mine was a 3-time all American linebacker in college and his opinion on "athletes" is that "they may not be good football players, but they sure look good in pads".