10 best recruiting classes of the past decade

[ericd7633]

La. James, Thomas, and Jordan were all studs in college, and Blount and Alonso are both studs in the NFL. Blount led the NFL in rushing TDs and Alonso has had 115+ tackles in 2 of his 3 seasons and is coming off a great year in Miami. They were also an exceptionally accomplished college class.

Like I said, you can argue with that Stanford class, but I'd take Ertz and Murphy over any of those Clemson guys if you asked me today.

That Clemson class, let's examine:
Watkins: Elite in college, good but inconsistent/unhealthy in the NFL
Grady Jarrett: Good in college/good in the NFL
Kevin Dodd: 1 year of anything at all of note in college, though it was great/unproven in NFL
Anthony: Good in college/shitty in the NFL
Humphries/Bryant/Peake: Decent at best in college/not shit in the NFL

What's the big deal?? Could they be added over Stanford? Possibly. Is the list a "joke" because they're not in it? No, not even close.

It's not a big deal, It's just that not having Clemson in the top 10 is a joke. If one recruiting class ends with a dozen guys getting drafted or signing a contract with a team, I don't see how that doesn't make the list. Also, it should be noted that with this class it started the streak of winning 10 games a season.

 

[Across The Field]

It's not a big deal, It's just that not having Clemson in the top 10 is a joke. If one recruiting class ends with a dozen guys getting drafted or signing a contract with a team, I don't see how that doesn't make the list. Also, it should be noted that with this class it started the streak of winning 10 games a season.

It's really not a joke at all. That class was good but not great. It also wasn't that class that propelled them to their amazing run. Watkins, Anthony, and Jarrett were really the only guys from that class that were really great in college, and none of them have been elite in the NFL. I'm also missing the 12 guys from this class that are in the NFL.
I'd argue the OSU class of 2012 even was better than that Clemson class. 2012 OSU includes Mike Thomas, Cardale Jones, Adolphus Washington, Joshua Perry, and Taylor Decker. That's a first-, second- third- and two fourth round picks in the 2016 draft. That class also included Noah Spence (2nd round pick, didn't finish at OSU), Pat Elflein (top center in the 2017 draft, likely 2nd-3rd rounder), and Tyvis Powell, who signed with Seattle and played a decent amount (8 games). All of those guys I mentioned, outside of Spence, were also key players that led us to our national title.

 

[ericd7633]

It's really not a joke at all. That class was good but not great. It also wasn't that class that propelled them to their amazing run. Watkins, Anthony, and Jarrett were really the only guys from that class that were really great in college, and none of them have been elite in the NFL. I'm also missing the 12 guys from this class that are in the NFL.
I'd argue the OSU class of 2012 even was better than that Clemson class. 2012 OSU includes Mike Thomas, Cardale Jones, Adolphus Washington, Joshua Perry, and Taylor Decker. That's a first-, second- third- and two fourth round picks in the 2016 draft. That class also included Noah Spence (2nd round pick, didn't finish at OSU), Pat Elflein (top center in the 2017 draft, likely 2nd-3rd rounder), and Tyvis Powell, who signed with Seattle and played a decent amount (8 games). All of those guys I mentioned, outside of Spence, were also key players that led us to our national title.

Those 12 guys are either in the NFL or were in the NFL at one point. Hell if this list is going to count a guy that went undrafted, didn't sign as an undrafted free agent, and never played a snap in the NFL(Darron Thomas) I'm going to include guys that have. Also, I don't know how guys like Anthony and Dodd weren't great in college if it lead them to be selected in the first round and early second round respectively. Dodd was literally playing behind 4 guys that ended up in the NFL.

 

[Across The Field]

Those 12 guys are either in the NFL or were in the NFL at one point. Hell if this list is going to count a guy that went undrafted, didn't sign as an undrafted free agent, and never played a snap in the NFL(Darron Thomas) I'm going to include guys that have. Also, I don't know how guys like Anthony and Dodd weren't great in college if it lead them to be selected in the first round and early second round respectively. Dodd was literally playing behind 4 guys that ended up in the NFL.

What 12 guys? I honestly am having trouble counting 12 guys in that class that actually played in the NFL. Are you counting camp tryouts or something?

Dodd was great for 1 year. Before that he didn't do anything. Anthony was really good for 2 years and decent for 2 years, and he sucks horribly in the NFL so far. Those are 2 of the 3 best guys in that entire class. Peake/Bryant/Humphries have proven nothing at either level, Dodd has literally had one season of either college or pro where he did anything whatsoever, Watkins has topped 1,000 yards one time in the NFL, who else am I missing? Simply put, that isn't one of the top 10 classes of the last decade. It just isn't.

 

[ericd7633]

What 12 guys? I honestly am having trouble counting 12 guys in that class that actually played in the NFL. Are you counting camp tryouts or something?

Dodd was great for 1 year. Before that he didn't do anything. Anthony was really good for 2 years and decent for 2 years, and he sucks horribly in the NFL so far. Those are 2 of the 3 best guys in that entire class. Peake/Bryant/Humphries have proven nothing at either level, Dodd has literally had one season of either college or pro where he did anything whatsoever, Watkins has topped 1,000 yards one time in the NFL, who else am I missing? Simply put, that isn't one of the top 10 classes of the last decade. It just isn't.

No I'm counting guys that were either drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent. And this list isn't taking into account what players did at the next level. Not sure how often I have to say that? Watkins and Anthony were both 1st rounders, Dodd was a 2nd rounder, Bryant a 4th rounder, BJ Goodson a 4th rounder, Grady Jarrett a 5th rounder, Tony Steward a 6th rounder, Charone Peake a 7th rounder.

Eight guys were drafted from this recruiting class. My guess is that's more than that Oregon class had, Stanford class had and I know more than that ND class had.

This is why the list is a joke.

 

[Across The Field]

No I'm counting guys that were either drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent. And this list isn't taking into account what players did at the next level. Not sure how often I have to say that? Watkins and Anthony were both 1st rounders, Dodd was a 2nd rounder, Bryant a 4th rounder, BJ Goodson a 4th rounder, Grady Jarrett a 5th rounder, Tony Steward a 6th rounder, Charone Peake a 7th rounder.

Eight guys were drafted from this recruiting class. My guess is that's more than that Oregon class had, Stanford class had and I know more than that ND class had.

This is why the list is a joke.

Nah, that doesn't make the list a joke. It's a pretty solid list. Like any Top 10 list, you can make arguments for or against a candidate that didn't make the cut. However, this class was very thin on quality. Watkins was the only elite player. They got several guys drafted based largely on potential, but there's a reason guys like Anthony, Bryant, Goodson, Steward, and Peake aren't doing shit in the pros - they're not that good. Aside from Anthony, these guys were simply either one-year flashes in college or guys drafted because of perceived elite measurables. By and large, this was a good but not great class. Also, Dodd wasn't in the 2011 class. He didn't arrive at Clemson until 2012.

In looking at that Oregon class, they definitely shouldn't be that high, we'll agree there. Probably the same for Stanford. I'm guessing this particular columnist didn't want to seem biased towards the East Coast. However, both of those teams have multiple guys in the pros doing more than almost all of that Clemson class. If Watkins can ever get and stay healthy, he can be elite. Grady Jarrett looks good and could become a really good, if not great DT. Anthony is a bust with a very long way to go. The rest aren't even worth mentioning.

I know it irritates that I talk about how they're doing in the pros, but even if you talk about college accomplishments, both that Oregon class and the Stanford class were more accomplished than the majority of this Clemson class, as well. Both Oregon's and Stanford's classes went to 3 BCS games, with Oregon going to a NCG. Clemson's class went to 1.

 

[ericd7633]

Nah, that doesn't make the list a joke. It's a pretty solid list. Like any Top 10 list, you can make arguments for or against a candidate that didn't make the cut. However, this class was very thin on quality. Watkins was the only elite player. They got several guys drafted based largely on potential, but there's a reason guys like Anthony, Bryant, Goodson, Steward, and Peake aren't doing shit in the pros - they're not that good. Aside from Anthony, these guys were simply either one-year flashes in college or guys drafted because of perceived elite measurables. By and large, this was a good but not great class. Also, Dodd wasn't in the 2011 class. He didn't arrive at Clemson until 2012.

In looking at that Oregon class, they definitely shouldn't be that high, we'll agree there. Probably the same for Stanford. I'm guessing this particular columnist didn't want to seem biased towards the East Coast. However, both of those teams have multiple guys in the pros doing more than almost all of that Clemson class. If Watkins can ever get and stay healthy, he can be elite. Grady Jarrett looks good and could become a really good, if not great DT. Anthony is a bust with a very long way to go. The rest aren't even worth mentioning.

I know it irritates that I talk about how they're doing in the pros, but even if you talk about college accomplishments, both that Oregon class and the Stanford class were more accomplished than the majority of this Clemson class, as well. Both Oregon's and Stanford's classes went to 3 BCS games, with Oregon going to a NCG. Clemson's class went to 1.

That Clemson class went to 2 bcs bowls. And had more players drafted than both. And if were going to talk about college accomplishments I don't know how Clemson's 2012 or 2013 class isn't mentioned then.

 

[Across The Field]

That Clemson class went to 2 bcs bowls. And had more players drafted than both. And if were going to talk about college accomplishments I don't know how Clemson's 2012 or 2013 class isn't mentioned then.

Ah you're right, didn't see that WVU debacle was that season. Still, 3>2, so doesn't mean much.

The 2012 Clemson class sucked from an individual standpoint. You had Dodd and Carlos Watkins. Otherwise there's not much else to talk about.

The 2013 class is solid but most of them haven't been drafted yet. You had Shaq Lawson, Tankersley, Jayron Kearse, Mackensie Alexander, Ben Boulware, Mike Williams, Wayne Gallman, and Jordan Leggett.

There ya go.

 

[SJ76]

I think they will pull in one more for this class. If by some chance they can pull off the upset and land Marvin Wilson, shit that would pretty much lock us up for the number 1 class for 2017 imo. I just don't see Hollywood Marv leaving the south. I think he goes to LSU. For some reason, OSU can't get the elite DTs for whatever reason? The guys from the south don't like to leave home from the Gulf states. I mean look at this ox!

Nole

 

[cwalke3408]

Ah you're right, didn't see that WVU debacle was that season. Still, 3>2, so doesn't mean much.

The 2012 Clemson class sucked from an individual standpoint. You had Dodd and Carlos Watkins. Otherwise there's not much else to talk about.

The 2013 class is solid but most of them haven't been drafted yet. You had Shaq Lawson, Tankersley, Jayron Kearse, Mackensie Alexander, Ben Boulware, Mike Williams, Wayne Gallman, and Jordan Leggett.

There ya go.

If there's a class that could make a case it's definitely the class of 2013. Players like Lawson, Alexander, Williams, and Leggett were all top tier in there position in college. And players like Boulware and Gallman were extreme important to Clemson with their impact and leadership to the team but they may not be a great pro. The measuring tool for me in a great recruiting class is their impact to their university not the NFL, there's always great college players that's not built for the pro. Ex: Tim Tebow.