2012 Recruiting Thread

[spyder_DG]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bamafan3723

I don't think it's fair to criticize recruiting services in that way. There is no way to say exactly how an athlete will progress, develop, mature over the 3-5 years he's in college. You're ripping a service for rating a guy as the 73rd overall prospect in the country when he was 17 or 18, and now he's a possible NFL Top 10 pick so that's a failure on their part? It's not like they had him rated as a 2*.

O.K. so what about all the five stars like Darrell Scott and Bryce Brown who have been absolute wastes of scholarships....

[Bamafan3723]

Quote: Originally Posted by spyder_DG

O.K. so what about all the five stars like Darrell Scott and Bryce Brown who have been absolute wastes of scholarships....

The coaches who signed those players obviously thought they were top players. They missed just as bad in there evaluations. It's not like recruiting services are the only people who missed on those particular players. The point is, it's easy to look back four years later and say this guy is a "joke" because he didn't have this particular player rated high enough.

[spyder_DG]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bamafan3723

The coaches who signed those players obviously thought they were top players. It's not like recruiting services are the only people who missed on those particular players.

Yes but it's obvious that the number of stars isn't consistently indicative of how good a player will or wont be in college or moving forward. So to bring this full circle back to the original point.....recruiting rankings are FAR from accurate....

[sweny5632]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

Brian Kelly being an awful game manager didnt help either. Notre Dame has really lacked talent despite their recruit rankings.

Couldn't have said it better myself. As an ND fan, I always find myself saying in the middle of the year "where the heck is all this talent we are supposed to have?!" I think its been a real bad mix for about the last 20 years of overrated talent and bad coaching

[lonewolf371]

Quote: Originally Posted by sweny5632

Couldn't have said it better myself. As an ND fan, I always find myself saying in the middle of the year "where the heck is all this talent we are supposed to have?!" I think its been a real bad mix for about the last 20 years of overrated talent and bad coaching

I will admit that the Notre Dame scholarship offer often leads to an extra star.

[Jr.]

Pretty cool article on how Vanderbilt's class came together this year: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...p&sct=hp_wr_a3

[Chrisksaint]

I just watched some highlights of some of LSU's recruits

Deion Jones and Kwon Alexander are really impressive on tape, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them contribute this season. Corey Thompson looks like an Eric Reid clone. Avery Johnson(PP7 brother) is interesting, his senior year he was hurt and no QB really however his junior year is pretty good tape.

Liggins has a rather unorthodox throwing style, but for a 270lb+ guy he runs pretty damn well. If Kragthorpe can fix up that motion there could be something special there in the future imo

[Blaxican8504]

I would say that recruiting rankings are more accurate than people want to give them credit for. However, what isn't taken into account is the mental state of the player being recruited and the program he is going to. Additionally, there are some instances where a player's ranking has been a bit inflated because of the school that he commits to.

What also needs to be taken in consideration when looking at these rankings is that players are often given a rating based on how they project to the NFL. Therefore, measurables have more of an impact. But then again, looking forward, an impressive size/speed combination bodes well for a player's NFL career.

I want to take a look at the examples given already in this thread. Montee Ball was the 33rd rated running back in his class, but still rated as a 4*. Darrell Scott was the top rated running back in the same class and a top ten player nationally, but we need to take a closer look.

Ball played his HS football in Missouri, which many would consider a step down compared to the talent that Scott faced in California. Additionally, Ball is probably closer to 5'9 than his listed 5'11, while Scott is probably a legit 6'. Ball committed to play his football at Wisconsin, a well-run program that has a history of putting lineman in the NFL and running the ball effectively. Scott committed to the disaster known as Colorado before transferring to South Florida, not playing, and entering the draft early.

There are so many other factors that come into play that determine whether a player fulfills his potential or not. Just like there are those guys with an insane desire to become as good as possible.

The first round of the 2011 NFL Draft featured the following: 5* (8), 4* (11), 3* (10), 2* (2), and NR (1).

And to the earlier poster that cited Kalil's and Smith's rating from ESPN, they were both 5* and rated as the 11th (Kalil) and 15th (Smith) best players in the country by Rivals.