That group of guys is the most talented bunch of players that any college football program has ever seen set foot on campus in the same class. This gives Texas A&M a class that is now rated at 329.69, the highest rating of all time. No team has really even come close to a 330 rating and A&M could jump that by a significant margin with commitments from Shemar Stewart and Jacoby Mathews.
Yep. I wonder why now? In all of the history of college football, A&M has never had this type of recruiting success. Fisher has never had this level of success. If NIL is the difference then we are seeing the future of college football.
No doubt it is the future of the game. It's legal and those that figure it out and have the resources to implement an effective strategy will benefit. Big name players will get a lot of money, teams with willing and well heeled boosters will dominate even more. There are maybe 10 - 15 teams that can play in this game
Haters gonna hate... One factor in the "Score" of this class is it's size. Its huge. Thanks to transfers and covid holdovers there are a LOT of open slots. Right now it's at 27 not counting Max Johnson and that's with Perkins yet to sign and a couple others possible. Contrary to what kp said, Jimbo has always been an elite recruiter, rarely outside the top ten and frequently in the top 5. I'm sure NIL is a factor, but again it's no where near the rumored amounts. And for the record I still don't like it. A free education and all the perks they've gotten should be more than enough compensation.
It has to be the NIL. With all due respect to Jimbo Fischer, this class eclipses anything he or anyone else has ever put together anywhere by a country mile. And with the portal he may not be done yet, in fact , none of them may. I see a super conference forming with only the well heeled because many will not be able to play this game and others will be unwilling. If I were Rutgers, I would be courting their neighbor J & J and all the other pharma companies that are located nearby and start working on them Maybe hop across the Hudson and tap into some of that Wall St cash. Location, location location. Reminds me of the movie "Blue Chips" with Nick Nolte. Between the portal and the NIL any pretense of this game being an amateur sport within an academic mission will quickly wash away. These will be professional enterprises simply renting space and naming rights from the host schools. You can't help but wonder what T. Boone Pickens could have done with this set up.
Scott, having a top 10 or even a top 5 class is not in the same realm as this class. Fisher has gone from having a top 10 or a top 5 to having the highest-rated recruiting class in history. It's not hating, it's just stating facts. Chill out. It's all legal. I'm afraid NIL and free agency are about to ruin our game. The recruiting wars are about to heat up.
I'd say it's more jealousy than anything. I know Texas fans are at their core jealous of what Jimbo has put together this year even though Sark has put together an excellent class. I also agree that it's going to change the game, maybe not ruin it but it won't be the same as what we grew up with. The days of kids signing with a school and sticking with that school are gone, they are looking for playing time and NIL, the 1 time free transfer will allow kids to become free agents looking for playing time and NIL opportunity. We are seeing kids who are starters at lower level programs leave for higher level programs that will give them more NFL exposure and better NIL opportunities. I have to look no further than the Irish getting a player from Northwestern who was a starter and an All Big 10 player who would have been a starter in 2022 at Northwestern. But clearly he will get more exposure at Notre Dame than Northwestern and maybe a better NIL deal.
kp, by your logic you could insert Saban or Smart in place of Fisher, and the last statement would be the same. I took you to mean Jimbo was not capable of collecting a number one class. If that's not what you meant, then I stand corrected.
Has Fisher ever had a #1 class? Has anyone ever signed 7 5*'s?. According to the recruiting ratings (admittedly I'm not a big fan of) this will the highest rated ever. He is quite capable of collecting a no.1 class but this will apparently go.way beyond just being a no. 1 class. Saban has never had 7 5*'s. Smart has never had 7 5*'s. I wonder what has changed this year at A&M to cause such a big jump. Maybe Jumbo just got more charismatic. Look, I'm not throwing stones at A&M, I think y'all are leading the way. THe bidding wars are just beginning.
I agree, A&M just adapted better and quicker, all legal and above board. They were no doubt going to have another great class, but by getting their NIL strategy going better than others they took it up a notch. But rest assured the top recruiting schools like Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State will adapt and things will be a little different for 2022. Rest assured that Longhorn NIL game will be going up a notch to be competitive with the top.
Make no mistake, it was a terrific effort by Jimbo and his staff, and I don't want to imply that he just bought those 7 5 stars. I have no doubt that each of them had other opportunities for a great NIL deal, but they liked what Jimbo and staff were presenting them for their futures.
Have to agree with this. Also think that you can add the Gators to the list of teams that will adapt.
I looked... Jimbo's had #2 and #3 several times, so certainly not a stretch to reach #1 which was my point. And I said NIL certainly was a factor, but it wasn't the be all end all. Per the 247 composite... Alabama had seven 5 stars LAST YEAR when they set the current "record" score for a class. So how much cash was Nick handing out last year??? I don't mean that really, but I hope it makes my point.
Bill if you don't you won't be consistently competitive with the teams that do. I do believe that Texas will be competitive in the NIL game with anybody. But even with that Sark will have put in the effort that teams like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, and now A&M, do to get that top 5 or better results. I don't believe Notre Dame will be able to do that, I do believe that Marcus Freeman will match any team in terms of the effort but I am doubtful that the Irish can compete at the same level in the NIL game as those teams and that will limit us. I think we will get good players and if Freeman turns out to be the right hire we will have good teams. I just don't think he can ever get a class a lot of top 100 players
I do think that there is one 5 star out there who probably doesn't give a #&*@ about what a school can do with regards to NIL. Arch Manning.