Not a lot of surprises. The top teams are who the top team usually are... Texas, Alabama, Fla.State returns to elite recruiting, Fla, Ohio State, Mich, all top 10. All the scandal at Ohio State has not hurt them one bit on the recruiting trail, their 2011 class was in the books when things went south for them and the lost their coach. It did of course hurt them on the field last fall, but once they got Urban Meyer in at coach they picked right back up and finished very strong with a top 5 or better class. USC another team with NCAA issues also has not really been hurt on the recruting trail and while they haven't been to a bowl game in 2 years, they have continued to manage to sign top notch players even if in fewer numbers. This coming year they will be favorites to win the Pac12 and challenge for the NC. Irish finish weakly, only positive was getting Gunner Kiel after that nothing. Only 17 in this class, good players and some really great players in Tee Shepard, Deontay Greenberry, and Kiel. But we really needed more numbers. We'll probably finish ranked out of the top 10, Rivals has us at 17, ESPN 9, and Scout has us at 11. If we'd been able to close out strong and picked up a few more players would have been solid top 10. Texas finished with a flourish, stealing a LB away from Tenn in the last week, another player from TCU and we have a big class coming in 26 or 27 players I forget. I'm pretty sure we're over the limit and will have to have some attrition to get to 85 players by August. I read someplace where starting next year the SEC is putting a absolute cap of 25 players per class, and they mean LOI's. Teams can't fudge the numbers with early enrollment counting against a previous class. So it caps the SEC at 100 players over the 4 years. At ND we've probably never exceeded 90. So that means that while the SEC will still have an advantage it's small.
Oh and the biggest fish this year, Dorial Green-Beckham has signed with Missouri. Missouri got a top QB in Maty Mauk to throw the ball to him. Maty had an incredible HS career in Ohio set all sorts of records. Texas thought they had a shot at him, but things he said at the US Army All-Star game indicated that he was really worried about the Texas QB situation and that probably along with distance sealed the fate of the Longhorns.
I see that the Big 10 is offering 4 year scholarships, not renewable 1 year scholarships. ND has always done this. Certainly kids can transfer, quit, etc but there is a security in knowing you are good for 4 years if you come and make the effort. I think the NCAA will eventually go to 4 year scholarships. 4 year Scholarships
Wow...first big upset of the day. Deontay Greenberry a 5* WR from California and who was verbally committed to ND just switched and signed a LOI to Houston!!! This has to be the highest rated player UH has ever signed. I can't believe it.
I've been watching this thing all morning....little to chilly to go golfing....maybe Al was wrong after all....anyway, IMHO, there's a huge difference between the committed recruits (Bearing, Manners, Delivery, First Impression, etc.) between the Northern and Southern parts of our great country....I think Coherd has hit it on the head.
I hope the NCAA goes to 4 year scholarships. USC has dipped into Florida for one and probably two players the Gators really wanted. Looks like Kiffin is establishing himself. Gators went into the day with 21 commits and picked up two, a four star DE that was committed to FSU and a three star receiver who really wanted to be a Gator. One of the 21 hasn't signed yet but will soon. That puts us at 23 with the receiver Diggs who is not going to pick until Feb 10. We are hopeful on him. We were hoping to get to about 26 but it looks like we may not.
I never quite understand why the occassional kid decides that after being recruited for 2 years at least, taking all sorts of visits that he has to have 10 more days to make his announcement. I swear that if I were a coach, if a kid hadn't sent in his letter by the Nat'l Signing day I'd tell him to forget it and not bother..go someplace else. But then that's probably why I'd get fired as well!
He could have gone to any of the Pac12 schools, I could have seen if he'd picked Oregon or USC or Stanford or Washington. But Houston? I mean no disrespect to the Cougars but they have traditionally one of the lowest grad rates, esp for black kids, they play in a refurbished HS stadium that seats 30K and rarely sells out. Their campus is just OK, it's mostly a commuter school though with the average age of the student body being 27 I believe. Not to mention their Star QB just left and nobody knows much about the replacement and the Star Coach just left as well for A&M.
Nelson Agohlar picks USC for the education benefits...over ND and others....They're dirty again....Kiffin, I'm embarrassed your daddy was at NU once...
They also just stoled Devian Shelton, who was committed to NU, but at the last minute USC swoops in... Exactly what does a program on probation promise these kids? I'll have to go back and re-watch the "Pony Express" again to try and figure it out.
What a nightmarish finish to this recruiting year for Kelly at ND. Lost out on every single highly sought after recruiting prospect he was in on in the last two months and lost two of his three highest verbals. I dropped in on the BGI BB as a guest to gauge the fallout; mass suicides are underway and reprisals against the kids who flipped are abundant.
Because we've switched priorities in this country George....the importance of a Quantum Physics Major just isn't as sexy as a 1st round draft choice....which BTW pays more....even if you're a f------ idiot.
Danny Hope at Purdue did pretty well for himself...34th overall but third in the B1G behind only tOSU and Michigan.
Has to feel good for Hope, he got a nice class and a contract extension. Maybe things will swing up for you guys now.
Texas surprise recruit was LSU verbal Tosh Davis (LB) who "Greenberried" the Tigers today. Agigies were "Greenberried" today by Bralon Addison who went to bed an Aggie but got up this morning an Oregon Duck.