Well Wed is the big day, Alabama looks like they will be the #1 team, AGAIN, and Ohio State will be #2. Both really just out distanced the rest of the group pretty badly. Michigan will have another great class as Harbaugh is really rolling. Scotts Aggies are doing very well and will finish with a top 10 class. I'm really sort of surprised at this given the collapse of the Ag's in Nov and the bowl game loss. Texas will not do as well as Strong's finish last year, and will somewhere in the top 25 I guess. We do have a shot at one of the top players in the state to boost the class if he comes. The Irish will probably finish somewhere in the top 20, might get inside the top 15 if everything falls right. The guy who has done a pretty good job since taking over at Baylor is Matt Rhule. I think they had 1 guy committed when he took over and they now have something like 23, sure none of them are 4 or 5 star players but given all that has gone on there and the recent lawsuit that alleges even worse things it's pretty amazing he's been able to get anybody to come to Baylor. OU leads the B12 recruiting and will have a top 10 class nationally. The rest of the B12 is nothing to write about. Here are the 247 composite rankings. http://247sports.com/Season/2017-Football/CompositeTeamRankings You can bet that as usual every coach will talk about what a great class of kids they are bringing in that they fit the needs and are all high character kids who will represent the University well.
How do you Gators look at recruiting, you guys were always top 5 with Spurrier and Meyer, and now you are on the edge of the top 20 behind both Miami and FSU. Over at ND most fans blame the coaches , and Kelly especially, as much as the poor record last year. Do Gator fans feel that the coaches are getting out worked or that there is something wrong with the evaluation and effort on the part of the UF staff starting with McElwain?
Terry, I don't think there is much difference between the #1 team and the #10 team. It's nice to have the 5 stars but some of these homegrown and legacy kids turn out really nice. Being ranked the #1 class is nice but I don't really care if the coaches really think we filled holes left by graduation and transfers.
Well I will grant that simply being the #1 class doesn't automatically mean you will win Nat'l Championships. The current Clemson team that won the Nat' Championship was not nearly as highly ranked as Alabama was with their last 4-5 recruiting classes, but they developed players and they got a really great QB. At Texas there was a streak where Mack Brown brought in a bunch of highly ranked teams that didn't do as well as their recruiting rankings till they got that one guy, Vince Young, who made it happen. But all that said I do think it's big to get all the 5 star kids that Alabama and Ohio State have over the last few recruiting cycles. Those kids are frequently the difference makers on a team. So give me a top 5 class and a couple of 5 stars every year and my chances of having a top 10 team every year are pretty good. It is interesting that Super Bowl teams are made up of most 3 star players out of HS, but that mainly shows you how different the NFL is and how some players can develop and make themselves into integral parts of very good teams.
To put an exclamation point on the dominance of Alabama and Ohio State, they have between them more 5 star players than the rest of the top 10 combined. Recruiting rankings are based on some forumla that gives you more points for a 5 star than a 4 star, etc. The result is a number, the biggest number is the #1 class. So it's hard to get enough points if you have a high quality class but only 15 kids in it. Where as a class loaded with 4 star and 3 star kids but having almost 30 of them will score very well and end up highly ranked. But Ohio State has the fewest recruits of anybody in the top 10 other than USC and is still #2. If they added 6 more players they would be #1 almost no matter what their ranking was. And in spite of Mich have 7 more players than Ohio State and a great class, they are still significantly behind Ohio State. Clemson has only 14 right now and are ahead of Tenn who has twice as many kids. Remove 14 of Tenn lowest ranked players and they'd be out of the top 25 but there is Clemson knocking on the door of the top 10.
Recruiting has changed drastically in the last few years. Ohio State hardly went out of state when Woody was here. This year we will have only a handful of recruits here in state. I think the same is true in Florida. Texas has been good to us in recent years, but with Herman now in Austin, that will prove to be more difficult in my opinion. Kp and I have always agreed that as long as you fill the holes with good talent, you have done a good job.
Terry, Some Gator fans think McElwain is failing at recruiting but there are still some top players that may yet turn UF's way and put this year's class up in the top 15 if not top 10.. Also.... most Gator fans do give him the benefit of the doubt with regard to winning with those players he has.
I have to agree with Dave (Oh the agony), don't count the Gators out of a top 15 class yet, they tend to swing into action late and compete with the best of them. Miami is battling UF for a couple kids and who gets them will play a role locally in the state at who won the recruiting battle...Unfortunately we normally lose out to the lizards....
Ralph, Unfortunately lately we have both been losing out to the Injuns. Getting tiresome..... seeing Gator commits like Dalvin Cook flip to the semi-holes then starring at his position.
No arguments from me the Noles own both of us for the last 10 years maybe we can get off of our behinds and make it a game eventually....
W <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> <br/> <br/> <br/> Ahhh, I'm confused on how to run with this but, no...Da Canes are alive and well....But long live the King...<br/> <br/> <URL url="http://s347.photobucket.com/user/Sunburst_Orando/media/IMG_2710_zpsplbejhvp.jpg.html"><s></s><IMG src="http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p465/Sunburst_Orando/IMG_2710_zpsplbejhvp.jpg"><s></e></IMG><e></e></URL></r>
Terry, there is a lot of angst among Gator fans over recruiting. Personally I think we have a good coach and the recruiting will improve as he is more entrenched. I also have to say that way to many Gator fans these days that feel entitled and I get frustrated with them. I think we finish fairly well but outside the top 10. Also don't forget how well Georgia is doing. That is a bit scary to me.
Bill is spot on with every point and yes there does seem to be a lot of entitlement these days. Georgia is really surprising and looks to win the prize in the most improved at recruiting this season. Then again as we all know it's not over until the fat lady sings when it comes to recruiting, there are always a few surprises...
Smart is getting the bounce that a lot of new coaches get in their 2nd recruiting class. The first one they are, like Tom Herman, late to the party since they don't get the job till Dec and are way behind and the old coach probably knew he was out the door so didn't make a big effort. Plus while UGA didn't have a great year last year, Smart is young and energetic and so I imagine he's been working very hard on this class.
As we all know Jim Harbaugh is way out there with the way he does things, on the cutting edge you might say. 1st it was sleepovers, then Spring Break practice in Fla, and this year Spring Break Practice in Rome where reportedly he'll have the Pope baptize his new son. But this is a first. http://streamable.com/lzxih