Today's National Signing Day. We won't be reporting the news, but we'll certainly be taking a look in the coming days at who's going where and which schools (especially our alma maters) end up winners and losers.
To see what exactly those stars and recruiting class rankings mean, the DMN had a retrospective look at the Class of 2004 and where they've ended up, while ESPN's Graham Watson had a quick take on some past recruiting efforts, including the bust that was Jimmy Clausen. Interesting reads, and something Ted and I have discussed at length off-blog.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
New Year's resolutions
Things I'd like to see (or not see) happen in 2009:
Down on the Tigers: Stop voting Clemson in the Top 10 (or even 15) only to see them disappoint less than halfway through the season. Preseason -- No. 9 in both AP and USA Today polls. Postseason -- no votes in either.
Give the non-majors a shot: Highest-ranked team outside the BCS conferences preseason -- BYU at 16/17. Highest postseason -- Utah at 2/4. There are some good teams outside the six big conferences. TCU is perennially strong, and as Ted asked last week...why isn't Gary Patterson being tapped for something better?
Not-so-Big 12: Despite the offensive numbers earlier, the Big 12 proved itself inferior this bowl season. Coaches need to remember that defense, paired with a manimal named Tim Tebow, wins championships.
Set up SEC-USC matchups: I know the nonconference schedules are set through like 2015, but I would absolutely love to see a September pairing of USC and a Florida, Alabama or rebuilt LSU. Jerry Jones, if you're listening, there's a blockbuster you could schedule at the new Arlington stadium.
Down on the Tigers: Stop voting Clemson in the Top 10 (or even 15) only to see them disappoint less than halfway through the season. Preseason -- No. 9 in both AP and USA Today polls. Postseason -- no votes in either.
Give the non-majors a shot: Highest-ranked team outside the BCS conferences preseason -- BYU at 16/17. Highest postseason -- Utah at 2/4. There are some good teams outside the six big conferences. TCU is perennially strong, and as Ted asked last week...why isn't Gary Patterson being tapped for something better?
Not-so-Big 12: Despite the offensive numbers earlier, the Big 12 proved itself inferior this bowl season. Coaches need to remember that defense, paired with a manimal named Tim Tebow, wins championships.
Set up SEC-USC matchups: I know the nonconference schedules are set through like 2015, but I would absolutely love to see a September pairing of USC and a Florida, Alabama or rebuilt LSU. Jerry Jones, if you're listening, there's a blockbuster you could schedule at the new Arlington stadium.
Moving on...
So the season is done, the crystal football now in Urban Meyer's trophy case. What's a fan to do? Obsess about recruiting, of course!
Ted and I have had offline conversations about the merits of Rivals.com and Scout.com. Our verdict boils down to this: A 5-star recruit (or a team of them) doesn't necessarily mean success at the collegiate level. (Though I'd argue that success in high school correlates much more with college success than college does with NFL.) Just look at Notre Dame -- the Irish have consistently (at least over the past few years) had classes well stocked with Rivals 4- and 5-star recruits. As for dominating records...not so much.
But these tools are about all we've got to work on. You can really read into what a coaching staff brings to a team and what a coach's priorities are by scouring those commit lists.
Look at SMU, for instance. June Jones had less than a month to cobble together the class of 2008. He managed six more recruits (29) than Phil Bennett did in 2007, with the same number of 3-star players. Lots of offensive line (think pass protection), a set of QBs and a bunch of linebackers.
For the 2009 class, with a full year to recruit, Jones has a couple of JuCo transfers (grrr....but at least they've got 3 and 4 stars by their names), no zero stars (had one of those last year), a half-dozen 3-stars and several more highly rated guys with high interest in SMU and scholarship offers. If you believe these rankings, the 2009 class could be SMU's best in years. And some of the better players are defensive backs and ends, areas SMU needs to really shore up in order to improve that win column.
So we'll keep watching until Feb. 4. Then the countdown to the 2009 season begins.
Ted and I have had offline conversations about the merits of Rivals.com and Scout.com. Our verdict boils down to this: A 5-star recruit (or a team of them) doesn't necessarily mean success at the collegiate level. (Though I'd argue that success in high school correlates much more with college success than college does with NFL.) Just look at Notre Dame -- the Irish have consistently (at least over the past few years) had classes well stocked with Rivals 4- and 5-star recruits. As for dominating records...not so much.
But these tools are about all we've got to work on. You can really read into what a coaching staff brings to a team and what a coach's priorities are by scouring those commit lists.
Look at SMU, for instance. June Jones had less than a month to cobble together the class of 2008. He managed six more recruits (29) than Phil Bennett did in 2007, with the same number of 3-star players. Lots of offensive line (think pass protection), a set of QBs and a bunch of linebackers.
For the 2009 class, with a full year to recruit, Jones has a couple of JuCo transfers (grrr....but at least they've got 3 and 4 stars by their names), no zero stars (had one of those last year), a half-dozen 3-stars and several more highly rated guys with high interest in SMU and scholarship offers. If you believe these rankings, the 2009 class could be SMU's best in years. And some of the better players are defensive backs and ends, areas SMU needs to really shore up in order to improve that win column.
So we'll keep watching until Feb. 4. Then the countdown to the 2009 season begins.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A Plea for Ted Kim's Analysis ...
... on this Boston College news flash. Is BC out of line to insist that its coach stay for five years and not use the job as a stepping stone? Can the Eagles attract a top-flight coach if that's the case? Is Ted Kim dusting off his resume?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Give me some Sugar
Not much I can add about the Sugar Bowl (debacle if you back the Tide, vindication if you're a Ute) other than to say wow. Didn't see it coming, nor did I see the thumping of Texas Tech at the Cotton Bowl.
And now, we wait for Fiesta and BCS Championship.
And now, we wait for Fiesta and BCS Championship.
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