Tidbits from today...

[Kenny Dowell Loggains]

Happy with this class!  Love the stability of Coach B and what lies ahead for the Hogs.

Here's a few tidbits that I thought was pretty interesting from today:

FL was sitting at #44 via Rivals just 2 hours ago.  Got 2 5-star commits in the last hour and jumped up to #23... probably not done before the day is over.

TCU at #34 - For a team that continually wins 10+ games a year, now has the Big 12 tag, has a coach who is thought of as one of the best in College Football, sits in the middle of the hotbed of TX recruiting, and was one "bad" victory away from the College Football Playoffs... #34 is rough.

Baylor at #42 - See above.  I know academic restrictions can run a few guys off, but did Briles scare everyone off with his "no southerner on the CFB Playoff Committee" rant?

Wisconsin at #43 - Yes, I know Wisconsin never recruits very well, but haven't they been to like 5/6 Big 10 championship games recently and put a ton of dudes in the NFL?  Bielema laid down a great foundation at Wisconsin... but the lurking of Alvarez and his ego seems to be getting in the way of coaching stability.  Probably a big turn off for recruits.  From what my cousin tells me, Madison WI is a really cool place.

Nebraska at #31 - They've never been that great at recruiting the last few years, but for a once proud program, it's weak.

MY FAVORITE: Michigan at #56 - Really?  The way I see it, Urban Meyer is already 1-0 against Harbaugh.  For what's probably the biggest coaching hire in the last 30 years at Michigan, this is super weak.  What's the deal?  I thought Harbaugh would come in a hit a grand slam in recruiting with his name & NFL ties.  I was certain he would flip a lot of guys.  Are they capped out in scholarships?  Was the timing of his hire bad for recruiting?  They did get 2 4-star QB's, which is not surprising when Harbaugh is your coach.  Sucks when even Indiana & Illinois are beating you in recruiting.  I guess IU and Illinois can gloat about that for the next few months.  I betting next season he has a top 10 class.

My surprise in the last 2 seasons:

Tennessee at #5 - Has Butch Jones put something in the water in the Smokey Mountains?  Combined 12-13 record in 2 seasons, he's done a really good job putting a fence around the state.  Also, it helps that in the last 2 years there's been some insanely solid players come out of the Nashville & Memphis area.  Maybe recruits think Peyton Manning will join the TN coaching staff after retiring from the NFL. 

[Steef]

Harbaugh had like 3 weeks to recruit, give or take a couple days. Meantime, Urban has a couple years head start on developing relationships, and a brand new trophy he can show off.

It will take some time in Lansing.

[Kenny Dowell Loggains]

Harbaugh had like 3 weeks to recruit, give or take a couple days. Meantime, Urban has a couple years head start on developing relationships, and a brand new trophy he can show off.

It will take some time in Lansing Ann Arbor.

agree for sure.  I think next season we'll see Michigan back in the top 10.  It's just odd/funny to see them at #56. 

[opineonswine]

It will take some time in Lansing.

But what about in Ann Arbor?

[WizardofhOgZ]

Harbaugh had like 3 weeks to recruit, give or take a couple days. Meantime, Urban has a couple years head start on developing relationships, and a brand new trophy he can show off.

It will take some time in Lansing.

Might take a while in Ann Arbor, too . . . 

[Großer Kriegschwein]

But what about in Ann Arbor?

Its overrated what city your U is in.

Leeroy Jenkins

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

Happy with this class!  Love the stability of Coach B and what lies ahead for the Hogs.

Here's a few tidbits that I thought was pretty interesting from today:

FL was sitting at #44 via Rivals just 2 hours ago.  Got 2 5-star commits in the last hour and jumped up to #23... probably not done before the day is over.

TCU at #34 - For a team that continually wins 10+ games a year, now has the Big 12 tag, has a coach who is thought of as one of the best in College Football, sits in the middle of the hotbed of TX recruiting, and was one "bad" victory away from the College Football Playoffs... #34 is rough.

Baylor at #42 - See above.  I know academic restrictions can run a few guys off, but did Briles scare everyone off with his "no southerner on the CFB Playoff Committee" rant?

Wisconsin at #43 - Yes, I know Wisconsin never recruits very well, but haven't they been to like 5/6 Big 10 championship games recently and put a ton of dudes in the NFL?  Bielema laid down a great foundation at Wisconsin... but the lurking of Alvarez and his ego seems to be getting in the way of coaching stability.  Probably a big turn off for recruits.  From what my cousin tells me, Madison WI is a really cool place.

Nebraska at #31 - They've never been that great at recruiting the last few years, but for a once proud program, it's weak.

MY FAVORITE: Michigan at #56 - Really?  The way I see it, Urban Meyer is already 1-0 against Harbaugh.  For what's probably the biggest coaching hire in the last 30 years at Michigan, this is super weak.  What's the deal?  I thought Harbaugh would come in a hit a grand slam in recruiting with his name & NFL ties.  I was certain he would flip a lot of guys.  Are they capped out in scholarships?  Was the timing of his hire bad for recruiting?  They did get 2 4-star QB's, which is not surprising when Harbaugh is your coach.  Sucks when even Indiana & Illinois are beating you in recruiting.  I guess IU and Illinois can gloat about that for the next few months.  I betting next season he has a top 10 class.

My surprise in the last 2 seasons:

Tennessee at #5 - Has Butch Jones put something in the water in the Smokey Mountains?  Combined 12-13 record in 2 seasons, he's done a really good job putting a fence around the state.  Also, it helps that in the last 2 years there's been some insanely solid players come out of the Nashville & Memphis area.  Maybe recruits think Peyton Manning will join the TN coaching staff after retiring from the NFL. 

You literally just laid out the best 5 or 6 arguments showing that stars don't matter, then you totally walk past it like it's not even there.. Star Gazers (SMH)

[Steef]

LOL, guys.

My bad. 

[Kenny Dowell Loggains]

You literally just laid out the best 5 or 6 arguments showing that stars don't matter, then you totally walk past it like it's not even there.. Star Gazers (SMH)

Not star gazing at all.  Just sharing some interesting points of the day.

Stars don't mean everything, but they mean something.  I believe that coaching & development has just as much to do with it as raw talent.

Gary Patterson, Briles, Bielema can develop dudes.  Some coaches can win based on raw talent.

[psooie]

nobody called you out on the  "East Lansing" thing either. 

[swinesation]

Doesn't RD have the term "tidbits" copyrighted?

[hogrocker]

Recruiting rankings aren't completely worthless, but they are not that far from it.  I know that there are people who will statistically tie rankings to year-end ranking, but doing that disregards coaching, tradition, program stability, finances, and many other factors which lead to success of the program.  Texas, Wisconsin, and many other statistical outliers are proof of it.  All of this says nothing of the fact that the entities that rank the players show their obvious bias toward players offered by or commited to certain programs.  The fact that Nutt and Petrino managed the success they did with classes rated where they were rated shows that rankings don't mean much, and are basically arbitrary.

[Tusks]

Tenne$$ee has special water.

[opineonswine]

nobody called you out on the  "East Lansing" thing either. 

Now that's just piling on.

[Uncle_dad]

gguillo's kibbles and bits.

[hawgsmellgud]

Link? RD always has a link.

[hoggusamoungus]

Jones also had some good timing with legacy recruits.  Those kids were likely going to UT regardless of the coach.



http://www.rockytopinsider.com/2014/07/16/legacy-players-already-making-impact/

[31to6]

TCU at #34 - For a team that continually wins 10+ games a year, now has the Big 12 tag, has a coach who is thought of as one of the best in College Football, sits in the middle of the hotbed of TX recruiting, and was one "bad" victory away from the College Football Playoffs... #34 is rough.

Baylor at #42 - See above.  I know academic restrictions can run a few guys off, but did Briles scare everyone off with his "no southerner on the CFB Playoff Committee" rant?

These two schools are going to struggle to be year-in-year-out players in the Big12 because they won't be able to compete consistently in recruiting.

Texas will get back on track and OU will step back up-- and that will cause BU and TCU to drop down the pecking order because they won't be able to consistently bring in the talent to keep up.

Patterson and Briles are both +win coaches and will perform above the level of their talent, but both will be more likely to compete for 4th in the B12 than they will for 1st, year-in-year-out; with the occasional really good year thrown in.

[redeye]

Tennessee's traditionally recruited well, so I can't say that I'm surprised they're back on top.

[secneahog]

Tennessee runs the spread. See you in Knoxville. 

[moses_007]

I don't think Harbaugh even got a full staff together in time to really hit the recruiting trail.  Plus, they have to know the team's weaknesses to know who they need to recruit.  Next year I look for him to have a great recruiting year for Michigan. 

[Pigstie]

Tenne$$ee has special water.

Everyone has it to an extent..... don't kid yourself.

[flagstaffhog]

Always love Davenport's tidbits. Today's bits are insightful. Speaks to coaching staffs and their ability target recruit and then develop the young men into solid team mate's and then into monsters of the midway. I've always thought rating these kids out of high school is at best 50|50. When you see coaches who are always signing middle of the pack recruiting classes and consistently finishing in the top 10 - then you see who the best coaches are.

I'm as happy as a Hog in the slop with this recruiting class and with our coaching staff.

Go HOGS Go!

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

Doesn't RD have the term "tidbits" copyrighted?

Copyright MY tidbits...

[bennyl08]

Recruiting rankings aren't completely worthless, but they are not that far from it.  I know that there are people who will statistically tie rankings to year-end ranking, but doing that disregards coaching, tradition, program stability, finances, and many other factors which lead to success of the program.  Texas, Wisconsin, and many other statistical outliers are proof of it.  All of this says nothing of the fact that the entities that rank the players show their obvious bias toward players offered by or commited to certain programs.  The fact that Nutt and Petrino managed the success they did with classes rated where they were rated shows that rankings don't mean much, and are basically arbitrary.

You just used statistical outliers and proof in the same sentence... I mean, that's like saying because Butler made that play in the super bowl, there's now legitimate debate as to which is the powerhouse team in Alabama.

Ideally, you want every player on your roster to be good enough to go on and have a very successful NFL career. Recruiting rankings/offers is the number one indicator of that coming out of HS. The fact that you even use the word outliers enhances the idea idea that the trend b/w success and recruiting is there. Just look at USC. Highly ranked recruiting, high output of draft prospects. Hasn't translated to big bowl games while in college partly due to being suspended from bowl games and poor coaching, but overall, they still had a lot of physical talent.