2012-2013 NCAA Football Thread (National Signing Day)

[Gator Bait]

If recruiting/rankings and getting a great class wasn't highly important, college football programs/coaches wouldn't put as much time and energy into it as they do. Look at who has been in the top 10 the past 10 years...then look at who has won the national championships....see the same teams? yep

[Spartacus87]

I'm not saying that the rankings are useless, but I just don't put a ton of stock into them. They usually seem to be pretty close to what really happens. But, like you said, coaching and development play a big role in all of it too. But for example, just because Ole Miss has a top 5 class this year, I don't think that automatically means Ole Miss will be a power in the next few years.

Well, Ole Miss has no chance at becoming anything significant unless they recruit classes like that over the next 2 to 3 years too (and if they do, then either something really odd is going on in Oxford, or they definitely will be investigated). Ole Miss had an exceptional class, but it needs to be a consistent thing to have any impact on the program.

As far as coaching and development go - yeah, those very important (especially keeping guys academically eligible, and keeping them out of trouble, which is why Alabama's spent millions and increased their development/tutoring staff by an absurd amount since Saban took over), but as both Matt Hinton's article for CBS Sports and the CFB Matrix blog's articles point out, purely having superior talent on the field can be enough to give you a winning record.

It's anecdotal, but take Florida State under the last few years of Bobby Bowden as an example. Bowden's coaching staff was one of the worst of any major program for most of his last decade at FSU, and FSU players were routinely getting arrested or kicked out of school. Even with all of that going on, FSU still never had a season below .500, completely because FSU had much more talented athletes than most of the teams they played. And when given extra time to prepare for a bowl game, FSU even maintained a winning record in bowl games from 01-09.

[The Evil Genius]

FYI - Ole Miss's class ranking (Rivals) was inside the top 20 for two of the past three years...and that's not counting this years class.

[pjfootballer]

I used to be really into it when I was in college and had more time on my hands (and the buzz of the new recruiting class was going on around me in Tallahassee), but now I just casually follow it until maybe the last 2 or 3 weeks of the recruiting period before NSD. Unless there's a big story about a high 4 star or a 5 star committing to FSU, I only check in on it maybe once every 3 or 4 months.

It's also a good diversion in the summer time, when college football news is dead before Fall camps start and preseason stuff gets underway. Gotta get my fix somehow.

I personally could not care less about most NFL draft stuff, since that's the real crapshoot. Talk to me about upcoming recruiting camps and high profile targets who will be attending, and I'll listen; start bringing up mock drafts and trade down scenarios and I'll become bored to death.

I've just never been that much into college football to follow it like that. I mean there is 120+ D1 teams and each team has 100+ players on their roster. That's well over 1500 players. I've noticed in areas in the south particularly where college teams are much more a rabid following than the pro teams, something I could never understand. But then again, there are areas that are much more into HS Football and Basketball then I ever would be. I could not tell you what my HS football teams did record wise after I left in 1986. I do follow my college teams, but just when I see them on TV.

[The Evil Genius]

Well, Ole Miss has no chance at becoming anything significant unless they recruit classes like that over the next 2 to 3 years too (and if they do, then either something really odd is going on in Oxford, or they definitely will be investigated). Ole Miss had an exceptional class, but it needs to be a consistent thing to have any impact on the program.

As far as coaching and development go - yeah, those very important (especially keeping guys academically eligible, and keeping them out of trouble, which is why Alabama's spent millions and increased their development/tutoring staff by an absurd amount since Saban took over), but as both Matt Hinton's article for CBS Sports and the CFB Matrix blog's articles point out, purely having superior talent on the field can be enough to give you a winning record.

It's anecdotal, but take Florida State under the last few years of Bobby Bowden as an example. Bowden's coaching staff was one of the worst of any major program for most of his last decade at FSU, and FSU players were routinely getting arrested or kicked out of school. Even with all of that going on, FSU still never had a season below .500, completely because FSU had much more talented athletes than most of the teams they played. And when given extra time to prepare for a bowl game, FSU even maintained a winning record in bowl games from 01-09.

To be fair, when you can feast on the ACC of that era - .500 isn't much to chew on.

[Gator Bait]

Class Rankings from ESPN:

2006: #1 UF #4 GA #8 LSU
2007: #2 UF #4 SC #5 UT #6 LSU #7 AUB
2008: #3 Bama #4 UF #5 GA
2009: #1 LSU #2 Bama #5 UF #6 GA
2010: #1 UF #3 Bama #4 AUB #8 LSU #9 UT
2011: #2 Bama #3 Auburn #6 GA #10 LSU
2012: #1 Bama #4 UF #5 GA
2013: #1 Bama #2 UF #5 Ole Miss #7 LSU #8 A&M #10 GA


Last 7 national championships....SEC schools. Direct correlation....I think so!

Anyone want to make any bets on the next four national championships? I bet the SEC wins at least three of them.

As someone else mentioned earlier...the gap is widening as we speak. SEC had 6 teams in the top 10 this year....I'd be interested to know if that is the most schools from one conference in the top 10 in recruiting in the past 30 years.

---------- Post added February-7th-2013 at 04:15 PM ----------

Well, Ole Miss has no chance at becoming anything significant unless they recruit classes like that over the next 2 to 3 years too (and if they do, then either something really odd is going on in Oxford, or they definitely will be investigated). Ole Miss had an exceptional class, but it needs to be a consistent thing to have any impact on the program.
.

While you are probably right....it isn't 100% true. If this recruiting class had a Tebow/Reggie Bush/ Vince young type player for them....they definitely could win a championship.

[Elessar78]

Local paper ran an article about the veracity of the star-rankings. Local Kid was an un-ranked TE recruit but then one big college started recruiting him and so he got 3-stars, which generated more interest and eventually he ended up being a 4-star prospect. He washed out after a year or two.

Point is, is this a chicken-egg scenario? Is the fact that these kids are being recruited by Alabama/LSU/UF make them 4 and 5 star recruits? How many "unknowns" did VT recruit in their hay day that were 3-stars and they turned out to be national caliber talents?

[Gator Bait]

Local paper ran an article about the veracity of the star-rankings. Local Kid was an un-ranked TE recruit but then one big college started recruiting him and so he got 3-stars, which generated more interest and eventually he ended up being a 4-star prospect. He washed out after a year or two.

Point is, is this a chicken-egg scenario? Is the fact that these kids are being recruited by Alabama/LSU/UF make them 4 and 5 star recruits? How many "unknowns" did VT recruit in their hay day that were 3-stars and they turned out to be national caliber talents?

it isn't about all 4/5 star recruits being the real deal. It is a matter of a numbers game....if one school gets twenty 4/5 star recruits than another school that gets five...the school with twenty has a better chance of more of their guys panning out...and thus gives them a better chance to be really good. That's why all the teams that have won national championships in the past 10 years have had great recruiting classes. The only one of the seven SEC schools that hasn't been in the top ten every year is Auburn...and we all know the reason they won is because Cam Newton transferred there (he came from that #2 ranked 2007 UF class) If Cam hadn't transferred, there is no doubt in my mind UF would have won the NC that year.

[Spartacus87]

To be fair, when you can feast on the ACC of that era - .500 isn't much to chew on.

Fair point.

Bowden's record in the ACC in that last decade wasn't very good, and once the ACC expanded, Bowden went 21-19 in ACC play before retiring, so it was just barely above .500 in conference.

However, considering how awful the coaching and development had actually become by that point (not just lacking in proper coaching - the staff had become detrimental to players), being above .500 every year and remaining eligible for bowl games is still quite a feat. And until Jimbo Fisher arrived and started running a competent offense with Christian Ponder (a QB recruit who Bowden only signed to FSU as a favor to Ponder's dad), FSU only won games because they had kids who were naturally faster, stronger, and more athletically than most of their weekly opponents. And the losses came when FSU had to play teams with pretty good coaches who could out scheme FSU's lack of coaching, or when FSU played teams with relative or superior talent (the wide gulf between UF under Meyer and FSU under Bowden comes to mind).

Yeah, the ACC was mediocre, but there are plenty of programs with "down years" that end in losing records despite playing 4 or 5 average or worse teams during the season. It was FSU being able to keep up with recruiting that kept the nation's longest bowl streak alive.

(And that's not to say that FSU's recruiting was as good as the initial rankings make them look - Bowden signed tons of kids who were highly ranked and didn't make it to campus because of grades, or were terrible fits for what FSU needed schematically)

While you are probably right....it isn't 100% true. If this recruiting class had a Tebow/Reggie Bush/ Vince young type player for them....they definitely could win a championship.

I doubt that. Meyer's first title at UF had some pretty quality players leftover from Zook who were able to fit well with what Charlie Strong and Dan Mullen wanted to establish for their systems (and I know Strong had been at UF for 2 years already when Meyer took over, but it wasn't until Meyer became the HC that Strong's role as the DC there was really solidified).

Ole Miss has had some OK classes recently, but the cupboard isn't quite as full, and the jury is certainly out as to whether Ole Miss's staff is as great as UF's was. I don't think Urban Meyer himself is an amazing coach, but I think he's one of the best around at identifying excellent up-and-coming assistants and enabling them to grow into their roles and giving them the support they need to flourish.

The only one of the seven SEC schools that hasn't been in the top ten every year is Auburn...and we all know the reason they won is because Cam Newton transferred there (he came from that #2 ranked 2007 UF class) If Cam hadn't transferred, there is no doubt in my mind UF would have won the NC that year.

You have no doubt that UF would have won the NC in 2010 with Cam Newton?

[The Evil Genius]

Props to the B1G for moving to stop scheduling FCS's teams. Now, if they would stop scheduling MAC teams also....

[big#44]

Props to the B1G for moving to stop scheduling FCS's teams. Now, if they would stop scheduling MAC teams also....

Now we just have to wait for all the other big conferences to follow suit, and the season will be that much more interesting. Especially the SEC, I'm looking at you UF.

[China]

Props to the B1G for moving to stop scheduling FCS's teams. Now, if they would stop scheduling MAC teams also....

I don't see that happening. I know MSU likes to schedule an in-state team like Central Michigan or Western Michigan almost every year and I'm sure teams like Ohio State want to keep playing in-state teams like BGSU, Miami, or Ohio. They like the intrastate nature of the games, plus they get the benefit of a tune-up or easy game on their schedule.

It's not like SEC teams aren't doing it too, playing teams like Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, and Western Carolina.

[The Evil Genius]

I don't see that happening. I know MSU likes to schedule an in-state team like Central Michigan or Western Michigan almost every year and I'm sure teams like Ohio State want to keep playing in-state teams like BGSU, Miami, or Ohio. They like the intrastate nature of the games, plus they get the benefit of a tune-up or easy game on their schedule.

It's not like SEC teams aren't doing it too, playing teams like Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, and Western Carolina.

Oh I know why they do it. I just think that they (and other Big 6 conferences) should get away from it.

[big#44]

I think almost every major school has a joke of an out of conference schedule. UF hasn't left the state for an out of conference game in something like 20 or 30 years. Savannah State shouldn't be on anyone's schedule, let alone Oklahoma State or Florida State (they have more of an excuse then Ok St. did). I get the some of these OOC games help the little schools out by boosting their exposure and income, but seriously a Pac12, SEC, Big12, Big10, or ACC team should only have one of those teams on their schedule max. If it were me, I'd say all the schools from those 5 conferences have to schedule each other. It would make any national champion that much more legitimate.

[ixcuincle]

http://twitter.com/BryanDFischer/sta...65666548396032


"RT @ByTimReynolds: AP Source: Notice of allegations against Miami includes the dreaded "lack of institutional control" charge."