Perspective on our class so far

[Acockolypse Now]

So, I've read more than a few people that have expressed a sense of...how shall I say this..."blah-ness" about our class so far.

Which to me is more than unfair to the players themselves and the coaches that have worked so hard to make sure we're getting the right players in.

While almost everyone agrees that star ratings are a crap-shoot, I decided to go back and look at the Rivals score for each player we signed through 2010, to average our classes out and compare them against one another.

What I found out might surprise you.

Here's the AVERAGE score of the players we've signed each year since 2010:

2010: 5.6
2011: 5.68
2012: 5.68
2013: 5.7

What's interesting to me about this is:

1. Our staff's consistency
Even though we've concentrated on different areas of the team from year to year, they've been remarkably consistent in finding talent across the board.

2. No huge outliers
It might seem that the 2010 and 2011 classes were top-heavy, since we signed such heavyweights as Lattimore and Clowney. The truth, however, is that their 6.1 rankings didn't skew the numbers upward, the majority of players were still 5.6 and above. 2010 is the lone exception, since someone decided that Jerideau was only a 5.3. Again, it's an inexact science.

3. We're winning with 3 star talent
5.8 and above is considered a 4 star by Rivals. I've always said that star rankings are useless other than this: 3 star means you're a legit D1 prospect. 4 star probably means your offer sheet probably includes at least 2 tier one programs, and 5 star means that people won't shut up about you. The difference between them is minimal. It means our coaching staff has been able to take 3 star talent and beat 4 star talent with it. I'm not up to it, but I'm betting that UGA, Florida, and Tennessee all averaged higher than us over the same time-span and we have an 8-1 record against those teams over the last 3 years.

4. You're bitching about nothing.
This year's class is just as good, if not better, than the previous classes. There aren't any marquee guys like Clowney or Lattimore that will get us ESPN press on signing day, but it doesn't matter, because this class is deep, will get better with an additional commitment or two over the next few days, and our staff will continue to win with them.

[treys1986]

Points

[sporkgod50]

I like the upward trend and appreciate the work.

[CoverTwo]

If you look at this class, our 'worse' commit ratings wise has offers from Clemson, NC State, and Tennessee.

Take a different look at it. Break it down by position.

QB - Connor Mitch .. Have many complaints about him? Didn't think so.

RB - David Williams / Jamari Smith - Grabbed a Top 10 back in the country, grabbed the most underrated player in Florida. Nice job there.

OL - Na'Ty Rodgers / DJ Park / Bryce King / Alan Knott / JP Vonashek - All have big time offer sheets. Hit a homerun there.

DL - Devante Covington / Devin Washington / Gerald Turner / Kelsey Griffin / David Johnson / Kendal Vickers - Solid group here. Got your elite defensive tackle in Kelsey Griffin, got 2 hybrids in Gerald Turner and David Johnson, got a very good player in Devin Washington, and a guy that no one talks about much in Devante Covington but he is a really good player as well. Then you go and place Kendal Vickers who will absolutely blow up star rating wise in Prep. Nice haul there. Want to nit pick the fact that it doesn't have an elite pass rusher? I'll give that to you. That might be the only weakness of this group.

LB - Larenz Bryant / Jonathan Walton / Mohamed Camara - Got a top 5 player out of NC, picked up a guy late in the process that had offers from a handful of other SEC schools and Linebacker U (Penn State), hand picked a guy in Mohamed Camara who quietly racked up offers from Arkansas and Wisconsin. Add Skai Moore to this group and its another solid group.

DB - Pharoh Cooper, Ronnie Martin, Ali Groves, Jasper Sasser - By now you know what kind of player Cooper is. Groves brings in a Rico McWilliams-style offer sheet but he has a Florida offer on his. Martin's offer sheet out of high school spoted LSU and Nebraska offers. Want to pick a reach for this class, you could probably Jasper Sasser. Unfortunately, he'll get singled out on NSD but he didn't play much at all this year after breaking his foot. There isn't any senior film on him so you just have to go with the coaches here. Want to say its a reach? I'll give you that.

I mean I can't sit here and look at this class and say its blah. Because its not. Want to bitch about Langley and Rolin? Ok, thats fine. I'm upset too but what we got on board going into Wednesday is really good. I made mention of this in an earlier thread. Guys, our staff put together a probable Top 15 class built on out of state kids. There is only 3 instate commitments out of 6 legitimate offers! Thats unheard of.

[sc455]

it is a good class. very solid.

[cockyness11]

[CockaThaWalk]

[sporkgod50]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

If you look at this class, our 'worse' commit ratings wise has offers from Clemson, NC State, and Tennessee.

Take a different look at it. Break it down by position.

QB - Connor Mitch .. Have many complaints about him? Didn't think so.

RB - David Williams / Jamari Smith - Grabbed a Top 10 back in the country, grabbed the most underrated player in Florida. Nice job there.

OL - Na'Ty Rodgers / DJ Park / Bryce King / Alan Knott / JP Vonashek - All have big time offer sheets. Hit a homerun there.

DL - Devante Covington / Devin Washington / Gerald Turner / Kelsey Griffin / David Johnson / Kendal Vickers - Solid group here. Got your elite defensive tackle in Kelsey Griffin, got 2 hybrids in Gerald Turner and David Johnson, got a very good player in Devin Washington, and a guy that no one talks about much in Devante Covington but he is a really good player as well. Then you go and place Kendal Vickers who will absolutely blow up star rating wise in Prep. Nice haul there. Want to nit pick the fact that it doesn't have an elite pass rusher? I'll give that to you. That might be the only weakness of this group.

LB - Larenz Bryant / Jonathan Walton / Mohamed Camara - Got a top 5 player out of NC, picked up a guy late in the process that had offers from a handful of other SEC schools and Linebacker U (Penn State), hand picked a guy in Mohamed Camara who quietly racked up offers from Arkansas and Wisconsin. Add Skai Moore to this group and its another solid group.

DB - Pharoh Cooper, Ronnie Martin, Ali Groves, Jasper Sasser - By now you know what kind of player Cooper is. Groves brings in a Rico McWilliams-style offer sheet but he has a Florida offer on his. Martin's offer sheet out of high school spoted LSU and Nebraska offers. Want to pick a reach for this class, you could probably Jasper Sasser. Unfortunately, he'll get singled out on NSD but he didn't play much at all this year after breaking his foot. There isn't any senior film on him so you just have to go with the coaches here. Want to say its a reach? I'll give you that.

I mean I can't sit here and look at this class and say its blah. Because its not. Want to bitch about Langley and Rolin? Ok, thats fine. I'm upset too but what we got on board going into Wednesday is really good. I made mention of this in an earlier thread. Guys, our staff put together a probable Top 15 class built on out of state kids. There is only 3 instate commitments out of 6 legitimate offers! Thats unheard of.

I agree. Considering the level of in state talent this year, this is probably one of the best jobs our coaches have done.

[ramcock]

C2, Im excited about your enthusiasm about Vickers. What is it about him in particular that has you so excited. Which player do you see him comparing to when he's playing with us?

Thanks for the write up, great read!

[Smashies_AC30]

Points.

[Garnet Gamecock]

I am going to sleep much better tonight.

Thank you all for your input.

[ReadR00ster]

I don't pay attention to recruiting ratings at all. I'd say this is a solid class, not one of our absolute best in recent years, but better than last year and nothing to turn your nose up at.

[seamus]

Originally Posted by Acockolypse Now

So, I've read more than a few people that have expressed a sense of...how shall I say this..."blah-ness" about our class so far.

Which to me is more than unfair to the players themselves and the coaches that have worked so hard to make sure we're getting the right players in.

While almost everyone agrees that star ratings are a crap-shoot, I decided to go back and look at the Rivals score for each player we signed through 2010, to average our classes out and compare them against one another.

What I found out might surprise you.

Here's the AVERAGE score of the players we've signed each year since 2010:

2010: 5.6
2011: 5.68
2012: 5.68
2013: 5.7

What's interesting to me about this is:

1. Our staff's consistency
Even though we've concentrated on different areas of the team from year to year, they've been remarkably consistent in finding talent across the board.

2. No huge outliers
It might seem that the 2010 and 2011 classes were top-heavy, since we signed such heavyweights as Lattimore and Clowney. The truth, however, is that their 6.1 rankings didn't skew the numbers upward, the majority of players were still 5.6 and above. 2010 is the lone exception, since someone decided that Jerideau was only a 5.3. Again, it's an inexact science.

3. We're winning with 3 star talent
5.8 and above is considered a 4 star by Rivals. I've always said that star rankings are useless other than this: 3 star means you're a legit D1 prospect. 4 star probably means your offer sheet probably includes at least 2 tier one programs, and 5 star means that people won't shut up about you. The difference between them is minimal. It means our coaching staff has been able to take 3 star talent and beat 4 star talent with it. I'm not up to it, but I'm betting that UGA, Florida, and Tennessee all averaged higher than us over the same time-span and we have an 8-1 record against those teams over the last 3 years.

4. You're bitching about nothing.
This year's class is just as good, if not better, than the previous classes. There aren't any marquee guys like Clowney or Lattimore that will get us ESPN press on signing day, but it doesn't matter, because this class is deep, will get better with an additional commitment or two over the next few days, and our staff will continue to win with them.

Thanks for the analysis, I don't have a lot of input about recruiting, so am thankful for your input. I especially like the comment about winning with 3-star talent. I once read a definition of a good coach as "the guy that can take his team and beat yours, and can take your team and beat his" IMHO that is why we can continue to beat Dumbo and all his highly rated recruiting classes.

[b381l]

What's most important in these numbers is the trend. While it may not seem like much, going from 5.6 to 5.7 is really good. We're not Bama and will never be, but we have good players with good depth, and that depth is something we never had in the past.....and that depth is what pushes the 1's to get even better.

[Goofyboy]

"Perspective" is a good choice of a word. Any recuiting class looks different depending on your angle and what it is viewed alongside. The best perspective shows up in about 2 years when the sticking power, development, and contributions of the class begin to show. The analysis provided by the OP helps readers get beyond the surface and see the group as future contributors, not as a set of numbers, though the numbers are shown as part of a trend.

[Acockolypse Now]

Originally Posted by seamus

Thanks for the analysis, I don't have a lot of input about recruiting, so am thankful for your input. I especially like the comment about winning with 3-star talent. I once read a definition of a good coach as "the guy that can take his team and beat yours, and can take your team and beat his" IMHO that is why we can continue to beat Dumbo and all his highly rated recruiting classes.

There's another point to that and it is "filling-your-needs."

A lot of schools may have highly ranked classes based on skill players, but lack depth or linemen.

Our recruiting has changed over the last 4 years to having a solid focus on both lines of scrimmage and build depth at other positions. The value of that cannot be overstated.

[Evilchicken2]

Thanks to Acock and C2 for providing some needed attitude adjustment. I do admit, I feel slightly better about it.

[GamecockInPA]

I think three things contributed to the feeling lots of folks had that there was somehow a problem with the class:

1. We lost Rolin. It was just a shock, since he seemed so solid for us.

2. We didn't fill up on WRs. That's always the sexy position in any class, so this class was destined to seem less glitzy, no matter how good it really is.

3. We were essentially done a month ago. If Rolin/Langley stay, we're probably not pursuing anyone for the last 2 weeks. Everyone felt great about the class when we were hauling in commits last summer. We've still got the same guys (and in fact not one of them turned out to be a dud in their senior season), but we're not getting that gratifying oomph of the new signing. We're junkies, and we haven't had a hit in a long time.

The last point, especially, is going to become a recurring theme, I'm afraid. I bet we have 12 commits before next season starts, and will once again have to go through all of January without waking up to discover that the latest Gamecock Savior has come into the fold.

This is an excellent class. This team is finally, FINALLY setting up to have consistent depth at all positions, with stars at many. I'm pretty damn old, and I can promise you we've never been close to this in my lifetime.

[Uhaul]

Originally Posted by GamecockInPA

I think three things contributed to the feeling lots of folks had that there was somehow a problem with the class:

1. We lost Rolin. It was just a shock, since he seemed so solid for us.

2. We didn't fill up on WRs. That's always the sexy position in any class, so this class was destined to seem less glitzy, no matter how good it really is.

3. We were essentially done a month ago. If Rolin/Langley stay, we're probably not pursuing anyone for the last 2 weeks. Everyone felt great about the class when we were hauling in commits last summer. We've still got the same guys (and in fact not one of them turned out to be a dud in their senior season), but we're not getting that gratifying oomph of the new signing. We're junkies, and we haven't had a hit in a long time.

The last point, especially, is going to become a recurring theme, I'm afraid. I bet we have 12 commits before next season starts, and will once again have to go through all of January without waking up to discover that the latest Gamecock Savior has come into the fold.

This is an excellent class. This team is finally, FINALLY setting up to have consistent depth at all positions, with stars at many. I'm pretty damn old, and I can promise you we've never been close to this in my lifetime.

I think the only problem with losing Rolin was that the coaching staff failed to adequately prepare for it. Honestly, if Botkin wasn't sold on him as a LB, we should have pursued other LBs long before it became a problem.

It would've been nice to hold onto Langley...that one sucks.

[Uhaul]

Originally Posted by CoverTwo

If you look at this class, our 'worse' commit ratings wise has offers from Clemson, NC State, and Tennessee.

Take a different look at it. Break it down by position.

QB - Connor Mitch .. Have many complaints about him? Didn't think so.

RB - David Williams / Jamari Smith - Grabbed a Top 10 back in the country, grabbed the most underrated player in Florida. Nice job there.

OL - Na'Ty Rodgers / DJ Park / Bryce King / Alan Knott / JP Vonashek - All have big time offer sheets. Hit a homerun there.

DL - Devante Covington / Devin Washington / Gerald Turner / Kelsey Griffin / David Johnson / Kendal Vickers - Solid group here. Got your elite defensive tackle in Kelsey Griffin, got 2 hybrids in Gerald Turner and David Johnson, got a very good player in Devin Washington, and a guy that no one talks about much in Devante Covington but he is a really good player as well. Then you go and place Kendal Vickers who will absolutely blow up star rating wise in Prep. Nice haul there. Want to nit pick the fact that it doesn't have an elite pass rusher? I'll give that to you. That might be the only weakness of this group.

LB - Larenz Bryant / Jonathan Walton / Mohamed Camara - Got a top 5 player out of NC, picked up a guy late in the process that had offers from a handful of other SEC schools and Linebacker U (Penn State), hand picked a guy in Mohamed Camara who quietly racked up offers from Arkansas and Wisconsin. Add Skai Moore to this group and its another solid group.

DB - Pharoh Cooper, Ronnie Martin, Ali Groves, Jasper Sasser - By now you know what kind of player Cooper is. Groves brings in a Rico McWilliams-style offer sheet but he has a Florida offer on his. Martin's offer sheet out of high school spoted LSU and Nebraska offers. Want to pick a reach for this class, you could probably Jasper Sasser. Unfortunately, he'll get singled out on NSD but he didn't play much at all this year after breaking his foot. There isn't any senior film on him so you just have to go with the coaches here. Want to say its a reach? I'll give you that.

I mean I can't sit here and look at this class and say its blah. Because its not. Want to bitch about Langley and Rolin? Ok, thats fine. I'm upset too but what we got on board going into Wednesday is really good. I made mention of this in an earlier thread. Guys, our staff put together a probable Top 15 class built on out of state kids. There is only 3 instate commitments out of 6 legitimate offers! Thats unheard of.

I like what I've seen of Sasser on film.