Yesterday was national signing day for college football. As always there are some winners and losers. A lot of analysts say that these rankings of players and recruiting classes shouldn’t be taken too seriously. That thinking is wrong. Strong recruiting classes do translate to wins. I do think most years the top 15 classes have minimal separation, so be careful on extrapolating national championships.
Fans of college football were treated to an intense day of signing. Some surprisingly good classes this year came from places that the media counted out. First, the Tennessee Volunteers with all their turmoil during the season, and Lane Kiffin’s high speed exit many experts counted them out. New head coach, Derek Dooley, son of legendary Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley, did an outstanding job salvaging the Vols class while adding some recruits that weren’t expected. The big one being 5 star wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, in a weird twist of fate, Rogers was snatched from Georgia.
Florida State’s new coach Jimbo Fisher with some of the largest shoes to fill in the history of college football got off to a great start. The Seminoles landed a top ten class with a ton of defensive talent, which, is just what the ‘Noles needed. Five star athlete Christian Green may have an immediate impact in Tallahassee.
The rich got richer; the Florida Gators by many accounts landed the top class in the nation. ESPN reports the Gators have landed 17 of the top 150, an all time high. The Gators class is 28 recruits strong and loaded with talent especially on defense. The big surprise was the top recruit in the nation, defensive end Ronald Powell from Rancho Verde in California.
The Texas Longhorns reloaded with the second ranked class in the nation, with 25 recruits, scoring two of the top five. Defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat and outside linebacker Jordan Hicks headline a Longhorn class that will keep Texas at the top of the Big 12.
Lane Kiffin somehow again comes out looking good. I just don’t get this guy. The USC Trojans like clockwork landed a monster class. The Men of Troy have two of the top ten including 6’7” offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson. They dwarf the rest of the PAC-10 in recruiting.
While most of the SEC was ecstatic, the Georgia Bulldogs were sad participants. Losing their top prospect to Tennessee wasn’t the end of it. The downward spiral continued. The Dawgs lost more recruits to LSU, Auburn and Florida State. Mark Richt is a good coach no doubt, but, the Georgia fans grow impatient very quickly.
Puzzling to me is the migration away from the Big 10. Ohio State lost out on some big time recruits like Matt James to Notre Dame. The Buckeyes weren’t alone, known as a great recruiter, Illinois coach Ron Zook’s class was downright dreadful.
Penn State ended up with a decent class, with no five star recruits. The Nittany Lions are in a state that prides itself on having some great football. There are schools that would be happy with the class at Penn State, but, I can’t imagine that Joe Paterno is a happy camper.
This is what is so great about college football new young players come in every year while players leave, and we all get to speculate about who will or won’t be in the mix for the national championship next season. Next step is spring practice in March, where we will get more data to speculate about.