"Something special taking place at UConn Football w transformational Coach Bob Diaco"

[EdgewoodNHV]

I think the star ratings have some merit. If you could get 4- and 5-star guys in here, you do it. But FHCRE absolutely proved you can find other wins to win. If you develop players and you play to your strengths, even if it's running a ton of boring up-the-gut running plays cause your O-line/RB are fantastic, then you can win games and be successful. I think Diaco absolutely knows that, which is why he's not willing to throw the rating system totally under the bus. But he also knows we aren't going to get those guys (yet?), so he focuses on the measurements you can't teach (height, weight, etc.) and character.

 

[uconndogs]

The recruiting sites can probably accurately identify a lot of the obvious talent - the 4 and 5 stars if you will. But, even that is nowhere near 100%. I am not at all convinced that they don't follow the offers in "their" assessment. I wonder if Alabama made me an offer, or, more likely, if I told people Alabama made me an offer, if I wouldn't get 4 or 5 stars. When you boil it all down, I think the top 15 programs or so are properly reflected on these sites, but again, it's a chicken and egg thing - are the sites simply mimicking who the top programs recruit.

After that it's a complete crap shoot. Worrying about a kid with 2 stars versus 3 stars is ridiculous. Whether a class is ranked 42nd or 72nd is equally meaningless. Given the physical development that takes place with kids this age, I think a lot of this assessment is as much art as science.

Counting stars is easy, so folks will gravitate to it so they can be "experts". The sites are smart enough to know that gets them eyeballs.

 

[CTMike]

Yep, the tail wags the dog. If the right schools show interest, then so and so must be a 4/5 star. I think Diaco knows this and is staying just ahead of the "star curve" - guys that are juuuust under recruited or poised to have very nice senior seasons. I'm 100% certain the star ratings of this recruiting class will increase over time (I think it already has, according to some websites) as they accumulate offers. Diaco will have to work to turn solid verbals in to letters of intent. But at least on the surface he's recruiting high quality, big, physical guys who love football, want to learn, and will be poised to explode under Balis's strength program.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

My issue with posters who talk about stars is that they're not consistent. They create the story that fits their narrative.

 

[SubbaBub]

They mean something. Just not a metric that can be used definitively for anything other than relative success in recruiting kids that are highly desired by top programs.

As a projection of success on the field they are no better than height, weight, and 40 time.

We've won conference championships and been to the BCS, but never finished in the top 25. Our star ratings need to improve generally, but there is no discrete correlation.