The 95th best recruiting class

[Uconn93]

I know that negative posts are generally frowned upon in this establishment....but I'll take the risk. I also know that the star system is subjective. But, how do we ever improve with a recruiting class somewhere between 90 and 100? (depending on who's rankings you look at)

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Take cover.

 

[huskymedic]

They just have to go rogue and kidnap all those 3-4 star players going to other programs and force them to remain on campus for a few years to raise the profile of the program back up. Kids wanna play for winning programs.

The real answer lies w/ the development and coaching of the ones who do commit.

 

[UconnFamily]

We'll be fine stars don't matter. This team has size and most are projects who will turn in to 4 or 5 star talent.

 

[Jimdish255]

The reason we need to trust that this class will help elevate the program has a lot to do with what Coach D spoke about yesterday. The size, physical and mental development, and the culture of winning. From what we've seen and heard so far about most of this class, they have brought in some leaders and guys who are used to winning. How they react to a rebuilding scenario and match up with the needs of the team and expectations of the coaches will determine their level of success.

And if we were ranked below 95 at the end of the season then we've outrecruited our ranking - lol. And that was about 122nd...ouch!

 

[Husky25]

I know that negative posts are generally frowned upon in this establishment....but I'll take the risk. I also know that the star system is subjective. But, how do we ever improve with a recruiting class somewhere between 90 and 100? (depending on who's rankings you look at)

You ignore it and move on. Recruiting is only one piece of the pie. It provides a good starting point, but by the time the entire class crosses the sideline (i.e. September 2016), the rankings would look drastically different.

 

[CL82]

They just have to go rogue and kidnap all those 3-4 star players going to other programs and force them to remain on campus for a few years to raise the profile of the program back up. Kids wanna play for winning programs.

The real answer lies w/ the development and coaching of the ones who do commit.

Well that was a decidedly reasonable answer.

 

[Huskyfan990411]

Well the last class under PP was ranked 65th and has that done us any good? These rankings really dont mean anything outside of the top 25 classes. Everyone knows a kid gets ranked based off the school that they commit to. How many times do you see a kid get bumped up stars once they commit to a bigger name school. Ignore these rankings and be happy with the kids that have committed to be at UConn and want to come here to turn this program around.

 

[Confident Carl]

I know that negative posts are generally frowned upon in this establishment....but I'll take the risk. I also know that the star system is subjective. But, how do we ever improve with a recruiting class somewhere between 90 and 100? (depending on who's rankings you look at)

This should be a legitimate concern if the star system alone (which I place some value on) is the only measuring tool.
Size alone does not impress me in and of itself and if one is going solely by the star system, the current class is certainly nothing to boast about. Yesterday's presentation was impressive and sounded good but no one has played a down yet.

Our only hope is the following:

1. Diaco and staff got precisely the types of players they are looking for to fit their schemes.
2. The intangibles Diaco and staff spoke of (leadership, intelligence, reliability, toughness, etc.) outweigh any tangible deficiencies.
3. The coaching staff and trainers can mold these guys into true 3 & 4 star types over the next two years.

In summary, your concern is legitimate but in staying consistent, I believe in Diaco and staff and the stated potential of the class. I also can see reason for concern when the class is voted the 95th best. Only time will tell.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Well the last class under PP was ranked 65th and has that done us any good? These rankings really dont mean anything outside of the top 25 classes. Everyone knows a kid gets ranked based off the school that they commit to. How many times do you see a kid get bumped up stars once they commit to a bigger name school. Ignore these rankings and be happy with the kids that have committed to be at UConn and want to come here to turn this program around.

PP had a few teams @ Cuse with lots of NFL draft picks. Those teams under performed. Go figure.

 

[Pudge]

Some will hate this ...

But with HCRE, we regularly were Recruiting Class 85+ (and I bet we spend less money on Rivals/Scout now than we ever did then). Yes, I think the Stars correlate strongly to dollars spent on these freaking websites.

But at 85+ ranking, we would enter years 65-85 in Pre-season annuals.

Then we suddenly would get in the top 50 ... maybe 42 ... and go to a bowl that was an achievement for a young program. I yearn for this. I don't care about 95. I do think ... and bunker down ... that this group will have limited impact in the 2015 season. Just the way it is. Then ... maybe prove that we have longterm Market in Fanbase and Dream higher.

 

[06029]

The real measure right now is the recruiting class ranking within the AAC. Rivals has it at #9 but within close spitting distance of #7. If you are rebuilding, that is not a bad place to be and certainly better than what one would expect after a total of 5 wins in 2 years.. Whether or not these kids fit the "scheme" (assuming we even know what the scheme is), remains to be seen. If BD and staff can coach them up, then the #9 class starts to perform like the #4 or 5 class.

Stars do not mean everything but offers do mean a lot. Offers tell you a lot about how a kid is perceived. I think the list of who Uconn offered and where the ones that got away went is something to keep a watch on in this next recruiting cycle. Uconn needs to win every head to head with any AAC school (especially Temple) along with a lot more of the head to heads with the other regional P5 schools.

 

[Pudge]

We are in New England.

Let's define terms. How do you get a high Star? You don't play football in New England ... or New York. How do you get to #95? I bet we have a ceiling around 80. By definition.

 

[amory]

WE'RE # ...... 95!!

COME GET SOME.

 

[Husky25]

I think Carl is exactly on point here. There is more or less a top 25 ranking. Then there is a 15 way tie for 26 (Others receiving votes, if you will), then an 80 way tie for 41. They put a numerical rank to it because the list looks better that way. Recruiting services don't have the resources nor the inclination to pay attention to the lower 2/3 of teams.

In light of tax forms going out last week, think of it in terms of the IRS. If a tax payer files a 1040EZ, with no supporting schedules, claims no credits, and only deducts the standard deduction and personal exemption, they will mail out the refund, no questions asked. On the other hand, if you have 1,000 capital gains supporting documents and deduct everything under the sun (and donate $3 to the Republican Party ), they are going to look at the return a little more closely (and drag their feet on a 503(c)(3) designation.)

 

[J187Money]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/4/10/5594348/college-football-bag-man-interview

Clearly we don't have enough bag men.

 

[APA]

We are in New England.

Let's define terms. How do you get a high Star? You don't play football in New England ... or New York. How do you get to #95? I bet we have a ceiling around 80. By definition.

Unless your name is Clark and you play at Avon Old Farms, then you're a 5*

 

[UconnFamily]

Well the last class under PP was ranked 65th and has that done us any good? These rankings really dont mean anything outside of the top 25 classes. Everyone knows a kid gets ranked based off the school that they commit to. How many times do you see a kid get bumped up stars once they commit to a bigger name school. Ignore these rankings and be happy with the kids that have committed to be at UConn and want to come here to turn this program around.

Serious question do you have any proof that these recruiting sites rank kids based off of the school they commit to? I see 2 star players committed to big programs such as, Amir Trapp (Clemson), Trey Smith and Cole Hikutini (Louisville), James King (Miami), Coleman Fox and Zach Hoyt (Virginia Tech), Jameson Houston, Tyrone Hunt, Lenoy Jones, Eric Ogor, and Jordan Williams (Baylor), Breckyn Hager and Tristan Nickelson (Texas), Nolan Ulizio and Andrew David (Michigan), Liam McCullough (Ohio State), Alec Ingold, Chris Orr, David Pfaff, and Jake Whalen (Wisconsin), Jake Bailey and Jabiari Tyler (Stanford), Keivonnis Davis and Rayshad Jackson (Florida), Kirby Choates Jr and Tae Crowder (Georgia), Blake Ferguson, Lanard Fournette, Josh Growden, Justin McMillan, and Foster Moreau (LSU), Shawn Curtis (Ole Miss), Tanner Owen (Mizzou), Devante Covington (S. Carolina), Riley Lovingood (Tennessee), Daniel LaCamera, Erik McCoy, and Dwaine Thomas (Texas A&M). These kids are all 2 star players committed to big programs.

I understand some guys on here want to be positive and that s's okay. But, using excuses such as "stars don't mean anything", or "it's all JUST paid sites" to cover up the reality is ridiculous. The reality is the star system does matter whether some of you want to believe it or not. Fact of the matter is, teams that constantly win are teams with really good recruiting classes. Yes, coaching also plays a factor in how good a team performs too and that's why we see very few teams with good recruiting classes struggle or teams with a
sub-par recruiting class with a good coach (ex. Randy Edsall, Justin Fuente) win some big games, but these coaches are rare.

I'm not against us recruiting 2 stars. I'm against us recruiting a whole class full of 2 stars with some expecting us to win a whole lot of games. I know we can't just pluck 3, 4, and 5 star kids, but I think we should try harder to have them commit. If Temple, Tulsa, San Diego State, UCF, Cincinnati, and Memphis can get them 4 and 5 star players to commit or transfer then I don't see why we can't.

 

[UCFBfan]

Serious question do you have any proof that these recruiting sites rank kids based off of the school they commit to? I see 2 star players committed to big programs such as, Amir Trapp (Clemson), Trey Smith and Cole Hikutini (Louisville), James King (Miami), Coleman Fox and Zach Hoyt (Virginia Tech), Jameson Houston, Tyrone Hunt, Lenoy Jones, Eric Ogor, and Jordan Williams (Baylor), Breckyn Hager and Tristan Nickelson (Texas), Nolan Ulizio and Andrew David (Michigan), Liam McCullough (Ohio State), Alec Ingold, Chris Orr, David Pfaff, and Jake Whalen (Wisconsin), Jake Bailey and Jabiari Tyler (Stanford), Keivonnis Davis and Rayshad Jackson (Florida), Kirby Choates Jr and Tae Crowder (Georgia), Blake Ferguson, Lanard Fournette, Josh Growden, Justin McMillan, and Foster Moreau (LSU), Shawn Curtis (Ole Miss), Tanner Owen (Mizzou), Devante Covington (S. Carolina), Riley Lovingood (Tennessee), Daniel LaCamera, Erik McCoy, and Dwaine Thomas (Texas A&M). These kids are all 2 star players committed to big programs.

I understand some guys on here want to be positive and that s's okay. But, using excuses such as "stars don't mean anything", or "it's all JUST paid sites" to cover up the reality is ridiculous. The reality is the star system does matter whether some of you want to believe it or not. Fact of the matter is, teams that constantly win are teams with really good recruiting classes. Yes, coaching also plays a factor in how good a team performs too and that's why we see very few teams with good recruiting classes struggle or teams with a
sub-par recruiting class with a good coach (ex. Randy Edsall, Justin Fuente) win some big games, but these coaches are rare.

I'm not against us recruiting 2 stars. I'm against us recruiting a whole class full of 2 stars with some expecting us to win a whole lot of games. I know we can't just pluck 3, 4, and 5 star kids, but I think we should try harder to have them commit. If Temple, Tulsa, San Diego State, UCF, Cincinnati, and Memphis can get them 4 and 5 star players to commit or transfer then I don't see why we can't.

Didn't Ulizio go from not ranked to ranked after he flipped to Michigan? Someone more into recruitING could verify

 

[whaler11]

Dude how long did it take to color code the teams.

Once you get past 40 it's pretty dumb to pretend they could even be ranked.

The formula most use is pretty dumb as well. ECU has the worst class in the AAC? I doubt that - they just had the smallest.

I'd like to see UConn winning recruiting battles against bigger programs. So I think the offer lists for this class are a bit of a red flag - but there is certainly a chance that Diaco's plan will work. All the credit to him that he didn't stray from it at all. He went out and got the exact type of player and person he said he was going to get.

Hopefully they get the OC nailed down quick. Could it be held up on Quinn because of the HC opening at CMU? I haven't followed that opening but that is a rough signing day without a HC.

 

[UconnFamily]

Didn't Ulizio go from not ranked to ranked after he flipped to Michigan? Someone more into recruitING could verify

He was going to get 2 stars regardless if he stood committed to us.

 

[UconnFamily]

Dude how long did it take to color code the teams.

Not long

 

[uconnflyer88]

We'll be fine stars don't matter. This team has size and most are projects who will turn in to 4 or 5 star talent.

stars don't matter.......to us because we can't get the 4/5 star guys but they definitely matter

http://athlonsports.com/college-football/dont-deny-climate-change-recruiting-rankings-matter

 

[Husky25]

stars don't matter..to us because we can't get the 4/5 star guys but they definitely matter

http://athlonsports.com/college-football/dont-deny-climate-change-recruiting-rankings-matter

Star ratings matter up to a point, but they have to be viewed in context. They basically measure the degree of development for a 17 year old kid before he gets into college. The other half of that equation is the development between NLI day and the day the last person in a case steps onto the field 2 years later.

Former "Coach" Pasqualoni was lauded by some for being a great recruiter (At least much better than Randy Edsall) and even had a top 65 rated recruiting class. But what did the players do once they got to UConn? Why did Diaco hired Matt Balis away from Miss St.? Xavier Hemingway played Offensive Tackle in a FBS program at 285 lbs. How could he only gain 20 pounds in 3 years when the average freshmen in The Jungle gains 30 lbs. in 4 1/2 months (albeit not muscle)?

"Coach" Pasqualoni's recruiting prowess certainly didn't translate into results on the field...

 

[UconnFamily]

stars don't matter..to us because we can't get the 4/5 star guys but they definitely matter

http://athlonsports.com/college-football/dont-deny-climate-change-recruiting-rankings-matter

That was sarcasm... trust me I'm one of the realistic poster who knows stars matter.