Ah, the world of recruiting. An annoyance to some football fans, a source of employment for others. It’s increasingly en vogue these days to be somewhat cynical about the entire process, and naysayers are always quick to point out that, in case you didn’t know, not every five-star prospect is going to fulfill his expectations, and well, so-and-so was a three-star prospect, and look at him now.
If you find yourself falling into the apprehensive category, allow me to offer you one statistic: Each of the past 10 national champions, beginning in 2005 with Texas and running up to this year’s Ohio State team, has landed at least one top-five class during the previous four recruiting cycles, according to Rivals.com
So, recruiting matters.
And the thing is, a good portion of the lauded and coveted four and five-star prospects do pan out. For example, LeGarrette Blount, Vince Wilfork, Rob Gronkowski, Bruce Irvin, and Marshawn Lynch are all just a sampling of former four-star prospects that just played in Superbowl XLIX.
Some of the biggest winners from National Signing Day:
USC Trojans – The Trojans were already ranked in most recruiting services’ top-five, and that was before they landed CB Iman Marshall and DT Rasheem Green. Both are five-star recruits, and both will look to make an immediate impact on a USC team that hope to challenge Oregon in the Pac-12 next season. Five-star LB Porter Gustin committed the night before the big day, and Four-star LB John Houston was just the icing on the cake, pushing USC into the No.1 spot overall. Steve Sarkisian and Co. just made a massive upgrade to their defense, and did it with mostly in-state talent, which is commendable given the Trojans’ fall from the top in recent years.
Auburn Tigers – Thanks largely in part to the hiring of former Florida head coach Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator, the Tigers were able to land DE Byron Cowart, considered by most to be the top player in the country. Auburn was also able to pluck four-star safety Carlton Davis out of the hands of Ohio State, and four-star LB Jeffery Holland should provide an immediate impact for the Tigers’ defense as well. Auburn is another prime example of SEC schools being able to lure in top defensive prospects.
UCLA Bruins – The Los Angeles-area schools cleaned up yesterday. The Bruins added some much-needed help offensively, snagging five-star RB Soso Jamabo and four-star TE Chris Clark in the early morning hours on Wednesday. They were also able to lure four-star OL Josh Wariboko from Oklahoma, right out from under the Sooner’s nose. Plus, they signed Cordell Broadus, son of Snoop Dogg himself, who is known as an avid USC fan. Very fitting for a southern California school. The Bruins ended 2015 on a high note, and begin the next season even…higher.
Michigan Wolverines – The Wolverines have some obvious holes to fill all over the field, and had a recruiting class that seemed rather doomed just weeks ago. But in comes the savior Jim Harbaugh, who ended up recruiting eight of the 14 signees himself. Michigan’s class is not a great one by any means, but the last minute work done by Harbaugh and his new staff saved a class that could have potentially been a disaster, and the Wolverines finished with the No.38 class according to 247sports.com’s composite score. Four-star TE Tyrone Wheatley Jr., son of the former Michigan and NFL great and now Wolverines running backs coach, will provide help with receiving and with blocking for the team’s new offensive look. It will be interesting to see what Harbaugh can do for next year’s class, but this one will do for now.
Ohio State Buckeyes – The defending national champions easily have the best class in the Big Ten, and rank 6th in Rival’s rankings. The Buckeyes were able to keep four-star RB Mike Weber from flipping to Michigan, and also held on to four-star dual-threat QB Torrance Gibson, who was flirting with LSU and Auburn late. Those additions will only bolster a loaded team that returns 15 starters next season, including a treasure chest full of quarterbacks.
The Biggest surprises:
Leo Lewis – The nation’s top linebacker had been verbally committed to Ole Miss for over four months. He decommitted last week after a visit to LSU, and seemed to be favoring the Tigers, especially since Baton Rouge is relatively close to his hometown of Brookhaven, Mississippi. He arrived to his press conference with hats from LSU and Mississippi State on the table. When the time came, he put on the MSU hat, and threw everyone for a loop.
Cordell Broadus – As mentioned earlier, the four-star WR prospect is the son on a very big USC fan, and had offers from over half of the Pac-12. His decision to attend the “other” L.A. school certainly pained Snoop Dogg, but he promised to wear UCLA gear during his son’s time at the school…while wearing USC apparel under it.
Roquan Smith – Oh dear. In another twist for UCLA, the four-star prospect announced on Wednesday afternoon that he was signing with the Bruins, but now remains uncommitted after learning of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s move to the NFL. He was already struggling with the decision between UCLA and Georgia, but has now added Texas A&M and Michigan to his choices.
CeCe Jefferson – The five-star defensive end and Florida native has referred to the home of the Gators as his “dream school,” yet remained uncommitted by the end of Wednesday. Jefferson is apparently underwhelmed by new Florida coach Jim McElwain’s recruiting tactics, describing his experience with the new coach during a recent in-home visit as rushed and off-topic. Jefferson was also perturbed by the school’s lack of communication involving the exit of defensive line coach Terrell Williams to the Miami Dolphins, who would’ve been Jefferson’s position coach. It almost seems like McElwain and his staff figure that Jefferson is in the bag, and that they don’t have to really give much of an effort regarding his signing. I guess we’ll all find out eventually, because it definitely wasn’t known on Wednesday.
