Signing Day just got interesting

Rivals 2010 recruiting: The Top 25 teams.

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1048379

 

If I was an editor at SI, I would send Don Yaeger and George Dohrmann to Oxford and say, "Don't come back until you have enough to put them on probation..."

 

Seems like Ole Miss had some legit connections to most of the kids it signed. The top kid's brother plays at Ole Miss, so that explains that one. The stud WR was certainly recruited by his former HS teammate, who now plays at Ole Miss.

Plus, I'm sure a couple guys saw the kind of class Ole Miss was getting and decided they wanted to be a part of it.

All that said, I wouldn't be shocked if Ole Miss (or any other school) was involved in something shady.

 

Wow, what a bad recruiting year for Stanford. Rivals has them at 61st. So much for momentum.

Also surprised to see Oregon as low as it is.

 

Have to think losing Kelly hurt Oregon's class quite a bit. Especially as late as it was.

 

Must have, but I'd have thought the continuity in the staff would mitigate that. Usually the head coach isn't doing the recruiting anyway.

 

You're right about some of the players having a connection there, but when you see a school like that come out of nowhere to finish with a top 10 class, especially with so many guys picking it at the last minute, a lot of red flags go up...

 

Didn't know that. Someone will win a court challenge on that one day.

 

So if a school which isn't a traditional power gets a top class, it must be cheating. That's a remarkable assumption, far more remarkable than the alternative theory that they all cheat and some are just better at it.

 

That doesn't sound right... When I was covering colleges, our main art one day was a portion of the letter with the star quarterback's signature on it. (I know, not exactly original) but I don't remember any parent signature being on it. Maybe there's a separate form, I don't know... I thought the kid just had to be 18.

 

Sadly, with football, it usually is... It's more than that though. When you have guys backing out of previous committments and deciding at the last minute to go there, it's a legitimate question.

I think the assumption that every school cheats at some level is probably accurate. But when a school has been as mediocre as Ole Miss has over the last couple years and they turn around and pull in a class like that, I think people would be foolish not to be suspicious.

 

And Tom Brady was a seventh-round pick, and Kurt Warner a stockboy.

Four extra years to see the athlete and get it right, and these coaches/GMs --- at the top of their profession ---- still couldn't get it right.

Re: The 2010 signing class. If a team with a good class was a bust 3-4 years later, it doesn't mean the rankings were way off. It very likely means a few signeees were injured, in academic trouble or otherwise eventually kicked off the team.