I haven’t commented in a while but I’ve been checking in from time to time to get the latest from you guys. Thanks.
Since we’re seemingly moving back to a focus on recruiting I thought I’d put together a look-back study of how conference teams have recruited over the past 16 years with the seemingly endless changes in the man at the program helms. I used the average recruit rating for classes which I think minimizes the illusion in the rankings caused by the variations in the number of recruits taken by a school in any given cycle relative to all other schools. I used Rivals because I think they’re the longest running service and likely have the best historical data.
If the coach’s name is shaded in pink that means his class that year was below the 16 year average for that school and if his name is shaded in green then his class was above the look-back average.
The years are sorted on that year’s averages in the conference and a look across the years suggests that more talent in flowing into the SEC in these latter years than was the case at the beginning of the 16 year period.
I started with 2006 because that was the last B.S. year (Before Saban).
This is not about attrition or current roster talent; it’s about the relative recruiting success on an average recruit basis by the various staffs over the years as seen by Rivals.
I looked at UCF and from what I could see Heupel’s 2020 class was the best class the Knights had brought in since 2011, from an average recruit basis. That could suggest that once we get past the transition trough recruiting might have a good shot at being above average for us. Getting above average and staying there means we should be steadily improving. One request I would make is that if we get on that track but don’t go undefeated with the first freshmen and sophomore classes, please don’t blow everything up this time. jmo.
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