February 3, 2010 is in the books. According to 3 major recruiting services, 3 or 4 (varies with the service) Southern teams have finished with the Top Five rankings. Florida seems to be the crowned “king” this year, taking players that were recruited and signed letters of intent during the Gator’s 2009 reign as National Champs. The Alabama faithful are hoping that their turn at the helm as 2010 National Champions will bring them the same good fortune in 2011.
The biggest surprise however, is coming from the State of Alabama’s “other” University…Auburn. The coaching staff there infused their January ’09 start with enthusiasm and a few gimmicks that have sure paid in spades for them. They have finished well ahead of their in-state rivals in Tuscaloosa with a recruiting class that is outstanding. Auburn’s lack of depth on last year’s roster, has afforded AU the ability to promise outstanding freshman recruits immediate playing time-a carrot that turned out to be quite attractive to these kids. The in-state squabbling has been heated all day, with Auburn devotees claiming much more than a “Moral Victory” over the Crimson Tiders.
If you are interested in reading more about these rankings, three links are provided below. Now, if you are wondering just HOW these ranking services calculate their ratings, you are not alone. The Rivals site is granted the prize for being the most complex.
What does it mean? Well, it means that the universities listed got a bounty of young high school players that are estimated to be great. This is of course, based on their performance in high school. Now, the job of “coaching them up” becomes the factor defining their long-term worth. Some would say that here is where the value of good coaching takes over. They would point to programs that consistently gain good “talent”, but rarely achieve at the level of expectation.
At any rate, we shall see what the recruiting ranking REALLY means. But we won’t see for quite a while.
There are 214 days until the Kick Off of College Football 2010.
http://rivals100.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?SID=880
Hi Charlsa.
Looks like a great Blog you have going here!
Craig
Wow, Charlsa, 214 days. I don’t know if I am going to be able to make it that long.
