Tag: recruiting rankings

New Notre Dame Duo Among Sports Illustrated’s Top Ten

I really want there to be a college football version of NBA JAM now.  

In an almost NBA Jam style discussion, Sports Illustrated rated the ten best quarterback and running back duos that have signed their letters of intent this winter.  It simply takes who they think are the ten best, not putting them in any order 1-10.

Notre Dame was represented as quarterback Drew Pyne and running back Chris Tyree drew praise.

Pyne looks like the immediate depth the Irish needs at the quarterback position coming off of a prep career in which he tallied 125 total scores (20 rushing) as a four-year starter. Tyree is one of the fastest and quickest incoming players at any position when healthy. Don’t let either undersized talent fool you heading into their time in South Bend.

The only real takeaways I have from this list are three things:

  1. The most-elite programs mostly make up this list with Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M and Oregon appear on it.  The only surprises really are Tennessee and South Carolina.
  2. This is built a lot on repuatation and Notre Dame appearing on the list speaks highly of how the Fighting Irish are at least preceived in that regard.
  3. I really want there to be a college football version of NBA JAM now.

On that last point, what would Notre Dame’s most-lethal pairing of a quarterback and running back be all-time?

Mirer and Bettis or Brooks in the early-nineties?

Tony Rice and Ricky Watters?

Brady Quinn and Darius Walker?

Recruiting 2020: 5 Things That Matter After National Signing Day

5 observations and things that matter after the 2020 recruiting season and National Signing Day are over.

[jwplayer Ec1cG9E6]

5 observations and things that matter after the 2020 recruiting season and National Signing Day are over.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

2020 Recruiting Analysis, Team Rankings, Top Players 
AAC | ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC

There are still a few storylines in the 2020 recruiting season – like RB Zachary Evans not deciding on a school yet – even though National Signing Day came and went, but for the most part, it’s on to 2021.

Here are five observations and things that matter now that it’s over.

5. National Signing Day is Blockbuster …

And the Early Signing Period is Netflix.

I used to hate National Signing Day.

The lead-up required weeks and weeks of research and discussion and speculation all for one silly day when older men made a really big deal about where a bunch of kids were going to college.

The worst part about it all was the lack of a true payoff. It was all speculation about how good the undeveloped talents could be three or more years – for the most part – after they signed.

NSD took on a life of its own outside of the normal college football world. It became an occasionally creepy time with message board threats, genuine anger, and a whole lot of pressure. It was also a celebration.

And I sort of miss it.

The first Wednesday in February used to be the one big day of the college football offseason.

The NBA has its free agency period and trade deadline, the NFL has its draft, and baseball has its hot stove league. National Signing Day was a chance for college football fans to look ahead to what might be happening with their respective programs, and it was a time to talk college football before settling in for a big snooze over the following six months.

[lawrence-related id=507396]

Now, most top players are all but locked in several months, if not years, in advance. The Early Signing Period in late December is when everyone of note signs on – which totally gets blown off nationally because the bowl season is in full gear – and the transfer portal has become more important than either of the two signing days.

Not all that long ago, National Signing Day was wall-to-wall all-day TV coverage on at least two of the all-sports station. Every major web site treated it like Christmas because of all the page views and traffic, and it was a  major, major thing.

This year? It was an hour-long wrap-up show – if that – on one of the ESPN networks or conference-only channels, because nothing really happened.

Anecdotally, I used to be hit up for at least 15 radio appearances across the country on NSD. This year, I was had the same 15+ requests, but the talk was 95% about Mark Dantonio.

National Signing Day just isn’t a thing anymore. The hype and craziness around recruiting has peaked, and now it’s more business-like and subdued.

It’s just another day in the college football offseason.

However, there are parts of this that really do matter, starting with …

NEXT: New coaches get a whole lot of talent to work with

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Notre Dame Football: Where Did the Experts Rank 2020 Irish Recruiting Class?

When people say recruiting doesn’t matter, they’re lying.  It does.  Maybe it doesn’t always play out on the field but you aren’t a regular powerhouse if your team’s name isn’t at or towards the top of these lists with regularity.

The second and final national signing day has come and gone with no movement for Notre Dame, who had all of their eventual signees known back in December during the early signing period.

Now the grades and rankings start to come out from those who are much smarter than myself on such things.  Where did the three big outlets rank Notre Dame’s class and how many elite prospects were they able to bring in?

247 Sports:  17th
Of Notre Dame’s 19 signees, 247 ranks just one as a five-star talent (TE, Michael Mayer) and eight players as four-stars and eight more as three-stars.

ESPN:  14th
ESPN doesn’t give away their information or thoughts on recruiting for free but they do reveal their team rankings without cost.  This is however the highest ranking any of the three services gave Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish.

Rivals:  21st
Rivals, like 247, has Mayer ranked as a five-star recruit.  However, Rivals lists nine players as four-star talents but just six as three-star caliber.  This is the lowest of any of the three major outlets ranked the Fighting Irish.

Listen, you see the rankings and they leave you far from thrilled.  I get that.

Clemson is ranked atop all of these and your usual super powers of Alabama, LSU, Georgia and the other regulars are right there as well.

The loss of Landen Bartleson hurts as depth at corner takes an obvious hit.  I think it’s important to remember how high folks were on Chris Tyree just a few short weeks ago in these same rankings, yet his overall ranking went down the closer to national signing day we got.

When people say recruiting doesn’t matter, they’re lying.  It does.  Maybe it doesn’t always play out on the field but you aren’t a regular powerhouse if your team’s name isn’t at or towards the top of these lists with regularity.

That doesn’t mean you can’t still be bad or disappointing if your name does appear high.  See Notre Dame under Charlie Weis or what our friends over at USC are going through right now.

It’s a class with a lot of potential, just few certain future stars.  Here’s to hoping we look back on this class four years from now and are discussing how much it shocked the college football world for all the right reasons.

Social media reacts to 4-star RB Daijun Edwards committing to Georgia football

Social media reacted to the news of Daijun Edwards picking Georgia football.

On Thursday, Georgia football received a commitment from 4-star running back Daijun Edwards, out of Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Georgia.

The commitment of Edwards gives the Bulldogs 22 players in 2020 and helped moved UGA to the No. 1 spot in the class rankings, overtaking Alabama.

The commitment of Edwards likely means 5-star ball carrier Zachary Evans will not be a Dawg after all. Evans signed with Georgia originally but Kirby Smart granted the No. 1 back’s request and released him of his National Letter of Intent.

Related: Georgia now has the No. 1 ranked recruiting class

Related: 4-star RB Daijun Edwards commits to Georgia

Related: Tennessee’s visit with Zach Evans did not go as planned

Regardless, Georgia gets a great player in Edwards, a 5-10, 200 pound beast.

Following the news of Edwards’ commitment, social media erupted in excitement over the addition of a great player and that new No. 1 ranked recruiting class.

 

Georgia now has college football’s top ranked recruiting class for 2020

With the addition of 4-star RB Daijun Edwards, Georgia football now has the top ranked recruiting class in the country.

Georgia football has put together yet another incredible year on the recruiting trail.

At the end of the early signing period, the Bulldogs had the nation’s No. 3 class according to 247Sports.

Then, the recruiting service adjusted its player ratings, boosting multiple Georgia players up in the rankings. That moved the Dawgs to the No. 2 class.

And now, today, Georgia received a commitment from 4-star running back Daijun Edwards, giving the Bulldogs 22 commitments for 2020 and earning them the No. 1 spot in the team rankings.

Georgia overtook Alabama for the No. 1 ranking.

247Sport’s top 5 recruiting classes now looks like:

1. Georgia

2. Alabama

3. Clemson

4. LSU

5. Ohio State

Georgia has four 5-stars and 15 4-stars.

The class is headlined by 5-star signees CB Kelee Ringo, DT Jalen Carter and TE Darnell Washington and committed but unsigned OT Broderick Jones.

Recruiting rankings as we close out a busy Early Signing Day

Here are the 10 best performing teams this signing day.

Wednesday marked the first official day of college football’s early National Signing Day, and it was a wild one.

The Georgia Bulldogs placed 4th on the 2020 recruit signee list, for 247 Sports.  Kirby Smart and the Georgia coaching staff did exceptionally well at locking down the future of Bulldog football.

Here is a list of the ten schools who did the best in today’s recruiting mayhem.

1. Clemson – (6 5-stars, 11 4-stars, 6 3-stars)

2. Alabama – (3 5-stars, 18 4-stars, 4 3-stars)

3. Ohio State – (2 5-stars, 15 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

4. Georgia – (2 5-stars, 14 4-stars, 3 3-stars)

5. LSU – (2 5-stars, 13 4-stars, 6 3-stars)

6. Texas A&M – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

7. Auburn – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 10 3-stars)

8. Florida – (0 5-stars, 16 4-stars, 7 3-stars)

9. Notre Dame – (2 5-stars, 7 4-stars, 9 3-stars)

10. Texas – (1 5-star, 12 4-stars, 3 3-stars)

The list of ten consists of six SEC teams, three of which Georgia will face in 2020 (Florida, Auburn, Alabama).

Georgia will play against 7 teams next year in the top 25 for 2020 recruiting.

Notable Dawgs rivals on the list of 25 include Tennessee (0 5-stars, 12 4-stars, 10 3-stars) at #15, South Carolina (1 5-star, 7 4-stars, 13 3-stars) at #16, Kentucky (0 5-stars, 4 4-stars, 16 3-stars) at #23 and Georgia Tech (0 5-stars, 6 4-stars, 18 3-stars) at #24.

What a start for the Bulldogs in a recruiting battle that has only just begun.

 

Top 25 Recruiting Classes for 2020: Who’s No. 1?

SEC finishes with the three of the top five recruiting classes. Check out who finished in the top 25 Composite Team Recruiting Rankings following 2019 Early Signing Day.

Here is a look at the USA TODAY Sports’ Composite Football Recruiting Team Rankings for the Class of 2020.

The composite reflects the average ranking of the three major recruiting services: 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.

Clemson is the consensus No. 1 team with Alabama claiming No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 3. LSU and Georgia take the next two spots, giving the SEC three of the top five and five of the top 10.

[sigallery id=”dYS7n6FWk3YzqH2hEqBhcX” title=”Class of 2020: Top 25 Recruiting Rankings” type=”sigallery”]

TOP 100: 2020 Composite Boys Basketball Player Recruiting rankings

Who’s no. 1? Check out the USA TODAY Sports’ Composite Boys Basketball Recruiting Rankings for the Class of 2020.

[jwplayer CaZK8xqn-BmKM743H]

As the early signing period beings for D1 basketball recruits, USA TODAY Sports has compiled the top 100 composite basketball rankings for the Class of 2020.

The composite represents the average rankings of the three major recruiting services – 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals along with the USA TODAY Chosen 25. The lower the average the better. For players who are not ranked by a particular service, the player receives a maximum number +10 based on the way players are ranked for each site beyond the last player (110 for ESPN, and 160 for Rivals, 35 for Chosen 25).

Rank Player School Pos. College Chosen 25 247 ESPN Rivals AVG.
1 Cade Cunningham Montverde Academy (Arlington, Texas) CG Oklahoma State 1 2 2 2 1.75
2 Evan Mobley Rancho Christian (Temecula, California) C Southern California 6 1 1 1 2.25
3 Jalen Green Prolific Prep (Napa, California) CG Uncommitted 3 3 3 3 3.00
4 Jalen Johnson IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) SF Duke 5 8 4 5 5.50
5 Terrence Clarke Brewster Academy (Boston, Massachusetts) SG Kentucky 4 4 13 4 6.25
6 Ziaire Williams Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) SF Uncommitted 9 6 5 6 6.50
7 Greg Brown Vandegrift (Austin, Texas) PF Uncommitted 7 10 8 7 8.00
8 Makur Maker Pacific Academy (Irvine, California) C Uncommitted 12 5 10 8 8.75
T9 Isaiah Todd Word Of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, North Carolina) PF Michigan 8 14 7 10 9.75
T9 Scottie Barnes Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida) SF Florida State 10 9 11 9 9.75
11 Jalen Suggs Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minnesota) CG Uncommitted 17 12 6 11 11.50
12 Joshua Christopher Mayfair (Lakewood, California) SG Uncommitted 16 7 12 12 11.75
13 Sharife Cooper McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia) PG Auburn 2 20 17 16 13.75
14 BJ Boston Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) SG Kentucky 14 16 9 17 14.00
15 Jaden Springer IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) SG Tennessee 13 17 16 15 15.25
T16 Walker Kessler Woodward Academy (College Park, Georgia) C North Carolina 20 13 14 20 16.75
T16 Daishen Nix Trinity International (Las Vegas, Nevada) PG UCLA 21 11 21 14 16.75
18 Day’Ron Sharpe Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida) C North Carolina 25 18 20 13 19.00
19 Cameron Thomas Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) SG Uncommitted 11 24 18 29 20.50
20 Nimari Burnett Prolific Prep (Napa Valley, California) CG Texas Tech 15 28 19 22 21.00
21 Caleb Love Christian Brothers College (Saint Louis, Missouri) PG North Carolina 24 23 24 21 23.00
22 Jeremy Roach Paul VI Catholic (Fairfax, Virginia) PG Duke 35 19 15 24 23.25
23 Bryce Thompson Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Oklahoma) CG Kansas 35 15 25 19 23.50
24 Isaiah Jackson Waterford Mott (Waterford, Michigan) PF Uncommitted 22 31 22 23 24.50
25 DJ Steward Whitney Young (Chicago, Illinois) CG Duke 18 26 26 31 25.25
26 Keon Johnson The Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee) SG Tennessee 35 21 33 18 26.75
27 MarJon Beauchamp Dream City Christian (Glendale, Arizona) SF Uncommitted 35 32 28 28 30.75
28 Earl Timberlake DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland) SF Miami 35 30 35 26 31.50
29 Jaemyn Brakefield Huntington Prep (Huntington, West Virginia) PF Duke 19 52 23 36 32.50
T30 Mark Williams IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) C Duke 35 29 30 38 33.00
T30 Hunter Dickinson DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland) C Uncommitted 23 36 36 37 33.00
32 Adam Miller Morgan Park HS (Chicago, Illinois) SG Uncommitted 35 46 27 27 33.75
33 Dawson Garcia Prior Lake (Prior Lake, Minnesota) PF Uncommitted 35 22 44 35 34.00
34 Dalen Terry Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Arizona) SF Arizona 35 27 49 30 35.25
T35 Kyree Walker Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Arizona) SF Uncommitted 35 33 34 42 36.00
T35 Lance Ware Camden (Burlington, New Jersey) PF Kentucky 35 34 43 32 36.00
37 Corey Walker Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Virginia) SF Tennessee 35 38 39 33 36.25
38 Mady Sissoko Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah) C Michigan State 35 35 37 41 37.00
39 Jabri Abdur-Rahim Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey) SF Virginia 35 50 31 39 38.75
40 Moses Moody Montverde Academy (Montverde Florida) SG Arkansas 35 44 29 50 39.50
41 Henry Coleman Trinity Episcopal School (Richmond, Virginia) PF Duke 35 37 42 44 39.50
42 Josh Hall Moravian Prep (Durham, North Carolina) SF Uncommitted 35 48 53 25 40.25
43 Micah Peavy Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) SF Texas Tech 35 61 32 34 40.50
44 Cam’Ron Fletcher Vashon (Saint Louis, Missouri) SF Kentucky 35 45 45 40 41.25
45 Matthew Murrell IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) SG Ole Miss 35 43 48 45 42.75
T46 JT Thor Norcross (Norcross, Georgia) C Uncommitted 35 51 38 53 44.25
T46 Cliff Omoruyi Roselle Catholic (Roselle, New Jersey) C Uncommitted 35 41 47 54 44.25
48 Puff Johnson Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Arizona) SF North Carolina 35 39 62 43 44.75
49 Dain Dainja Park Center (, Minnesota) C Baylor University 35 47 52 57 47.75
50 Dwon Odom St. Francis (Alpharetta, Georgia) PG Xavier 35 40 69 49 48.25
51 Deivon Smith Grayson (Loganville, Georgia) PG Mississippi State 35 42 65 52 48.50
52 Marcus Bagley Sheldon (Sacramento, California) SF Arizona State 35 49 61 51 49.00
53 Reece Beekman Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) PG Virginia 35 57 41 68 50.25
54 Andre Curbelo Long Island Lutheran (Puerto Rico) PG Illinois 35 68 54 46 50.75
55 R.J. Davis Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, New York) CG North Carolina 35 66 40 65 51.50
56 Cam Hayes Greensboro Day School (Greensboro, North Carolina) PG North Carolina State 35 59 68 47 52.25
57 Jalen Terry Beecher (Mount Morris, Michigan) PG Uncommitted 35 55 73 48 52.75
58 Xavier Foster Oskaloosa (Oskaloosa, IA) C Iowa State 35 76 51 56 54.50
59 Dominick Harris Rancho Christian (Temecula, California) CG Gonzaga 35 62 59 66 55.50
60 P.J. Hall Dorman (Roebuck, South Carolina) PF Clemson 35 67 60 62 56.00
61 Zeb Jackson Maumee (Maumee, Ohio) SG Michigan 35 65 74 58 58.00
62 Julian Strawther Liberty (Henderson, Nevada) SF Gonzaga 35 64 70 64 58.25
63 Hassan Diarra Putnam Science Academy (Putnam, Connecticut) PG Texas A&M 35 73 55 73 59.00
64 Joe Bamisile Monacan (Richmond, Virginia) SG Virginia Tech 35 81 63 60 59.75
T65 Tramon Mark Dickinson (Dickinson, Texas) PG Houston 35 72 67 78 63.00
T65 Isaiah Cottrell Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nevada) PF West Virginia 35 63 82 72 63.00
67 Ian Martinez J Serra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, California) SG Utah 35 56 110 59 65.00
68 Andre Jackson Albany (Albany, New York) SF Connecticut 35 101 50 76 65.50
T69 A.J. Hoggard Huntington Prep (Huntington, West Virginia) PG Michigan State 35 102 56 71 66.00
T69 Jaylin Williams Northside (Fort Smith, Arkansas) C Uncommitted 35 75 87 67 66.00
71 Jaylen Clark Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga, California) SG Uncommitted 35 69 100 61 66.25
72 Samson Ruzhentsev Hamilton Heights Christian(Chattanooga, Tennessee) SF Florida 35 53 110 75 68.25
73 KK Robinson Bryant (Bryant, Arkansas) PG Uncommitted 35 71 90 80 69.00
74 Jaden Ivey La Lumiere (La Porte, Indiana) CG Purdue 35 80 84 79 69.50
75 Justin Lewis Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Towson, Maryland) PF Marquette 35 91 57 98 70.25
76 Ethan Morton Butler Senior(Butler, Pennsylvania) SG Purdue 35 109 66 74 71.00
77 Ryan Kalkbrenner Trinity Catholic (Saint Louis, Missouri) C Creighton 35 84 98 69 71.50
78 Keon Ambrose-Hylton Andrews Osborne Academy (Toronto) PF Uncommitted 35 97 58 99 72.25
79 Caleb Murphy Grayson (Loganville, Georgia) SG USF 35 93 110 55 73.25
80 Matt Cross Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire) SF Miami 35 100 81 83 74.75
T81 Osasere Ighodaro Desert Vista (Phoenix, Arizona) PF Marquette 35 58 110 97 75.00
T81 Terrance Williams Gonzaga (Washington, District of Columbia) PF Georgetown 35 98 76 93 75.50
T83 Ben Carlson East Ridge (Woodbury, Minnesota) PF Wisconsin 35 90 88 89 75.50
T83 Chibuzo Agbo Jr. St. Augustine (San Diego, California) SF Texas Tech 35 70 110 87 75.50
85 LJ Cryer Morton Ranch (Katy, Texas) PG Baylor 35 94 64 114 76.75
86 JJ Traynor Bardstown (Bardstown, Kentucky) PF Louisvile 35 77 110 88 77.50
T87 Darius Maddox Oak Hill Academy (Mouth Of Wilson, Virginia) SG Virginia Tech 35 92 93 91 77.75
T87 Jordan Geronimo St. Paul’s School (Concord, New Hampshire) SF Indiana 35 89 110 77 77.75
89 Josh Taylor Norcross (Norcross, Georgia) PF Georgia 35 78 110 90 78.25
90 John Hugley Brush (Cleveland, Ohio) C Pittsburgh 35 74 110 95 78.50
91 Demarr Langford Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire) SF Boston College 35 116 83 81 78.75
92 Rondel Walker Putnam City West(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) PG Oklahoma State 35 145 46 94 80.00
T93 Jamal Mashburn Jr. Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire) CG Minnesota 35 87 97 103 80.50
T93 Eugene Brown III Southwest DeKalb (Conyers, Georgia) SG Ohio State 35 95 110 82 80.50
95 Max Murrell Millard North (Omaha, Nebraska) PF Stanford 35 79 110 101 81.25
96 Jamari Sibley Oak Hill Academy (Glendale, Wisconsin) PF Uncommitted 35 122 85 86 82.00
97 Karim Mane Vanier College (Montreal) CG Uncommitted 35 25 110 160 82.50
T98 Saba Gigiberia Prolific Prep (Napa, California) C Georgia Tech 35 85 110 102 83.00
T98 Zach Loveday Huntington Prep (Huntington, West Virginia) C Baylor 35 103 110 84 83.00
100 Chris Moore West Memphis (West Memphis, Arkansas) PF Uncommitted 35 96 110 100 85.25